A report from The New York Times quoted Democratic Party lawmakers, voters and political experts who, despite being critical toward former President Trump, are “conflicted” about the ballot bans against him in Colorado and Maine, with some warning they could “backfire.”

The report, written by Jack Healy, Anna Betts, Mike Baker and Jill Cowan, started with the perspective of Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, who the paper noted is “troubled by the threat former President Donald J. Trump poses to democracy and fears the prospect of his return to power.” 

Despite these fears, the Democratic Party lawmaker “also worries that recent decisions in Maine and Colorado to bar Mr. Trump from presidential primary ballots there could backfire, further eroding Americans’ fraying faith in U.S. elections,” the Times reported.