Trump Banned From Being Nominated For President In Maine
- 29.12.2023, 8:09
The decision was made under the 14th Amendment, which was enacted after the Civil War.
The head of the Maine Election Commission has excluded former US President Donald Trump from the ballot for the 2024 election, taking an unexpected decision based on the 14th Amendment, which bans organisers and participants in rebellion from running for office.
CNN reports about it.
Maine's Secretary of State, Democrat Shanna Bellows, announced the decision on Thursday, 28 December, after presiding over an administrative hearing earlier this month regarding Trump's fitness for office. The appeal against the politician had been filed by a bipartisan group of former state lawmakers.
Bellows' decision could be appealed in state court; Trump's team is likely to appeal.
"I didn't just come to this conclusion 'Democracy is sacred...' I remember that no Secretary of State has ever denied a presidential candidate access to the ballot under the Third Section of the Fourteenth Amendment. I also remember, however, that no presidential candidate has ever previously participated in an insurgency," Bellows wrote.
Nevertheless, CNN suggests, the Maine court's decision is based on the momentum Trump's critics have claimed after a similar Colorado court ruling. Several other states, such as Michigan and Minnesota, have rejected similar attempts.
Ratified after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment states that U.S. officials who "participate" in the rebellion cannot hold office in the future. However, this provision is vague and does not specify exactly how this prohibition is to be implemented.
Elections in the United States
The next presidential election in the United States is scheduled for November 5, 2024.
According to forecasts, the main candidate from the Democrats will be the current American leader Joe Biden, and from the Republicans - former head of state Donald Trump.
On December 20, the Colorado Supreme Court decided that Trump, in accordance with the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, cannot participate in primaries in the state. The reason is his "participation in rebellion against the United States", which the court recognised as the storming of the Capitol by the politician's supporters on 6 January 2021