“Maine Secretary of State Kicks Donald Trump Off the Primary Ballot!

On Friday, the Maine Secretary of State announced that President Donald Trump had been removed from the state’s presidential primary ballot, citing inadequate nominating signatures from the president’s campaign. This unprecedented move to remove a sitting president from a ballot makes Maine the very first state to do such a thing. While the press release from the Secretary of State’s office did not specify which petition signatures had been found to be inadequate, some of the concerns include improper signatures, discrepancies between the names of those who signed and the people they verified to be, and deficiencies in the content of the petition applications. In response to the news, the Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit with the Maine Supreme Court in an attempt to block the Secretary of State’s decision. They argue that the Secretary of State has acted beyond her authority, thus infringing on the rights of Maine Republicans who wish to have the opportunity to vote on the President. The case now moves to the Maine Supreme Court and the decision that the justices will ultimately make will have implications for the course of the election. If the President is kept on the ballot, Maine Republicans will have the option to cast a ballot for Trump in the primary. On the other hand, if Trump is removed from the ballot, his chances of re-election in Maine could be severely hindered, as Republicans in the state would then be deprived of their right to vote. Regardless of how the situation resolves itself, this has been an unprecedented move by Secretary of State Matt Dunlap in Maine. The action taken by the Secretary of State has real consequences for the 2020 election, and the consequences of the ultimate court decision will be felt by all.