Maine Supreme Court Refuses to Review Trump Ballot Eligibility Case Before SCOTUS Ruling

Maine's Supreme Court refused to review former United States President Donald Trump's ballot eligibility case in the state at least until the country's high court issues its own ruling on the matter.

The decision of the state's top court on Wednesday to hold off on reviewing the case keeps intact a judge's decision to wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on a similar case in Colorado.

Maine Supreme Court Declines To Review Trump Ballot Case

Maine Supreme Court Refuses To Review Trump Ballot Eligibility Case Before SCOTUS Ruling — (Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Maine's Supreme Court refused to review Trump's ballot eligibility case in the state until the SCOTUS issues a ruling on a similar matter in Colorado.

The legal controversy in the state started when Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows concluded that the Republican businessman did not meet ballot qualifications under the insurrection clause in the U.S. Constitution. However, a judge put that decision on hold pending the Supreme Court's decision on a similar case that is currently being reviewed in Colorado.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous decision dismissing Bellows' appeal of the order that requires her to wait for a SCOTUS ruling before withdrawing, modifying, or upholding her decision to keep the former president's name off the state ballot, as per CBS News.

The state's top court cited that the Secretary of State suggests that there would be irreparable harm because a delay in certainty about whether or not Trump's name should appear on the primary ballot will only work to confuse voters in the state. However, the court argued that this uncertainty is what guided its decision not to undertake the immediate appellate review in the particular case.

Bellows' decision last December to keep Trump's name off the state ballot made her the first election official to ban the former president from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The state Supreme Court in Colorado reached the same conclusion, citing that the Republican businessman engaged in insurrection in the Capitol Hill riot case.

The timelines are tight as Maine's Mar. 5 primary is fast approaching and the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Trump's case in Colorado on Feb. 8. The development also comes as Maine has already started to mail overseas ballots.

Enforcing the 14th Amendment

Following Bellows' decision regarding Trump's ballot eligibility, the former president appealed the decision to the state court. Then, a judge subsequently declined to weigh in on the merits of the case, according to The Hill.

However, the judge in that case said that Trump could remain on the ballot until the SCOTUS decides on the Colorado case. The Maine secretary of state had argued that punting the decision regarding the Republican businessman's ballot eligibility would put Maine in a "precarious position."

The situation also comes as children's rights advocates are urging the Supreme Court to remind future generations to consider whether or not to keep Trump's name on the ballot in Colorado and Maine.

The advocates, who have sued the federal government and several states over climate change, said that children who are "yet-to-be-born Americans" will be left with a democracy that is led by an insurrectionist if Trump is allowed to be on the ballots.

Our Children's Trust and two law professors who focus on children's rights filed an amicus brief in the former president's challenge of the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to ban him from the state ballot, said the Washington Times.