A group of 82 New Hampshire lawmakers and political leaders is calling on Republican Secretary of State David Scanlan to reject the "conspiracy" and "fraud against the will of the people" in "weaponizing" the 14th Amendment against former President Donald Trump.
"President Donald J. Trump is once again at the forefront of political attacks, this time by those who are attempting to disqualify the former President from appearing on New Hampshire's primary ballot by weaponizing Section III of the 14th Amendment against him," the letter to Scanlon from GOP State Senate President Jeb Bradley and State House Speaker House Sherman Packard, and signed by 80 others, began.
"Since 1920, New Hampshire has been a state that prides itself on being the First-in-the-Nation to hold their primary elections and setting the stage for the rest of the country. But that status is now in jeopardy because of an absurd conspiracy theory to deny President Trump, the current front-runner in New Hampshire, from being on the ballot."
Anti-Trump operatives in the state have been talking about blocking Trump from appearing on either the primary ballot or participating in the general election.
"There is no legal basis for these claims to hold up in any legitimate court of law," the letter continued. "The opinions of those perpetuating this fraud against the will of the people are nothing more than a blatant attempt to affront democracy and disenfranchise all voters and the former President.
"These individuals who are seeking to deny voters access to support their candidate of choice are nothing more than political pawns of the left doing their bidding, which is disappointing since the Democrat Party has continually tried to strip New Hampshire of its First-in-the-Nation status."
New Hampshire GOP Chairman Chris Ager has issued a vow that "the Republican Party will fight to make sure that candidates are not denied access to the ballot," but now the lawmakers are making a stand, the letter continued.
"It is now up to the patriots in the New Hampshire legislature to stand with the chairman, ensure President Trump is on the ballot, and set a date so Granite Staters can continue to be the First in the Nation when it comes to having their voices heard," it read.
It is an issue that could disenfranchise voters, a common Democrat refrain when Republicans in key battleground states sought to pass election integrity measures after the contested 2020 presidential election.
"You have also publicly remarked that you are 'not seeking to remove any names from the presidential primary ballot,'" the letter to Scanlon concluded. "We agree wholeheartedly and we should continue to empower voters, not disenfranchise them.
"The patriots in New Hampshire took a stand in 1776 when they were the first state to declare independence from Great Britain. Now it is time for the great leaders of the Granite State to ensure that their constituents have access to a free and fair primary election by standing against the misinterpretation and politicization of our Constitution."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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