AUGUSTA, Maine — No matter how the court cases on Donald Trump’s 2024 eligibility play out, the former president’s name will appear on Republican primary ballots sent this month to Maine’s military and overseas voters.
Ballots sent Jan. 20 to that first group of voters will not include any mention of Trump’s pending appeals of the Maine and Colorado decisions on which the U.S. Supreme Court will likely have the final say.
Under Maine law, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is not required to remove the name of a candidate from a primary ballot if the candidate dies or becomes disqualified less than 70 days before the primary election.
If the courts uphold the Democratic secretary of state’s ruling that Trump is ineligible, then Bellows is required to immediately prepare and distribute a notice to local election officials informing voters of the candidate’s status and that a vote for the candidate will not be counted.
The notice must also be distributed with all absentee ballots requested after local election officials receive it, and on Election Day, it must be posted at the polling place and in each voting booth, as well as on the secretary of state’s website, per Maine statutes.
“We have experienced election officials who have been running free, safe and secure elections in our state for decades, and Maine law is very clear,” Bellows said in a Monday interview.
Trump has appealed December decisions by Bellows and the Colorado Supreme Court to disqualify him after finding he incited the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol and therefore violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits a person who engaged in insurrection from holding office.
The Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta is expected to rule by Jan. 17 on Trump’s appeal. That ruling could then be appealed within three days to the Supreme Judicial Court, which must issue a final decision within 14 days.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral arguments Feb. 8 in the Colorado case. Trump’s attorneys have asked the Maine court to pause its consideration of the case until the Supreme Court issues its ruling.
The deadlines in the monumental cases over the Republican frontrunner’s eligibility mean early ballots sent to military and overseas voters will still include Trump’s name, before Maine and Colorado each have “Super Tuesday” presidential primaries on March 5.
Bellows, the country’s sole secretary of state to rule Trump ineligible for the primary ballot, said she was required by Maine law to consider and rule on three challenges to Trump’s candidacy, including one from a bipartisan group of former elected officials.
After considering evidence and arguments from the challengers and Trump’s attorneys, Bellows determined Trump incited the Jan. 6 riots and violated the Constitution. Trump and other Republicans have cast Bellows, a Democrat, as biased and argued she should have recused herself from the case before making a decision.
Rep. John Andrews, R-Paris, introduced an impeachment resolution against Bellows, who called it a political attack. The Democratic-led House of Representatives is expected to vote on that either Tuesday or Thursday, and it is likely to be voted down.
Trump remains the GOP favorite to once again square off against President Joe Biden. Trump is facing four pending criminal cases as Election Day inches closer, including a federal election interference indictment alleging he sought to derail the peaceful transfer of power after losing to Biden in 2020.