On Thursday (December 28), the state of Maine disqualified former US President Donald Trump to appear on the presidential primary ballot. The move effectively removed him from the state’s voters’ choice, selecting him as the Republican Party’s nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential elections.
Maine has now become the second state to remove Trump from its primary ballot. Earlier this month, Colorado did the same when his Supreme Court found him guilty of insurrection or violent uprising. It ruled that he was once again ineligible to hold office.
Trump said he would file an objection to the recent decision, calling it “atrocious.” He has so far been the frontrunner for the 2024 presidential polls, ranking ahead of incumbent President Joe Biden in voter polls. What could these disqualifications mean for his candidacy?
First, what is the insurrection charge against Trump?
The decision was linked to Trump’s alleged role in the January 6, 2021 attacks on the US Capitol – the country’s seat of government. Trump supporters were protesting Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, claiming the polls were rigged. They rioted and entered government offices in Washington, DC. At least five people died and some were injured.
According to Reuters, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows — the state’s top election official — said Trump incited insurrection by spreading false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election. for his supporters to march to the Capitol was also considered part of this project. “The United States Constitution does not tolerate an attack on the foundations of our government,” she wrote in her decision.
The Colorado Supreme Court declared in its December 19 ruling that Trump was “disqualified from office as President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.” The court added that, as a result, it would be an “unlawful act” to register him as a candidate in the presidential primary election.
Section three has never been invoked against a former president until now. It states that if a person previously elected to government office has taken part in an insurrection or rebellion, they can no longer hold office.
How is this different from other legal cases against Trump?
Legally, there is no law prohibiting any convicted candidate from running for office in the United States. However, this case is also different from other legal challenges against Trumpin cases related to his payments to a former adult film star, his failure to return official documents to the government after he resigned from his position in 2020, and others.
In those cases, the question was whether a conviction would mean he could still run for president, and the answer was considered a “yes.”
A Policy report this year noted: “A Trump election victory behind bars would open a constitutional Pandora’s box, but the general view among legal scholars is that the need for a duly elected president to carry out his duties would outweigh a criminal conviction and would require the sentence to be at least suspended. And if Trump were convicted of a federal crime, he could even attempt to pardon himself upon taking office…”
Maine’s ruling has been put on hold for now, as Trump seeks to appeal in a state trial court.
If the case reaches the Supreme Court, many broader legal questions will need to be considered: whether the 14th Amendment can bar a presidential candidate from being re-elected, whether courts have the power to exclude candidates from ballots voting, and so on. Justices of the United States Supreme Court are appointed by presidents on partisan lines for life terms and currently include a majority of conservative justices. This means that the decision should go his way.
Reuters reported: “A ruling that Trump is disqualified from the presidency would be a momentous step with seismic political implications. »
What does this case mean for Trump’s prospects heading into November?
Republicans and Democrats will hold their primaries in Colorado and 12 other states on March 5, the biggest primary day in the U.S. presidential election calendar, known as Super Tuesday.
Trump’s removal from the ballot in two state primaries impacts his selection as the party’s nominee. If impeachment persists despite legal challenges, Trump could be removed from the November ballot where he will likely face Biden.
Traditionally, Colorado voters choose the Democratic Party’s nominee for president. Trump’s impeachment would therefore have no impact on the election results.
However, Associated Press reported that Trump won one of Maine’s four Electoral College votes in 2020 by winning the state’s 2nd Congressional District, indicating his ability to garner a fairly large number of votes there.
