Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows introduced Friday that she will likely be interesting a decrease courtroom ruling that positioned on maintain her determination to maintain former President Donald Trump off the state’s GOP major poll.

In late December, Bellows, who’s her state’s high election official, dominated that the 14th Modification’s “rebellion clause” bars Trump from in search of re-election, citing his central function in fomenting the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court docket lately agreed to evaluation the same ruling in Colorado, and is slated to hear oral arguments on the query on February 8.

“Like many People, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court docket within the Colorado case that gives steerage as to the vital Fourteenth Modification questions on this case,” Bellows mentioned in an announcement. “This enchantment ensures that Maine’s highest courtroom has the chance to weigh in now, earlier than ballots are counted, selling belief in our free, protected and safe elections.”

Bellows’ announcement comes after a state Superior Court docket choose on Wednesday dominated that Bellows’ determination can be put on maintain till the Supreme Court docket guidelines on the difficulty, arguing that “most of the points offered on this case are doubtless to be resolved, narrowed, or rendered moot by the Supreme Court docket’s determination.” With out ruling on the deserves of Bellows’ determination, Superior Court docket Justice Michaela Murphy dominated that the Secretary of State would have to difficulty a brand new ruling after the nation’s highest courtroom comes down on the difficulty.

In her assertion, Bellows argued that “Maine legislation supplies the chance to search evaluation from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court docket.” However in a ruling launched late Friday, Valerie Stanfill, the courtroom’s chief justice, wrote that the Superior Court docket’s order was “usually not appealable,” and gave Bellows a deadline of Tuesday to clarify why the courtroom shouldn’t dismiss her enchantment.

Maine is only one of a minimum of 35 states legally difficult Trump’s eligibility on major ballots; lawsuits are nonetheless ongoing in lots of states. The previous president’s authorized crew launched its opening temporary within the Supreme Court docket case on Thursday, arguing that the authorized challenges “promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if different state courts and state officers comply with Colorado’s lead and exclude the doubtless Republican presidential nominee from their ballots.” Trump known as on the courtroom to “put a swift and decisive finish” to the challenges.

With Maine and Colorado GOP voters set to go to the polls on March 5, when 15 states will maintain “Tremendous Tuesday” nominating contests, the timeline on these instances is tight. It’s unclear whether or not the Supreme Court docket will even give you the chance to rule on the difficulty by that major date. Nicholas Jacobs, an assistant professor of presidency at Maine’s Colby Faculty, advised The New York Instances Friday that “the one factor we will be certain of is that, come Tremendous Tuesday, Mainers are going to be much more confused about whether or not their vote counts.”