A group of leftist opponents to Rep. Madison Cawthorn filed a complaint with the NCSBE alleging that he “does not meet the federal constitutional requirements for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and is therefore ineligible to be a candidate for such office.”
They claimed he engaged in rebellion or insurrection against the United States on January 6, 2020, which disqualified him.
He is suing.
Obviously, they can’t be allowed to win that one or a huge number of conservative Republicans will be banned from running for office. It’s also ridiculous.
“Under North Carolina law, a Challenger can challenge someone’s qualifications to run for office based only on reasonable suspicion or belief that the facts stated disqualify the Candidate from running for office and then the Candidate bears the burden of proof to show that he is qualified to run for office. This burden-shifting turns our legal system on its head, requiring someone prove his ‘innocence’ when challenged,” his office said in the statement.
Rep. Cawthorn is suing on the basis that the Challenge Statute violates his First Amendment rights by triggering a government investigation based solely upon a Challenger’s “reasonable suspicion.” Itviolates his Due Process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment by shifting the burden of proof onto him to prove he didn’t engage in an “insurrection or rebellion.” It also overrides the U.S. House of Representative’s exclusive power to determine the qualifications for its Members, and violates federal law because the “disqualification clause.”
As our Constitution, Congress, and States’ Rights are frittered away by Democrats and allowed by weak Republicans, let’s hope we can hold on to these rights.
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