A Republican state lawmaker in Maine is pushing to impeach Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows for excluding former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.
State Rep. John Andrews on Thursday evening filed an impeachment request with Maine Revisor’s Office, which drafts legislation for lawmakers.
“I wish to impeach Secretary Bellows on the grounds that she is barring an American citizen and 45th President of the United States, who is convicted of no crime or impeachment, their right to appear on a Maine Republican Primary ballot,” Andrews wrote to the agency.
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“Donald J. Trump has met all qualifications for the March 2024 Republican Presidential Primary. He should be allowed on the ballot. This is raw partisanship and has no place in the offices of our state’s Constitutional Officers.”
Andrews’ bid is a long shot.
The local media in Maine noted that Democrats hold strong majorities in controlling both the state House and Senate, which means Bellows will likely survive the impeachment attempt unless Andrews can secure considerable support from Democrats.
But, as he told Fox News, “In Maine, the people do not elect the Secretary of State, Attorney General or Treasurer. They are chosen by elected Democrat Party insiders after deals are made in the back room of (the) State House.”
“Shenna Bellows knows that the process that put her there is extremely partisan. She should know better and be going out of her way to be as neutral as possible to serve every citizen in Maine and not just registered Democrats.”
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“That’s why she swore an oath to the Constitution and not the Democrat Party,” Andrews added. “We are still a republic, but moves like this fracture that foundation, which ultimately is the point of all this.”
According to ABC News, House Republican leader Billy Bob Faulkingham noted that “bipartisan opposition” exists to Bellows’ “extreme decision.”
“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,” he added.
ABC also noted that Maine’s U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said a verdict on Trump should be rendered by voters at the ballot box.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, also said, “Until (Trump) is found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot,” ABC reported.
As the Tampa Free Press has reported, Trump has never been charged with participating in an insurrection for his actions before or during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S Capitol.
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