(IntegrityTimes.com) – As efforts to remove former President Trump from state primary ballots are underway, he and his campaign are fighting fires in multiple states. Colorado was the first state to remove him from the ballot, but his name was re-added days later after the Colorado state GOP filed an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
Colorado Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold released a statement on December 28, confirming that his name will appear on the ballot unless the Supreme Court declines to hear the case or upholds the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling. Maine is the latest state to disqualify him from the ballot, with its Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ruling on December 28 that he is ineligible to run for president for violating the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Trump’s attorneys sent a letter to Bellows just one day before her ruling, demanding she recuse herself from the decision. His lawyers referenced multiple tweets from Bellows since January 6, 2021, to demonstrate that she had “already passed judgment on the Challengers’ core assertions.” Maine allows the secretary of state to unilaterally decide to remove candidates from ballots without a court ruling if any registered voters submit a challenge. Three former state senators filed the challenges, two of whom claim to be Republicans. However, Bellows acknowledged that her decision would be stayed until the US Supreme Court ruled on the Colorado decision.
Trump has vowed to challenge the decisions, and his campaign spokesperson said they were “a hostile assault on American democracy.” More challenges to his eligibility have emerged in other states, but many have proved unsuccessful. Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled that the Secretary of State did not have the authority to remove Trump from the ballot using the insurrection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as justification. The Wisconsin Election Commission shot down similar efforts on December 28. There are currently lawsuits in 13 other states to remove Trump from the ballot.
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