More Georgia Republicans back lawsuit to overturn election results. Who are they?
A handful of Georgia lawmakers are throwing their support behind a lawsuit that seeks to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s win in four key battleground states, according to an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court this week.
The motion was ultimately rejected by the nation’s highest court on Friday, slashing last-ditch efforts by President Donald Trump and his supporters of invalidating the election results.
The suit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday, had gained significant support from House Republicans who wanted the Supreme Court’s help in challenging the election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — all of which have certified Biden’s win over the president in the Nov. 3 election.
An additional 20 Republicans signed onto the effort Friday, bringing the total number of supporters to 126. The signees included seven Georgia representatives:
- Rep. Rick W. Allen of Georgia’s 12th Congressional District
- Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter of Georgia’s 1st Congressional District
- Rep. A. Drew Ferguson of Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District
- Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia’s 8th Congressional District
- Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia’s 9th Congressional District
- Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia’s 10th Congressional District
- Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia’s 11th Congressional District
The 17-page brief points to “unconstitutional irregularities involved in the 2020 presidential election” and accuses state leaders of trying to “usurp” its legislature’s rules for appointing electors.
“Due in large part to these usurpations, the election of 2020 has been riddled with an unprecedented number of serious allegations of fraud and irregularities,” the complaint reads. “National polls indicate a large number of Americans now have serious doubts about not just the outcome of the presidential contest, but also the future reliability of our election system itself.”
In the weeks since Biden’s win, Trump’s supporters have doubled down on unfounded claims of voter fraud, election mismanagement and even allegations of a massive coverup by Georgia’s governor and secretary of state, both of whom are Republicans.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office has denied these claims.
“It’s ironic that those asking the Governor to break the law by overturning the election now falsely accuse state leaders of covering up a crime,” a spokesperson for the governor ‘s office told Atlanta station WSB-TV. “As the Governor has said repeatedly, all evidence of election irregularities must be reported to the appropriate authorities and fully investigated. These baseless and senseless attacks do not help us get any closer to a resolution of these important issues.”
President Donald Trump filed a few lawsuits of his own, most of which have been met with “scathing language of repudiation” from judges due to lack of evidence, the Associated Press reported. Paxton’s complaint was the latest in a flurry of last-ditch efforts by Republicans to throw out a combined 62 Electoral College votes for Biden in hopes of swinging the election in Trump’s favor.
Georgia is pushing back on the effort, however.
A group of lawyers representing the Peach State submitted a filing this week discouraging the Supreme Court from hearing the Texas lawsuit, arguing that Texas has “no legal standing” to bring its case before the court, nor does it meet the standards required for the Supreme Court to mediate disputes between states, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.
The filing reads in part: “The novel and far-reaching claims that Texas asserts, and the breathtaking remedies it seeks, are impossible to ground in legal principles and unmanageable. This Court has never allowed one state to co-opt the legislative authority of another state, and there are no limiting or manageable principles to cabin that kind of overreach.”
The Supreme Court on Friday officially denied the Texas lawsuit due to “lack of standing” ans dismissed all other motions “as moot.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 6:31 PM.