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Government Must Follow the Rules, Too!

MFE, PIME, and Wisconsin Voter Alliance File an Amicus Curiae Brief with United States Supreme Court.


By Alex Weddon <Pen2@voxlx.com> | January 16th, 2024


Who gets to decide who can run for office? Is the government? In our constitutional republic held together by the United States Constitution, the government cannot decide who can or cannot be on the ballot. Is this an opinion? No; it’s the law of the land.


The Electors Clause of our constitution is clear: it says  that a state cannot exclude any qualified candidate from the residential ballot.  (Article II, section 1, clause 5 The Heritage Guide to the Constitution )The Constitution defines “qualified:”


No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.


Despite this, the Colorado Supreme Court and the Minnesota Supreme Court have taken matters into their own hands and prematurely disqualified someone who is constitutionally-qualified to be a presidential candidate. Additionally, Maine’s Secretary of State has unilaterally stricken a presidential candidate from the primary ballot.


We the People do not have a voice in Colorado. We the People do not have a voice in Minnesota. We the People do not have a voice in Maine.


After the general election, there is a chance that an individual who was voted into the office of President may not be able to serve. That is a check and balance provided for in the law of the land (the Constitution!).


To be sure, a President-elect, elected by the states’ presidential electors, may still not be qualified for President and this determination is a federal power only to be exercised by the federal government after the President-Elect is elected and before the commencement of the presidential four-year term.

 

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified. The Heritage Guide to the Constitution (Amendment 20, Section 3)


The checks and balances started by stating who can qualifiy to be on ballots. Further checks and balances allow for the Federal government to disqualify someone who has been elected. A third check and balance of our government is the power of the judicial branch. With that, the highest judicial branch in our country, the United States Supreme Court, will decide if these states and this secretary of state have the legal authority to remove a presidential candidate from the ballot.


Organizations interested in the outcome of this hearing may petition (ask) the court for permission to file what is called an amicus curiae (Latin word meaning “friend of the court”) giving the organization’s legal opinion about the case.


Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME, a 501(c)(4), Michigan Fair Elections Institute (MFE, a 501(c)(3), and Wisconsin Voter Alliance (a 501(c)(3), joined forces and filed an Amicus Curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court. These three organizations sing the same song: “We the People, not the government, get to decide who our candidates should be.”


On February 8, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on this case.


How much justice can this country afford?  We the People are reminded of the observation that disease unchecked is death. This republic of the people can't afford to let their government go unchecked. We the People run from unchecked disease of governmental overreach and towards election integrity.


Alex Weddon (LX) is a member of MI Fair Elections Communications Team and author of the  Close Calls on the Farm two book set. He is the former owner of a community newspaper in Michigan.


 

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Michigan Fair Elections. Artificial intelligence may have been used in the creation of this message or in the links referenced herein.

 

Join us for MFE's Coalition Task Force meeting Thursday,

January 18.


We are grateful for your support and look forward to seeing you at our Coalition Task Force meeting Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 12:00 PM. 





 

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MFE is a fiercely independent, tax-exempt 501(c)3 charity. We rely on voluntary contributions to fund our important, and sometimes costly, work. Legal claims are sometimes essential to improve the government and protect citizen rights, and they can be expensive.












Please support MFE's investigative research, honest journalism, and litigative actions to defend We the People's inalienable rights as protected in the U.S. Constitution. Donate today to assist our educational efforts to protect the principles of individual liberty in America.


 

WANTED: Poll Challengers and Election Inspectors


Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME) is renewing its participation in the statewide Election Protection team to make sure cities and towns across the Mitten State have an equal balance.


If you are interested in becoming an election inspector or poll challenger, fill out the form at: www.electionprotectionteam.com/MI. Once you sign up, you will be emailed with a list of poll challenger trainings.


All poll challengers must attend at least one training to be placed at a location in 2024.  To register, click on one of the Training Schedule links below. If you cannot attend one of these training sessions, more will be scheduled for February.

Virtual (Zoom) Training Schedule

•   Thursday, January 25th at 6:30pm (RSVP HERE)


 


Mark your calendars to attend Election Integrity Network's outstanding national working groups.

Consider also serving as liaison to report to MFE's Task Force Coalition on our Thursday meetings.

  • Citizen Research Project | Ned Jones, EIN

  • Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Election Technology | Jim Womack, NCEIT

  • Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Introduction to Election Integrity Infrastructure | Kerri Toloczko and Ned Jones, EIN

  • Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Vote By Mail / USPS | Ned Jones, EIN

  • Every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Legislative Development | Kathleen Harms, TN

  • Every Wednesday at 2 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Voter Roll Maintenance | Willard Helander, EIN

  • Every Wednesday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Vulnerable Voters | Kerri Toloczko, EIN

  • Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Every 1st Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Election Audits | Mike Raisch

  • Every 1st and 3rd Thursday at 4 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Building Local Task Forces | Joshua Taylor

  • Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

  • Media Training | Kerri Toloczko

  • Every 1st Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)

  • Register HERE

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