SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A ruling in the U. S. state of Maine on Wednesday suspended Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to disqualify former President Donald Trump from voting in the state’s first U. S. presidential election.
In a 17-page order, Maine Superior Court Judge Michaela Murphy said Bellows’ December ruling remains on hold until the Supreme Court issues its resolution in the Colorado dispute.
Since many federal issues arise in the other dispute, “it would be unwise for this court to be the first in Maine to address them,” Murphy said.
Noting that Maine’s primary is scheduled for March 5, Murphy wrote that “unless the Supreme Court before that date finds President Trump disqualified to hold the office of president, eligible Maine voters who wish to cast their vote for him in the primary will be able to do so, with the winner being determined by ranked-choice voting”.
“Simply put, the U. S. Supreme Court’s acceptance of the Colorado case adjusts everything in the order in which those issues will be resolved and through which court,” he said. “And while it’s highly unlikely to know what the Supreme Court will decide, we hope it will at least explain what role, if any, state policymakers, adding secretaries of state and state magistrates, play in adjudicating Article Three of the 14th Amendment recusal petitions. “
Trump’s lawyers appealed to a state court after Bellows’ ruling, but then asked that the ruling continue proceedings to allow the U. S. Supreme Court to rule on a similar case in Colorado.
The U. S. Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing for Feb. 8.