Maine judge defers decision on Trump ballot question until Supreme Court rules
By Marshall Cohen, CNN
Updated: 3:26 PM EST, Wed January 17, 2024
Source: CNN
A Maine judge on Wednesday told state election officials to wait for the US Supreme Court to rule on Donald Trump’s eligibility for the 2024 presidential ballot.
Trump asked the judge to overturn a prior decision that removed him from the Maine ballot, but the judge declined to do that, pausing the proceedings until the Supreme Court weighs in. Practically speaking, Wednesday’s decision means that Trump’s name is still on the ballot for the Maine GOP primary on March 5, which is Super Tuesday.
The Supreme Court plans to hear oral arguments in a similar case from Colorado early next month. Maine and Colorado are so far the only states to disqualify Trump based on his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Under Maine law, ballot challenges are first handled by the secretary of state, and then can be appealed in state courts. A group of voters filed a challenge in December and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ruled that Trump was ineligible for office.
more
https://lite.cnn.com/2024/01/17/politics/maine-14th-amendment-trump/index.html