Greene helped organize the Jan. 6th insurrection, they argue, therefore Greene is disqualified and should not appear on the ballot.
But if I were the judge in this case, I’d be very skeptical of the theory. A state administrative law tribunal is an ill-equipped and inappropriate venue for determining whether someone engaged in insurrection against the United States—just as it was, ten years ago, for determining whether someone was born in the United States or Kenya. Being asked to disqualify someone who is 20 years old from appearing on the presidential ballot is one thing. Age is relatively simple to determine, birth certificates and other evidence are widely available, and there is an objective standard to apply. Determining whether someone has committed a serious federal crime is not so simple. That’s one of the reasons we place those decisions in the hands of a jury, rather than any one person.
Greene has not been charged, indicted, or convicted of insurrection. Nor has the House of Representatives, which has the sole power under the Constitution to decide the qualifications of its own members, decided that Greene is disqualified because she is an insurrectionist. In the face of this, asking a single judge to decide that Greene is disqualified, and to then refer that decision to a partisan elected official to remove her name from the ballot, flies in the face of due process norms.
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