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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s top election official could face an
impeachment attempt in the state Legislature over her decision to keep
former President Donald Trump off the Republican primary ballot.
At least one Republican lawmaker has vowed to pursue impeachment against Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows despite long odds in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Bellows said Friday that she had no comment on the impeachment effort, but
said she was duty-bound by state law to make a determination on three challenges brought by registered Maine voters. She reiterated that she suspended her decision pending an anticipated appeal by Trump in Superior Court.
“Under Maine law, I have not only the authority but the obligation to
act,” she said. “I will follow the Constitution and the rule of law as
directed by the courts,” she added.
Bellows’ decision Thursday followed a ruling earlier this month by the
Colorado Supreme Court that removed Trump from the ballot under Section 3
of the 14th Amendment. That decision is on hold until the U.S. Supreme
Court decides whether Trump violated the Civil War-era provision
prohibiting those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
“In 150 years, no candidate was kept off a ballot for engaging in an insurrection. It’s now happened twice to Donald Trump in the last two
weeks. There will be major pressure on the Supreme Court to offer clarity
very soon,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame Law School professor and
election law scholar.
In Maine, state Rep. John Andrews, who sits on the Veterans and Legal
Affairs Committee, called the decision “hyper-partisanship on full
display” as he pressed for an impeachment proceeding. He said he sent a
notice to the state revisor’s office for a joint order to set the wheels
in motion ahead of lawmakers’ return to Augusta next week.
“There is bipartisan opposition to the extreme decision made by the
secretary of state. She has clearly overstepped her authority. It remains
to be seen if her effort at voter suppression will garner enough Democrat support to remove her from her position,” said House Republican leader
Billy Bob Faulkingham.
Among Maine’s congressional delegation, only Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, who represents the liberal 1st Congressional District, supported Bellows’ conclusion that Trump incited an insurrection, justifying his
removal from the March 5 primary ballot.
U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said
Friday that absent a final judicial determination on the issue of
insurrection, the decision on whether Trump should be considered for
president “should rest with the people as expressed in free and fair elections.”
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat representing the 2nd Congressional
District, agreed that “until (Trump) is found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the state’s senior senator, was one of a handful
of Republicans to vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment
trial, and she criticized him in a floor speech for failing to obey his
oath of office.
But she nonetheless disagreed with Bellows’ decision. “Maine voters should decide who wins the election, not a secretary of state chosen by the Legislature,” she said.
https://www.wivb.com/news/political-news/ap-politics/ap-trump-ballot- decision-leads-maine-lawmaker-to-call-for-impeachment-of-top-state- election-official/
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