Maine’s high court declined Wednesday to consider the decision from Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion on a similar case in Colorado.
Bellows argued a Maine court should settle the state law issues raised in her ruling before then to avoid harm and confusion for voters.
The Supreme Judicial Court said in its Wednesday evening decision it rarely considers appeals before trial court decisions are final.
“Our final judgment rule exists for situations such as this, where other decision makers’ choices are likely to alter the landscape of the case and narrow the scope of our review,” the court said.
Bellows had appealed to the high court last week and sought its opinion on her Dec. 28 decision to disqualify Trump from the March 5 primary after finding he violated the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause by inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.
Maine and Colorado are the only two states that have ruled Trump ineligible for the Republican primary, which is on March 5 in both states. Trump appealed the Maine and Colorado decisions to higher courts.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold oral arguments in the momentous case over Trump’s eligibility on Feb. 8. Bellows argued a Maine court should settle the state law questions before then to avoid harming voters.
Trump’s name in any case is appearing on Maine primary ballots sent Jan. 20 to overseas and military voters.
