Greene found eligible to run for reelection
ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger accepted a judge’s findings Friday and said U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is qualified to run for reelection.
Georgia Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot issued a decision hours earlier that Green was eligible to run, finding the voters hadn’t produced sufficient evidence to back their claims. After Raffensperger adopted the judge’s decision, the group that filed the complaint on behalf of the voters vowed to appeal.
Beaudrot last month held a hearing on the matter and found that Greene was eligible. He then sent his findings to Raffensperger.
Greene has won Trump’s endorsement for her reelection bid while continuing to spread unproven claims about the 2020 election being “stolen.” Raffensperger, meanwhile, has consistently defended the integrity of the election in Georgia, but is facing a tough primary challenge from Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Jody Hice.
Greene applauded Beaudrot’s finding and called the challenge to her eligibility an “unprecedented attack on free speech, on our elections, and on you, the voter.”
Raffensperger wrote in his “final decision” that typical challenges to a candidate’s eligibility have to do with questions about residency or whether they have paid their taxes. Such challenges are allowed under a procedure outlined in Georgia law.
“In this case, Challengers assert that Representative Greene’s political statements and actions disqualify her from office,” Raffensperger’s decision said. “That is rightfully a question for the voters of Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.”
The challenge to Greene’s eligibility was filed by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group, on behalf of five voters who allege the GOP congresswoman played a significant role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot that disrupted Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. That puts her in violation of a seldom-invoked part of the Fourteenth Amendment having to do with insurrection and makes her ineligible to run for reelection, they argued.
Beaudrot’s decision “gives a pass to political violence as a tool for disrupting and overturning free and fair elections,” Free Speech for People said in a statement.
The group said it sent a letter Friday to Raffensperger outlining its arguments and urging him to reject the judge’s findings. It has 10 days to make their planned appeal of his decision in Fulton County Superior Court.
During the recent hearing, Greene repeated the unfounded claim that widespread fraud led to Trump’s loss in the 2020 election. She said she didn’t recall various incendiary statements and social media posts attributed to her, and denied ever supporting violence.
Greene acknowledged encouraging a rally to support Trump, but she said she wasn’t aware of plans to storm the Capitol or disrupt the electoral count using violence. Greene said she feared for her safety during the riot and used social media posts to encourage people to be safe and stay calm.
James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, argued his client engaged in protected political speech and was, herself, a victim of the attack on the Capitol, not a participant.