Thursday, Mississippi Republican Congressmen Trent Kelly (MS-01) and Michael Guest (MS-03) joined 106 Members of Congress in an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff in the case of State of Texas v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of Georgia, State of Michigan, and State of Wisconsin.
The amicus brief supports the position of the plaintiff that government officials in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin (Defendant states) acted in clear violation of Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States to revise certain processes in their respective states for the appointment of Presidential electors for the 2020 Presidential election and requests that the Supreme Court of the United States carefully review these concerns.
“I understand that many sacrifices and changes have been necessary to protect individuals during this pandemic. However, there is no situation, including a pandemic, that offers any elected officials a legitimate reason to disregard the Constitution of the United States or the constitutions of individual states,” Guest said. “The bill of complaint prepared by Attorney General Paxton calls attention to many irregularities that justify review by the Supreme Court, and my colleagues and I offer this amicus brief for its consideration. If the court finds that these elected officials overstepped their Constitutional duties and, therefore, tainted their states’ elections, we must focus on restoring the integrity of the electoral process that was found to be undermined.”
Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced her support of the Texas challenge earlier this week, and Mississippi has since sought a motion to intervene. Fitch was at the White House on Thursday to discuss the matter further with other state attorneys general and President Donald Trump.
Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America directs state legislatures to determine the manner in which Presidential electors are chosen. By subjecting the electorate to changes in the election process of the Presidential electors without the approval of their respective state’s legislatures, the Defendant states acted outside the scope of the Constitution, the Congressmen stated in a release.
The bill of complaint in the case, presented to the Supreme Court by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, accuses government officials in the Defendant States of “[u]sing the COVID-19 pandemic as justification… [to usurp] their legislatures’ authority and unconstitutionally [revise] their state’s election statutes.”
The House Members support this claim in their amicus brief, stating, “the unconstitutional irregularities involved in the 2020 presidential election cast doubt upon its outcome and the integrity of the American system of elections. Amici respectfully aver that the broad scope and impact of the various irregularities in the Defendant states necessitate careful and timely review by… [the Supreme] Court… As members of the federal legislature, these amici seek to protect the constitutional role of state legislatures in determining the manner by which states choose their electors.”
Read the full Bill of Complaint submitted to the Supreme Court
Read the Amicus brief presented by Members of Congress
