PORTLAND, Maine — Maine's top election official could face an impeachment attempt in the state Legislature over her decision to keep former President Donald Trump off the Republican primary ballot.
At least one Republican lawmaker has vowed to pursue impeachment against Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows despite long odds in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Bellows said Friday that she had no comment on the impeachment effort, but said she was duty-bound by state law to make a determination on three challenges brought by registered Maine voters. She reiterated that she suspended her decision pending an anticipated appeal by Trump in Superior Court.
"Under Maine law, I have not only the authority but the obligation to act," she said. "I will follow the Constitution and the rule of law as directed by the courts," she added.
Bellows' decision Thursday followed a ruling earlier this month by the Colorado Supreme Court that removed Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That decision is on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether Trump violated the Civil War-era provision prohibiting those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office.
"In 150 years, no candidate was kept off a ballot for engaging in an insurrection. It's now happened twice to Donald Trump in the last two weeks. There will be major pressure on the Supreme Court to offer clarity very soon," said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame Law School professor and election law scholar.
In Maine, state Rep. John Andrews, who sits on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, called the decision "hyper-partisanship on full display" as he pressed for an impeachment proceeding. He said he sent a notice to the state revisor's office for a joint order to set the wheels in motion ahead of lawmakers' return to Augusta next week.
"There is bipartisan opposition to the extreme decision made by the secretary of state. She has clearly overstepped her authority. It remains to be seen if her effort at voter suppression will garner enough Democrat support to remove her from her position," said House Republican leader Billy Bob Faulkingham.