Voters challenge Trump supporter’s eligibility to run
ATLANTA — A group of Georgia voters is challenging Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s eligibility to run for re-election, saying she helped facilitate the riot that disrupted Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
The challenge filed Thursday with the Georgia secretary of state’s office says it’s being brought by a group of registered voters in Greene’s congressional district. It alleges that Greene, a Republican, is ineligible under the 14th Amendment, saying that “before, on, and after January 6, 2021, Greene voluntarily aided and engaged in an insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power, disqualifying her from serving as a Member of Congress.”
The 14th Amendment says no one can serve in Congress “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.” Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it was meant in part to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress.
Greene forcefully rejected the challenge in an emailed statement, saying she’s being targeted because she’s “effective and will not bow to the DC machine.”
“I’ve never encouraged political violence and never will,” she said.
The voters are represented by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group, which has filed a similar challenge against Rep. Madison Cawthorn in North Carolina that has been blocked by a federal judge.
But a federal appeals court last week opened up the possibility for voters challenging Cawthorn’s candidacy to participate in a lawsuit the Republican congressman filed against state election officials and make their own legal arguments about why his Jan. 6 activities should be scrutinized.
Georgia law says any voter who is eligible to vote for a candidate may challenge that candidate’s qualifications by filing a written complaint within two weeks after the deadline for qualifying, which was March 11. The secretary of state must then notify the candidate of the challenge and request a hearing before an administrative law judge. After holding a hearing, the judge presents findings to the secretary of state, who then must determine whether the candidate is qualified.
Free Speech for People said in a news release that the challengers intend to issue subpoenas to Greene and take her deposition as part of the process.