Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellow has reversed course in her effort to keep former President Trump off the primary ballot after the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously overturned a similar ruling in Colorado.
“I have reviewed the Anderson decision carefully. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individual states lack authority to enforce Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment with respect to federal offices,” wrote Bellows, a Democrat. “Consistent with my oath and obligation to follow the law and the Constitution, and pursuant to the Anderson decision, I hereby withdraw my determination that Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid.”
She added: “As a result of the modified ruling, votes cast for Mr. Trump in the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election will be counted.”
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled 9-0 that "responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States.”
Maine's Republican Party praised the court's decision.
“Bellows tried to win the election for Joe Biden via bureaucratic coup and she has lost at every level of the Maine and U.S. legal system,” the party said in a statement, according to Spectrum News.
Former President Trump also celebrated the decision, calling it a "big win for America," while Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said SCOTUS's "ruling confirms what Republicans have been arguing: the American people get to pick their candidates, not activists or bureaucrats."
She added: "The effort to kick Donald Trump off of the ballot was pure election interference from the left, and the RNC was proud to fight in the Supreme Court alongside President Trump’s campaign and other Republican partners to preserve voters’ right to make their voices heard."