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Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows<\/strong> announced<\/a> Friday that she will be appealing a lower court ruling that placed on hold her decision to keep former President Donald Trump<\/strong> off the state\u2019s GOP primary ballot.<\/p>\n In late December, Bellows, who is her state\u2019s top election official, ruled<\/a> that the 14th Amendment\u2019s \u201cinsurrection clause\u201d bars Trump from seeking re-election, citing his central role in fomenting the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court recently agreed to review a similar ruling in Colorado, and is slated to hear oral arguments on the question on February 8.<\/p>\n \u201cLike many Americans, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Colorado case that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions in this case,\u201d Bellows said in a statement. \u201cThis appeal ensures that Maine\u2019s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.\u201d<\/p>\n Bellows\u2019 announcement comes after a state Superior Court judge on Wednesday ruled<\/a> that Bellows\u2019 decision would be put on hold until the Supreme Court rules on the issue, arguing that \u201cmany of the issues presented in this case are likely to be resolved, narrowed, or rendered moot by the Supreme Court\u2019s decision.\u201d Without ruling on the merits of Bellows\u2019 decision, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy<\/strong> ruled that the Secretary of State would have to issue a new ruling after the country\u2019s highest court comes down on the issue.<\/p>\n In her statement, Bellows argued that \u201cMaine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.\u201d But in a ruling released late Friday<\/a>, Valerie Stanfill<\/strong>, the court\u2019s chief justice, wrote that the Superior Court\u2019s order was \u201cgenerally not appealable,\u201d and gave Bellows a deadline of Tuesday to explain why the court shouldn\u2019t dismiss her appeal.<\/p>\n Maine is just one of at least 35 states legally challenging Trump\u2019s eligibility on primary ballots; lawsuits are still ongoing in many states. The former president\u2019s legal team released its opening brief<\/a> in the Supreme Court case on Thursday, arguing that the legal challenges \u201cpromise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots.” Trump called on the court to \u201cput a swift and decisive end” to the challenges.<\/p>\n With Maine and Colorado GOP voters set to go to the polls on March 5, when 15 states will hold \u201cSuper Tuesday\u201d nominating contests, the timeline on these cases is tight. It\u2019s unclear whether the Supreme Court will even be able to rule on the issue by that primary date. Nicholas Jacobs<\/strong>, an assistant professor of government at Maine\u2019s Colby College, told<\/a> The New York Times<\/em> Friday that \u201cthe only thing we can be sure of is that, come Super Tuesday, Mainers are going to be even more confused about whether their vote counts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n