Maine’s Democrat secretary of state said Wednesday she will not rule on Donald Trump’s eligibility for the state’s 2024 presidential ballot until next week.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was supposed to rule on challenges to Trump’s GOP primary ballot status Friday, but she delayed the decision following the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling.

BREAKING: Colorado Supreme Court BLOCKS Trump From 2024 Ballot!

“On Wednesday, Bellows gave lawyers for Trump and those challenging him in Maine until 8 p.m. Thursday to file briefs arguing how much bearing the Colorado ruling should have here,” Bangor Daily News reports.

More from the Bangor Daily News:

The major Maine challenge came from former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling and former state Sens. Tom Saviello of Wilton and Kim Rosen of Bucksport. Strimling is a progressive Democrat, while Rosen is a Republican and Saviello most recently served in state office as a Republican but is a former Democrat and now is an independent.

Their argument largely mirrors the one made successfully in Colorado. The 14th Amendment was passed after the Civil War to keep former Confederates out of federal office and has rarely been used in the modern era. While the lower court there ruled the amendment does not apply to the presidency, the high court disagreed.

Saviello said the decision should make it easier for Bellows to rule for the challengers, noting that she does not have to be the first to make such a decision now. Judges in several other states had turned back similar cases before the Colorado ruling.

“Ultimately the Supreme Court is going to decide but until that’s done, ‘Donald Trump you can’t be on the ballot,’” Saviello said, summing up an argument he thought Bellows should make.

In Maine last week, Trump’s lawyers argued that Bellows lacked the power to leave Trump off the ballot. Her decision can be appealed to state courts. Trump’s campaign has assailed the Colorado ruling as well and promised to appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Maine Wire posted footage from a hearing last week in regard to keeping Donald Trump off the state’s 2024 presidential ballot.

WATCH:

The Portland Press Herald reports:

Strimling, Rosen and Saviello also cited Section 3 in a challenge to Trump’s appearing on the Maine primary ballot filed with Bellows earlier this month. Bellows heard arguments from the challengers and attorneys for Trump at a hearing last week.

Gaines filed a notice with Bellows Wednesday morning notifying her of the Colorado decision. “Challengers also note that… the Secretary is now bound by the Colorado courts’ findings on all pertinent factual issues,” the notice said.

The Trump campaign has dismissed the challenges and the Colorado ruling as politically motivated.

“Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement Tuesday night. “They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November.”

At issue in Maine are two questions: Does the secretary of state have the authority to decide whether Trump can appear on the ballot? And, does the 14th Amendment prohibit him from appearing on the ballot? Attorneys for Trump have argued that Bellows does not have the authority to remove Trump from the ballot on any grounds except in specific circumstances under state law.

As 100 Percent Fed Up noted, “six states are already vying to follow Colorado’s lead and remove President Trump from the 2024 ballot.”

Six More States Now Actively Investigating REMOVAL Of President Trump From 2024 Ballot

These states are examining the possibility of using the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from running in the 2024 election due to his alleged involvement in the January 6th Capitol riot.

California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis has called on California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to “explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.”

“I am prompted by the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot as a Presidential Candidate due to his role in inciting an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This decision is about honoring the rule of law in our country,” Kounalakis writes.

Read the full letter:

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