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Government Watchdogs Urge Secretaries of State To Abide by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and Bar Insurrectionists From the Ballot

In letters sent to election officials in all fifty states, Free Speech For People alerts election officials to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution disqualifying insurrectionists such as former President Donald Trump from running for future public office.

WASHINGTON

Election officials in all fifty states received notice today that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitutions bars formally elected officials who engaged in an insurrection from again holding public office. The letters were prepared and sent by the non-partisan, non-profit legal advocacy group, Free Speech For People as part of its new 14point3 campaign. The letters urge state election officials to abide by the U.S. Constitution and bar formerly elected officials such as former President Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot for any future public office.

Initially enacted in the wake of the Civil War, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies from public office any individual who has taken an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then engages in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or gives aid or comfort to those who have. President Trump's incitement of the violent insurrection on January 6th, which claimed the lives of five people and injured more than 140 officers, disqualifies him from holding future public office under this constitutional provision. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and other elected officials who gave aid or comfort to the insurrectionists would also be disqualified.

"Secretaries of State have a duty to ensure that candidates who seek to appear on their state ballots meet the constitutional qualifications for serving in public office," says Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Campaign Director for Free Speech For People, "We are urging them to make clear that insurrectionists such as President Trump are barred from ever again holding public office, as is required under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution."

"The U.S. Constitution establishes the qualifications for serving as President of the United States," says Ben Clements, Board Chair and Senior Legal Advisor for Free Speech For People. "If you want to be elected President, you have to be 35 years old, you have to be a natural-born citizen, and you cannot take an oath of office and then turn around and incite an insurrection. We are asking state election officials to do their job and follow the mandate of the Constitution."

"Our nation is at a critical crossroads," says John Bonifaz, President of Free Speech For People. "Formerly elected officials who engaged in the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, or who gave aid or comfort to the insurrectionists must be held accountable, and if they seek to appear on the ballot again for any public office, Secretaries of State and chief election officials must be clear: The Constitution bars it."

Free Speech For People is a national non-partisan non-profit organization founded on the day of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that works to defend our democracy and our Constitution.