Maine official asks state's top court to consider Trump ballot disqualification

[January 20, 2024]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Maine’s top election official on Friday appealed a lower court ruling delaying a final decision on former President Donald Trump’s eligibility for the Republican primary ballot until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a related case. 

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump looks on during a rally ahead of the New Hampshire primary election, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S., January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said Maine’s top court needed to weigh in on the dispute now “before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”

Bellows, a Democrat, disqualified Trump from the state’s March 5 primary ballot in December, ruling that he engaged in “insurrection” for his actions tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, making him ineligible to hold office again under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.

A state Superior Court on Wednesday ordered Bellows to reevaluate her decision after the U.S. Supreme Court decides Trump’s appeal of his disqualification from the primary ballot in Colorado, a ruling that may provide a nationwide resolution to questions surrounding the former president's eligibility.

Trump has faced eligibility challenges in dozens of states.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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