Maine Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, received three challenges to the appearance of Trump’s name on the presidential primary ballot.
According to the Portland Press Herald, the challenges were submitted just before Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Bellows will assess the challenges Monday to see if they meet the state’s requirements and a public hearing will be held for each of the eligible challenges.
One challenge, filed by former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling and two former state lawmakers, Tom Saviello and Kimberly Rosen, claims that Trump is ineligible to run for office, citing the 14th amendment. The 14th amendment prohibits anyone who has engaged in insurrection from holding office.
Mary Anne Royal, of Winterport, uses a similar argument in her challenge, though Royal doesn’t specifically cite the 14th amendment. Royal states that Trump violated the constitution when he demanded “that the certification of the election be stopped” and when he gave “aid and comfort to those assembled to stop the certification of the election”.
Portland resident Paul Gordon’s challenge argues that Trump’s campaign violates the 22nd amendment, which prohibits a president from holding office for more than two terms. Gordon contends that if Trump won the 2020 election, like he has said on numerous occasions, then he disqualifies himself from appearing on the ballot. Gordon writes that the language of the 22nd amendment “focuses on whether someone has been *elected* twice, regardless of whether he or she has actually served a second term.”
Challenges have been filed against Trump in at least 32 states, most of them citing the 14th amendment, though no challenges have been successful yet.
