Challengers Renew Attempt to Boot Marjorie Taylor Greene From the Ballot
A group of voters in GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Northwest Georgia district has renewed its challenge of her candidacy. The state’s primary elections are set for May 24th, with early voting underway now. Greene’s name appears on ballots in her district. The general election is scheduled for November 8th.
Free Speech for People, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization representing the challengers, filed an appeal with the Fulton County Superior Court Monday. The voters continue to claim Greene should be ineligible under the 14th Amendment because they say she was involved with the January 6th Capitol riot in Washington, which they contend amounted to “a rebellion against the United States”.
Judge Charles Beaudrot and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger were not convinced by their arguments. Beaudrot ruled that the challengers didn’t provide sufficient evidence that Greene had any role in the attacks, and Raffensperger, who manages elections in the state, signed off on the opinion. But Free Speech For People argues that the court made several errors in the case.
⛔ ICYMI:
A group of Georgia voters are appealing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s decision to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene on the ballot as a candidate for the US House of Reps.The Constitution is clear: insurrectionists do not belong in office!https://t.co/Rvky2mCZiC
— FreeSpeechForPeople (@FSFP) May 17, 2022
When a candidate’s eligibility is challenged in Georgia, it’s usually a matter regarding whether the candidate meets the age or residency requirements to run, and the candidate must simply provide their birth certificate or proof of residency. Since Greene’s case is more complicated, the court ruled that the burden of proof should be on the challengers. “In the interests of justice, Rep. Greene should not be required to ‘prove a negative’ and affirmatively establish she did not engage in an insurrection,” Beaudrot’s decision reads.
Short but powerful video on why one Georgia voter decided to challenge Marjorie Taylor Greene's eligibility for office under the Constitution's Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause https://t.co/j9MjkFOdnL
— Ron Fein (@ronfein) May 11, 2022
That was the court’s mistake, the challengers argued, because the evidence necessary to determine Greene’s eligibility was in her control, and the judge blocked their request for discovery. Free Speech For People requested documents, including Greene’s communications with people under investigation for planning the January 6th riots, but they were denied on the grounds that it was “impracticable and unrealistic to require Respondent to deliver a significant volume of material prior to the scheduled hearing date.”
🚨JUST IN:
We've filed, on behalf of Georgia voters challenging MTG's eligibility, an appeal before the Fulton County Superior Court of the GA Secretary of State’s decision to keep the insurrectionist lawmaker on the ballot.More on this development here: https://t.co/MC3ljygujJ pic.twitter.com/vSGfvnq7xW
— FreeSpeechForPeople (@FSFP) May 16, 2022
Read more at The Georgia Recorder.
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