What is the Insurrection Clause in the U.S. Constitution? Trump appeals Maine's ruling of his removal from ballot under 14th Amendment Section 3

It’s been a rough December for former president Donald Trump, who has recently been kicked off the primary ballots in Maine and Colorado. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was invoked in both states to kick the former president from the polls. This section is widely known as the United States Constitution’s insurrection clause.

Under this clause, former government-elected representatives who were engaged in, or given aid to, an insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution are barred from holding any office in the federal or state governments. On Tuesday, January 2, Donald Trump appealed the Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to leave him out of the ballot.

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The 14th Amendment continues to haunt Donald Trump

Right after the Colorado Supreme Court’s narrow majority decision to oust former United States president and current GOP 2024 presidential primary frontrunner Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot, Maine immediately followed suit. Instead of the court, this time, it was Maine’s Democrat secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, who took the decision on Thursday, December 28, 2023.

With this decision, Bellows made history as the first and, currently, the only Secretary of State to use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution to bar a candidate from running for president. The decision was taken based on Donald Trump’s alleged involvement in the capitol attacks that took place almost three years ago on January 6, 2021.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution has taken the limelight ever since Colorado and, later, Maine ousted Donald Trump from their respective ballots.

According to the official constitution website, the clause states that a person who cannot be a “Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military,” in the federal or state governments,

"Who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

It further states:

"But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

On Tuesday, the former president appealed the Secretary of State’s decision at the state’s superior court. According to ABC News, the GOP frontrunner filed the appeal at the Kennebec Court Superior Court. The court filing alleged that Bellows was the result of a “process infected by bias and pervasive lack of due process.”

The appeal alleged that Congress was required to invoke the Amendment and that an election administrator or individual court could not determine it. It further appealed that the 14th Amendment does not apply to the president’s office and also claimed that the First Amendment protected the former president’s alleged incitement speech. Trump campaign advisor, Steven Cheung, said:

"Maine's Secretary of State went outside of her authority, completely ignoring the Constitution when she summarily decided to remove President Trump's name from the ballot, interfere in the election, and disenfranchise the voters of her state."

Shenna Bellows has always been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and the January 6 insurrection. She has previously referred to it on X (formerly Twitter) as a "violent insurrection" and an "unlawful attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair election".

She also stated that Trump "should have been impeached" and that history wouldn't treat kindly the ones who voted against it. Bellows stated in her Trump disqualification ruling:

"My decision is based exclusively on the record before me, and it has been in no way influenced by my political affiliation or personal views about the events of January 6, 2021,"

Regarding the ruling being put on hold due to the appeal, Shenna Bellows told the Associated Press:

"This is part of the process. I have confidence in my decision and confidence in the rule of law."

She added:

"This is Maine’s process and it’s really important that first and foremost every single one of us who serves in government uphold the Constitution and the laws of the state,"

Maine is all set to hold the state's Republican primary elections on March 5, 2024. Previously, the Colorado Supreme Court had barred the former president from its ballot, invoking the same insurrection clause with a narrow yet shocking 4–3 majority, all from seven Democrat-appointed justices.

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