The Maine ruling will not take effect until the potentially lengthy legal appeals process is finished. The decision will now be reviewed by state courts and could ultimately go to the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the Colorado Republican Party appealed a similar ruling in that state, setting the stage for a legal battle that could also wind up in the Supreme Court. Until the matter is legally resolved, Mr Trump will remain on the state's ballot.

According to Ms Bellows, a Supreme Court decision in the Colorado case could also be "determinative" in Maine.

Her decision, however, has come under fierce criticism from both the Trump campaign and from other Republicans, including some of the former president's rivals in the party.

"It opens up Pandora's box," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, another contender for the Republican nomination said on Fox News after the Maine decision was announced. "Can you have a Republican secretary of state disqualify Biden from the ballot?"

Joe Moreno, a former federal prosecutor, told the BBC that it was "breathtakingly arrogant" for Mrs Bellows to "unilaterally" decide Mr Trump committed insurrection, despite the lack of a criminal conviction.

"There's no way this holds up under any judicial scrutiny," he added.

BBC News pressed Ms Bellows on her decision and its effect on voters in the state who intended to cast their ballot for Mr Trump.

The Maine Secretary of State maintained, however, that she was "duty bound" to remove the former president from the ballot based on the evidence presented to her.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Bernd Debusmann Jr | BBC News, Washington

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