Trump appeals decision removing him from Maine’s 2024 primary ballot

Former President Donald Trump has asked a Maine court to overturn the secretary of state’s decision to remove him from the 2024 primary ballot there because of his role in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol insurrection.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, announced her decision last week, saying that she had a legal obligation to remove Trump from the ballot under a Civil War-era provision of the Constitution that prohibits those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

Bellows paused her decision, which only applies to Maine, so that Trump could appeal it in court before the presidential primary election there on March 5, 2024.

Trump is facing similar 14th Amendment challenges to his candidacy in other states, including Colorado where the state Supreme Court ordered Trump removed from the primary ballot there – a decision the former president plans to appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Any ruling from the US Supreme Court would be the final say on whether Trump is eligible to appear on the primary ballot in Colorado, Maine, and other states where his eligibility is being challenged.

Trump argued Tuesday that the secretary of state is a “biased decisionmaker” who didn’t have the legal authority to hear the challenge seeking to disqualify him from office.

The former president added that Bellows “should have recused herself” from deciding the issue, and that she failed to give the former president “adequate time and opportunity to present a defense.”

“By submitting his petition and consent as required by the statute, President Trump has met all requirements set forth by the Maine Legislature in the statute and is entitled to be placed on the Republican primary ballot,” Trump wrote in the appeal. “Nonetheless, in the Secretary’s Ruling, the Secretary wrongfully denied President Trump a place on the Republican primary ballot.”

Trump also argued in the filing Tuesday that Bellows “failed to provide lawful due process” and “made multiple errors of law and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner.”

“President Trump did not ‘engage’ in ‘insurrection,’” he wrote.

This story has been updated with additional details.