Maine’s secretary of state has delayed a decision to determine whether former President Donald Trump should appear on next year’s presidential primary ballot, following a decision from the Colorado Supreme Court determining he is ineligible there.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was expected to make a decision Friday about Trump’s eligibility, but will allow for more time for both sides to make arguments after Colorado’s historic ruling this week, the Portland Press Herald reported. Bellows said she plans to issue a ruling early next week.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Trump, currently the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination next year, is ineligible to be president under the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone from holding office who took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution but then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.”
The ruling ― which cites Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to stop the electoral certification of President Joe Biden ― will likely head to the U.S. Supreme Court for review on whether states can ban Trump from the ballot.
Colorado’s decision could open the door for other states to follow its lead. Former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling (D) and former state Sen. Kimberley Rosen (R) are among those challenging Trump’s eligibility in Maine, similarly citing the 14th Amendment in their arguments.
Benjamin Gaines, an attorney representing Strimling and Rosen, told the Portland Press Herald they remain “hopeful” Trump will be disqualified from the state.
“We’re very hopeful that [Bellows], after a thorough review of all the evidence we presented, is going to reach the conclusion that former President Trump doesn’t meet the qualifications for the office of president and therefore has to be disqualified from the Maine ballot,” Gaines told the publication.
Besides Colorado and Maine, at least 14 other states have pending legal challenges to Trump’s ballot eligibility, according to The New York Times.