Maine’s secretary of state will hold a public hearing Friday on three challenges to former President Donald Trump appearing on the state’s presidential primary ballot.
The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. in Room 228 of the Maine State House in Augusta. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows will be the presiding officer.
Former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling and two former state lawmakers, Tom Saviello and Kimberly Rosen, together filed a challenge to Trump appearing on the ballot in a letter to Bellows’ office. Mary Anne Royal, of Winterport, and Paul Gordon, of Portland, also filed letters with Bellows challenging Trump’s appearance on the ballot.
The filings come as the Republican frontrunner’s appearance on ballots is being challenged across the country. Challenges have been filed in at least 32 states, according to the blog Lawfare, which is tracking such efforts. It does not list any successful challenges to date.
Challengers in other states argue Trump should be ineligible because the 14th Amendment prohibits people from holding office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Strimling, Saviello and Rosen also cited the 14th Amendment in their letter to Bellows, written by attorney Benjamin Gaines, saying Trump engaged in insurrection by inciting the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
Royal’s challenge does not specifically cite the 14th Amendment, but refers to language in it and says Trump should be disqualified for violating the Constitution.
Gordon’s challenge takes a different tack, arguing that Trump is not eligible to be on the ballot because he claims to have won the 2020 election, which would have been his second term. The 22nd Amendment states that no person shall be elected to the office of president more than twice. It doesn’t say anything about how many terms a person can serve, he argues.
The challengers have the burden of providing sufficient evidence to invalidate the Trump campaign nomination petition. Both the challengers and the candidate will have an opportunity at the hearing to present oral testimony from witnesses as well as additional documentary evidence, and to make oral arguments. Those seeking to intervene must file a written request with the Secretary of State’s Office to sos.office@maine.gov by 3 p.m. on Thursday.
Following Maine election law with regard to reviewing and challenging petitions, Secretary Bellows will rule on the validity of the challenges by Dec. 22. A challenger or a candidate may appeal the decision to the Superior Court, whose decision may be appealed to the Law Court.
Live audio of the hearing will be available to the public online.
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