Maine Secretary of State appeals court ruling in bid to bounce Trump from ballot

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has appealed to the state’s Superior Court decision to pause on a ruling to remove former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot.

Bellows is appealing the Superior Court’s ruling to not decide on the ballot case to the Maine Supreme Court. The court is awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Colorado.

Earlier this week, Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy issued the stay on the Maine secretary of state’s decision to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment.

Murphy refused to rule until the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on Colorado’s attempt to disqualify the former president. Murphy underscored the need to “promote consistency” in an effort to “avoid voter confusion.”

In addition to the stay, Murphy denied an appeal filed by Trump’s legal team earlier this month.

Last month, Bellows issued a decision brought forth by Maine voters to challenge Trump’s primary petition, determining it invalid. Bellows, a Democrat, “ruled that the declaration on his candidate consent form is false,” saying the former president is not qualified to hold the office of president, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump’s appeal challenging a decision from Colorado’s highest court ruling that the former president was ineligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment.

The Maine GOP primary is March 5. The nation's high court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the Colorado appeal Feb. 8.