ACLJ Represents West Virginia Republican Party To Intervene Against Third Lawsuit Seeking To Bar President Trump From the Ballot

The battle to defend voting rights continues. As we announced two weeks ago, we represent the Colorado Republican Committee in its fight to maintain the rights of citizens to vote for President Trump if they so choose. While the fight in Colorado continues to develop rapidly, we entered the fray in another state as well. As we shared with you last week, we also have filed on behalf of the Oklahoma Republican Party as it participates in the legal battles over the 14th Amendment. We are now engaging in a third state and represent the West Virginia Republican Party as it fights for ballot access in West Virginia. Yesterday afternoon, we filed a motion to intervene and complaint in federal court so that the West Virginia Republican Party can be heard in this case.

This lawsuit was filed by the same Texas resident and self-declared presidential candidate who is suing in Oklahoma. This lawsuit, like the others, was brought against two parties: President Trump himself and the West Virginia Secretary of State. But again, an organization critical to this lawsuit was left out. The West Virginia Republican Party has a say in who the Republican nominees are going to be in the presidential election. We previously explained why we are engaging in these lawsuits:

With our constitutional order and right to vote for the candidates of our choice on the line, we are representing the . . . Republican Party [of various states], which seeks to preserve its right, and that of its members, to participate freely in the election process. This case represents an unprecedented assault on Americans’ constitutional right to vote, and we are taking urgent legal action to fight back. We just filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit on the Republican Party’s behalf. The . . . Republican Party is seeking to join in this lawsuit and help defend the Constitution and the rule of law from these novel attacks on ballot access and the right to vote that ultimately amount to a dangerous attempt at election interference.

More and more people have recognized the dangers of these novel 14th Amendment theories being used to attempt to disenfranchise the voters. For example, former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey penned an article explaining why attempts to disqualify President Trump are “seriously misplaced.” He thoroughly explained that the disqualification provision does not apply to President Trump because former Presidents are not on the list of people who may be disqualified by the 14th Amendment in the first place. When we announced our Colorado lawsuit, we shared this reason for rejecting the novel claims raised there, as well as some of the other reasons for rejecting these kinds of claims.

The Constitution protects the right of the voters to engage politically and to make their own electoral choices. As the Supreme Court explained, “The exclusion of candidates also burdens voters’ freedom of association, because an election campaign is an effective platform for the expression of views on the issues of the day, and a candidate serves as a rallying point for likeminded citizens.”

The First Amendment right of a party to designate its candidates for its members in accordance with its own rules, and ultimately the voters’ right to choose, is under assault. Join us. The right to vote must not be defeated by these baseless legal challenges. The Left is bringing these attacks in more and more states every day. We need your ongoing support as we engage in these legal battles.