Shenna Bellows, Maine's Secretary of State, has disqualified defeated, former President Trump from the state's 2024 election ballots due to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Bellows, a Democrat, was thrice elected to the State Senate before being elected as Secretary of State three years ago. In anticipation of this decision, Trump's legal team asked that Bellows recuse herself.
Maine is one of two states (along with Nebraska) which apportions its electoral college votes. In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, Trump won one electoral vote in Maine from its 2nd Congressional District. It is the only electoral college vote Trump has received from any of the New England states in either election.
Frankly, I don't expect Bellows decision to withstand judicial scrutiny any more than I do with last week's decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to keep Trump off the ballot.
However, the fact an elected official has seen fit to keep Trump off the ballot makes me think a Republican Secretary of State would likely do the same to President Biden. Texas GOP Lt. Governor Dan Patrick called for Biden to be removed from the Lone Star State's ballot because of border crossings from Mexico following Colorado's decision last week.
Of course, Patrick is calling for Biden's removal because of policy differences whereas Trump attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Nevertheless, Bellows decision will likely embolden and encourage a Republican office holder to retaliate against President Biden.
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