In a recent development, a judge in Maine has decided not to rule on the appeal of former President Donald Trump challenging his removal from Maine’s 2024 primary ballot. Justice Michaela Murphy of Kennebec County Superior Court cited a pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court related to Colorado’s ballot disqualification as a key factor in her decision.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows had disqualified Trump from the ballot, invoking the “insurrection clause” of the 14th Amendment. However, Justice Murphy emphasized that similar issues were under consideration in the Colorado case scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on February 8.

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s acceptance of the Colorado case changes everything about the order in which these issues should be decided, and by which court,” Justice Murphy stated in her 17-page opinion. She argued that awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision would promote consistency and avoid voter confusion in the lead-up to the primary election.

The judge ordered a remand of the case back to the secretary of state, urging Bellows to issue a revised ruling on Trump’s qualifications within 30 days of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Colorado appeal.

“While it is impossible to know what the Supreme Court will decide, hopefully it will at least clarify what role, if any, state decision-makers, including secretaries of state and state judicial officers, play in adjudicating claims of disqualification brought under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Justice Murphy wrote.

Trump had also appealed a similar decision in Colorado, where he was removed from the state’s Republican primary ballot. Lawsuits in other states, including Minnesota, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Oregon, were dismissed on procedural grounds. Currently, Colorado and Maine stand as the only states to have removed Trump from their 2024 primary ballots.

The legal battle over Trump’s eligibility continues, with the nation eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision, which may have far-reaching implications not only for Maine but for the broader landscape of electoral processes in the United States.