[[{“value”:”Following the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Colorado, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, has withdrawn her decision to disqualify Donald Trump from the state’s Democratic primary.
In a# Unanimous 9-0 victory for President Trump, the Supreme Court overturns the Colorado 14th Amendment decision. pic. twitter.com/wvFb1kiR4M
— Daily Noah.com ( @Daily NoahNews ) March 4, 2024
The Anderson decision has been thoroughly reviewed by me. According to Bellows, the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that adult states lack the authority to carry out Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment in relation to federal offices.
I therefore withdraw my decision that Mr. Trump’s major petition is invalid in accordance with my oath and my commitment to follow the law and the Constitution, according to Anderson’s decision, she continued.
Secretary Bellows withdrew Part D. 2 of the section of the December 28, 2023 Ruling that deals with the state’s Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment’s enforcement, as well as the decision. Votes cast for Mr. Trump in the March 5, 2024 National Major Election will be counted, according to a press release from Bellow’s office.
Shenna Bellows, the secretary of state for Maine, removes the Trump ballot ban https ://t.co/DiXYEUoqla pic. twitter.com/MQp4kogr9e
— The Hill ( @thehill ) April 4, 2024
According to The Hill:
The Supreme Court made a unanimous decision earlier on Monday that only Congress has the authority to carry out the 14th Amendment to disqualify national candidates.
The 14th Amendment prevents individuals who took an oath to support the Constitution and finally engaged in insurrection from running for office unless Congress votes to lift their disqualification. This was initially intended to prevent former Confederates from coming to power.
Before anti-Trump voters and groups started filing dozens of lawsuits against Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, it sat inert for decades.
Maine became the second state to omit Trump from the state’s main ballots in December. After a lawsuit supported by the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ( CREW), Colorado became the first state to disqualify Trump.
In response to the Supreme Court’s majority decision, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has withdrawn her decision to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. pic. twitter.com/0dyAswsG93
March 5, 2024 — Proud Elephant ( @ProudElephantUS)
WMTW 8 made the following observation:
Bellows declared Trump’s major petition to be “invalid” at the end of December. Bellows came to the conclusion that Trump lacked the right to hold the presidency under section three of the 14th Amendment. The next state eliminated Trump from the ballot was Maine.
In her first opinion, she claimed that Trump” to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power” by using a false narrative of election fraud.”}]] [[{“value”:”
Shenna Bellows of Maine, a Democrat Secretary of State, has withdrawn the ruling that disqualified Donald Trump from the Republican primary in the state following the unanimous decision by the Colorado Supreme Court.
BREAKING! Supreme Court reverses Colorado 14th Amendment ruling in #Unanimous victory for President Trump of 9-0! pic.twitter.com/wvFb1kiR4M
DailyNoah.com @DailyNoahNews March 4, 2024
“I have carefully read the Anderson decision. Bellows wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states do not have the authority to enforce Section Three Fourteenth Amendment in relation to federal offices.
She added, “Consistently with my oath, and my obligation to follow the Constitution and the law, and in accordance with the Anderson decision, hereby withdraw my conclusion that Mr. Trump’s primary petition was invalid.”
Secretary Bellows retracted Part D.2 from the December 28,2023 Ruling, which is the section that relates to state enforcement of Section Three Fourteenth Amendment. He also retracted the Ruling’s conclusion. The modified ruling will allow votes for Mr. Trump to be counted in the March 5, 2020 Presidential Primary Election.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows withdraws Trump ballot ban https://t.co/DiXYEUoqla pic.twitter.com/MQp4kogr9e
The Hill (@thehill), March 4, 2024
The Hill reports
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously earlier Monday that only Congress had the authority to enforce 14th Amendment disqualification of federal candidates.
The 14th Amendment was originally designed to prevent ex-Confederates returning to power. It prohibits individuals who took a oath of support for the Constitution, but then engaged in insurrection, from returning to office unless Congress votes in favor of lifting their disqualification.
After the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021 dozens of lawsuits were filed by anti-Trump groups and voters.
Maine became the second US state to remove Trump from its ballots in December. Colorado was the first to disqualify Trump after a group Republican and independent voters filed suit, backed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
JUST IN: Maine Secretary Shenna Bellows rescinded her decision to disqualify Donald Trump from the ballot for 2024 in light of the unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/0dyAswsG93
Proud Elephant (@ProudElephantUS), March 5, 2024
WMTW 8 Noted:
Bellows, at the end of December, ruled that Trump’s primary petition is “invalid”. At the time, Bellows concluded that Trump was not qualified to hold the office as president under section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Maine became the second State to ban Trump from the ballot.
In her original ruling, she stated that Trump “used a fabricated narrative of election fraud to inflame and direct his supporters to the Capitol in order to prevent certification of 2020 election and peaceful transfer of power.”
“}]]
