By Katherine Zehnder
Carolina Journal
- “This Democratic Party is off the rails in leftist land that we have never seen. They are so unhinged and about trying to maintain power that they are trying to predetermine the outcome of the election before the first vote is cast,” N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore.
State House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, joined an amicus brief Thursday filed at the US Supreme Court. Moore, Berger, the Arizona legislature, and attorneys general for 25 other states aim to keep Donald Trump on the presidential election ballot.
The Attorneys General from Indiana and West Virginia filed the brief ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Feb. 8. This follows recent attempts in North Carolina as well as Maine and Colorado to remove Trump from the primary ballot.
In response to these attempts, US Senator Tom Tillis, R-North Carolina, announced on Tuesday that he will soon be introducing the Constitutional Election Integrity Act, to prevent just this kind of thing from happening again.
In late December a petition was filed by a Stokes County resident to keep Trump off the primary ballot. The petition cited the 14th Amendment and “alleged inciting insurrection,” even though he has never been charged or convicted of insurrection.
“The State Board of Elections denied the petition, but not as full-throated as they should have,” Moore told Carolina Journal in an exclusive interview. “The NCGA stands united on this brief. We will not allow voters to be denied voting for Trump or anyone else. On behalf of a Republican majority of the House of Representatives, we believe that it is imperative that voters across the country have the right to vote for Trump, or whomever they want to vote for. At the end of the day, it is up to the voters. This one of the biggest examples of tyranny I have seen.”
In this state, Democrat voters only have the option of voting for President Biden in the primary.
“The Democratic Party objected to this, but the board of elections went along with it,” Moore added. “Election officials are unilaterally telling voters they don’t have the right to vote for Trump. While Trump is a victim, the biggest victims here are the voters.”
Trump seems to have majority support, not only in the state, but across the nation, Moore said.
“From poll numbers I have seen, the state is very supportive of President Trump. At the end of the day, it should be up to voters of every state to make that decision,” said Moore.
A decision from the Colorado Supreme Court to remove Trump from their state’s ballot is now before the US Supreme Court.
“Because this decision is from the highest tribunal in Colorado, it is important that the US Supreme Court settle this issue and settle it quickly. If several states remove candidates, they will arbitrarily determine the outcome of the election. This is unprecedented,” said Moore.
The amicus brief states several issues with the Colorado court decision, including allegations that it disregards congressional procedure, invites chaos into elections, misconstrues the Constitution, and eliminates voter choice.
“The case before the US Supreme Court, is asking the Court to strike down states acting in a rogue way. We have joined the brief because this area of law needs to settle quickly and uniformly across the country,” said Moore.
The brief states another problem with the Colorado court decision is that it “thrust courts into places where they don’t belong.”
“For any court to do this, including a federal court is a rogue court, by ruling someone ineligible to serve without any due process. This state court is getting involved in federal process and exceeding its constitutional authority,” said Moore.
Both the North Carolina petition and the Colorado court cite insurrection as the grounds for disqualification. However, Trump never has been charged with or convicted of insurrection. The brief asserts that the Colorado court’s definition of insurrection is “standardless and vague.”
“Congress has not enacted any enabling legislation that would apply here. Yet the Colorado court went ahead and acted on its own. That choice was wrong,” states the brief.
Moore says this case is important to the preservation of free and fair elections.
“Voters want to make sure their vote counts, without cheating or interference from outside governance,” he told Carolina Journal. “We want elections to be open and free, and free of fraud. When it comes to voting, when it comes to elections, it should be easy to vote but hard to cheat. This issue is about the very beginning before the ballots are printed and the first vote is cast.”
According to Moore, 2024 will be pivotal, particularly for the state’s Democrats.
“This Democratic Party is off the rails in leftist land that we have never seen. They are so unhinged and about trying to maintain power that they are trying to predetermine the outcome of the election before the first vote is cast,” said Moore. “They are denying their own party’s voters the opportunity to vote for anyone other than Joe Biden. I hope it is a wake-up call for a lot of Democrats. The Republican Party is about free and fair elections and allowing the voters to choose. They still have time to change parties before the election.”
Keeping a candidate off a ballot is the most undemocractic thing I can imagine.
Except he violated the 14th amendment by partaking in an insurrection. The consequence for that is ineligibility to hold office. And before you whine “it wasn’t an insurrection blah blah blah” all the judges in Colorado, even the Republicans, agreed his actions were an act of insurrection. I suppose you’re not a law & order Republican…or a family values Republican since Trump was also found criminally liable for sexual abuse.
I agree. Leave him on the ballot so we can have a easy win