Some Democrats are using the anniversary of last year’s Capitol riot on January 6 to launch an effort to win the 2022 midterm elections by disqualifying Republicans who supported the effort to challenge the 2020 elections results as “insurrectionists.”
The effort, spearheaded by Russia hoaxer Marc Elias, aims to use a provision of the post-Civil War 14th Amendment that was crafted to disqualify former Confederates or anyone who “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from holding federal office. Elias has pushed the effort for months.
Elias is the main election lawyer for the Democratic Party nationwide and has worked closely with national party leaders.
Liberal groups — one even calling itself “Free Speech For People” — are following suit. In a press statement Wednesday, they said:
Nonprofit public interest organizations Free Speech For People and Our Revolution today announced a partnership to urge Secretaries of State to bar elected officials who engaged in the January 6, 2021 insurrection from appearing on any future ballot.
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“Secretaries of State have a duty to ensure that candidates who seek to appear on their state ballots meet the constitutional qualifications for serving in public office,” says Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Campaign Director for Free Speech For People, “Those who violated their oath of office by engaging in the violent January 6th insurrection do not meet these terms. Thus, we are urging election officials to make clear that insurrectionists such as President Trump and his Congressional allies are barred from ever again holding public office, as is required under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.”
“On many levels, our democracy is under threat, and grassroots activists are ready to stand up to defend it,” said Paco Fabián, Director of Campaigns for Our Revolution. “We need to demand that our election officers follow the rule of law and ensure that current and former elected officials who participated in the January 6th insurrection are barred from appearing on any future ballot.”
