Suppose Barack Obama decides to run for a third term as president. Could the Maine secretary of state refuse to place him on the ballot because Amendment 22, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

Suppose a 26-year-old native of Argentina decides to run for U.S. president. Could the Maine secretary of state refuse to place them on the ballot because Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states: “No Person except a natural born citizen … shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years.”

Suppose Jefferson Davis had attempted to run for president following the Civil War. Could the Maine secretary of state have refused to place him on the ballot because Amendment 14, Section 3 of U.S. Constitution prohibits those who engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution from holding public office?

I believe the answer to all three of these scenarios is an emphatic “Yes.”

None of these cases require prior action from a court. Therefore, I suggest the Maine secretary of state had the authority under the 14th Amendment to bar Donald Trump from the ballot. These provisions of the Constitution are self-enforcing and require no prior conviction or judicial action.

Timothy Schick
Cumberland Foreside

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