Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, has ruled that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state's 2024 Republican primary ballot. The decision comes after three challenges were brought by Maine voters, including three politicians, over the nomination petition of Trump for the GOP primary.

Bellows upheld two challenges that sought to bar Trump from the ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, while rejecting one challenge that hinged on the 22nd Amendment. In her decision, Bellows stated that the declaration on Trump's candidate consent form was false, as he is not qualified to hold the office of the President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment.

According to Bellows, the record establishes that Trump used a false narrative of election fraud to incite his supporters and direct them to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power. She further concluded that Trump was aware of the potential for violence and initially supported it through his incendiary rhetoric and lack of timely action to stop it.

While acknowledging that no secretary of state had previously deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, Bellows emphasized that no presidential candidate had previously engaged in insurrection. She stated that her duty under Maine's election laws is to ensure that candidates appearing on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they seek.

However, the effect of Bellows' decision has been suspended until Maine's Superior Court rules on any appeal due to the compressed timeframe, novel constitutional questions involved, the importance of the case, and impending ballot preparation deadlines.

In response to Bellows' decision, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung announced that they would quickly file a legal objection in state court. Cheung criticized Bellows, calling her a "hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat" who has interfered in the presidential election.

Maine now becomes the second state, after Colorado, to disqualify Trump from seeking the GOP presidential nomination under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It is worth noting that the Colorado Supreme Court's decision has been stayed until January 4, 2024, following the appeal filed by the Colorado Republican Party to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bellows acknowledged the possibility of her decision being rendered null by a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in Anderson, but emphasized that it does not relieve her of her responsibility to act.

Donald Trump is currently facing multiple tests over his ballot eligibility under the 14th Amendment in various state and federal courts, with challenges or appeals pending in approximately 15 states. Maine is the first state to allow its secretary of state to rule on such a challenge.