Former President Donald Trump‘s name will appear on early voting ballots for Maine residents choosing to participate despite Secretary of State Shenna Bellows disqualifying the former president from the ballot under the 14th Amendment.
Early voting in the state began on Monday, one month before Super Tuesday on March 5. Republicans and Democrats will be holding presidential primaries, while third-party groups like the Green Independent, Libertarian, and No Labels parties will not be participating, the Maine Secretary of State’s Office detailed in a release.
Sample ballots provided in the secretary of state’s release show that Trump is an option for voters, as well as Ryan Binkley, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. DeSantis and Ramaswamy dropped out of the 2024 presidential race following their performances in the Iowa caucuses, but their names will still be on the ballot in Maine.
Bellows, a Democrat, announced in December that Trump did not meet the qualifications to appear on the primary ballot in the state under a section of the 14th Amendment disqualifying those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office. Her decision to remove Trump came days after the Colorado Supreme Court removed Trump from the state’s ballot.
However, that decision is now on pause as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments over the Colorado ruling this week. The Maine Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the issue in late January, deferring to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If the high court rules in favor of removing Trump from the ballot, this could affect early voting ballots in Maine. The state’s “no-excuse absentee voting” period, including in-person absentee voting at town and city halls, continues through Feb. 29.
“Should any candidates be found, at this point, to be disqualified from the ballot, or pass away, the Department would notify municipal clerks, and notice would be sent with absentee ballots, posted at voting sites, and posted on the Secretary’s website,” the secretary of state’s office said.
In Maine, absentee ballots are not counted until after 8 p.m. on Election Day, similar to all other ballots.
Although the state calls for the use of ranked choice voting, Maine GOP Chairman Joel Stetkis told party members on Friday that the GOP will not use ranked choice voting and will instead only count the votes marked in the first column on the ballot, according to Spectrum News.
“If Mainers are upset about Shenna Bellows’ anti-democratic decision to toss a presidential candidate off the ballot, they can send a message by voting early in-person in the presidential primary,” Stetkis said in a statement via Spectrum News. “All candidates — repeat all candidates, including President Trump — will be on the ballot Feb. 5 when early in-person voting begins.”
Maine Republicans subtly called attention to Trump’s name on the ballot in a post on X.
“We need YOU to go vote!! ALL Presidential primary candidates are on the ballot. DON’T LET SHENNA BELLOWS AND JOE BIDEN WIN!” the party said.
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Unenrolled Maine voters can choose to vote in the Democratic or Republican primaries without having to enroll as a party member. However, voters who belong to third parties are not eligible to vote in the primary. Enrollment data show 36% of Mainers are Democrats, 29.5% are Republican, and 28.8% are unenrolled, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Maine is one of 15 states holding their primary on Super Tuesday. Trump leads Haley in the primaries, securing victories in Iowa and New Hampshire in January. The next Republican primary is in Nevada on Tuesday, but Trump will not appear on the ballot. Haley will be the sole major GOP option for voters.
