AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows appealed a decision by a Maine Superior Court judge Friday in the ongoing legal fight over former President Donald Trump's ballot eligibility in Maine.
Bellows' appeal comes after a Maine Superior Court judge Michaela Murphy paused the decision to have Trump removed from the ballot to allow time for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on a similar case out of Colorado this week.
Murphy denied Trump’s request to stay the proceedings, but she sent the case back to the secretary of state with instructions to await the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court case before issuing a new ruling modifying or upholding her original decision.
In a written filing Thursday, Trump's lawyers called on the justices “to put a swift and decisive end” to efforts to kick him off the 2024 presidential ballot over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
“Like many Americans, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Colorado case that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions in this case," Bellows said in a release issued Friday morning.
“In the interim, Maine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court – which I requested today. I know both the constitutional and state authority questions are of grave concern to many," she continued. "This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”
A spokesperson with Bellows' office said the secretary of state would not be commenting further on this matter.
Back in December, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Trump should not be on the state's Republican primary ballot because of his role in the events that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Justices are expected to make a decision after hearing oral arguments next month.
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