Georgia State Trial Court Agrees with Secretary of State that Marjorie Taylor Greene Should be on Ballot

Posted on by July 26, 2022
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On July 26, a Georgia state trial court in Atlanta agreed with the Secretary of State, who had earlier ruled that Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene did not do anything on January 6, 2021, to invoke the “insurrection” clause of the 14th Amendment. See this story.

Meanwhile, the Eleventh Circuit will eventually release a ruling on whether it was even proper for Georgia officials to decide the issue. Greene had filed a federal case to argue that states cannot adjudicate the qualifications of candidates for Congress. She lost in U.S. District Court but then she appealed.

Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.

Sixteen U.S. Senators Introduce S.4573, Amendments to the Electoral Count Act

Posted on by July 26, 2022
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On July 20, sixteen U.S. Senators introduced S.4573, the bill to amend the Electoral Count Act of 1887. The lead sponsor is Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine). Here is the text. It reforms the procedures by which Congress counts the electoral vote in early January of years following presidential elections. Thanks to DemocracyDocket for the text.

U.S. District Court Issues a Temporary Restraining Order Against Enforcement of North Carolina Law that Bans Untrue Political Ads

Posted on by July 25, 2022
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On July 25, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles, an Obama appointee, issued a Temporary Restraining Order against enforcement of North Carolina statute 163-274(a)(9), a law passed in 1931 that makes it illegal for anyone to issue a campaign ad with any untrue statement. Here is the Complaint in Grimmett v Circosta, m.d., 1:22cv-568, which was filed on July 21, 2022.

The lead plaintiff is an individual who was involved with the production of an ad in 2020 run by the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Josh Stein, who won his election. The Josh Stein for Attorney General Campaign is another co-plaintiff. Stein charged that his Republican opponent, a District Attorney, is about to prosecute him over one line in a Stein ad that charged his Republican opponent with letting a backlog of rape text kits accumulate. The Republican candidate said that was false because he was not responsible in his county for clearing the backlog.

According to the Complaint, that 1931 law had never before been used. The Complaint says the law violates the First Amendment.

New Jersey State Court Considers Whether Some Local Partisan Candidates Should Have been on Primary Ballot, Even Though They Already Won Their Primary

Posted on by July 25, 2022
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A New Jersey state court will decide whether two particular candidates should or should not have been on the 2022 primary ballot, even though the primary was held June 7 and the candidates won their primary. The candidates include a Democrat running for Union County Commissioner, and a pair of Republicans running for Howell Township Council. See this story.