Letters to Georgia SoS, Democratic Party Chair

Following are two letters. The first was sent to Karen C. Handel, Georgia Secretary of State, and the second was sent to Jane V. Kidd, Chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party.

Secretary Handel,

According to Title 21, Chapter 2, Article 1 of the Georgia Code:

"(a) Every candidate for federal and state office who is certified by the state executive committee of a political party or who files a notice of candidacy shall meet the constitutional and statutory qualifications for holding the office being sought."
- § 21-2-5. Qualifications of candidates for federal and state office; determination of qualifications

I'm wondering how this statute is enforced, particularly in regards to Presidential candidates.

Here are my questions:

1) If each candidate "shall" meet the Constitutional requirements, how does the Secretary of State's office verify that the political parties have done their due diligence, an that the candidates "do" meet those requirements?

2) If it is not the Secretary of State's duty to validate this information (as i've heard from so many other states), what restraints are placed upon the parties to ensure that they fulfill their legal obligation to the state?

The language in the Georgia Code seems to me to be unique. It explicitly states that the candidates "shall" meet the constitutional requirements for the office they seek. Overall, I guess my question is this:

3) Who enforces this law, and what process do they go through to ensure a Presidential candidate meets the Constitutional requirements for office?

I sincerely thank you for help in this matter, and wish you a happy holiday season...

Your Fellow Citizen,


Justin W. Riggs

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(my personal information)

Jane V. Kidd
Secretary of State
1100 Spring St., Suite 408Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone: 678-278-2008janekidd@georgiademocrat.org

Ms. Kidd,

According to Title 21, Chapter 2, Article 1 of the Georgia Code:

"(a) Every candidate for federal and state office who is certified by the state executive committee of a political party or who files a notice of candidacy shall meet the constitutional and statutory qualifications for holding the office being sought."
- § 21-2-5. Qualifications of candidates for federal and state
office; determination of qualifications

According to my reading of this law, it is the political party that is legally responsible for certifying their Presidential candidate as eligible to hold office. At this time, I'm requesting that you provide:

1) The name or names of those legally responsible for certifying your 2008 Presidential candidate's eligibility.

2) A detailed chronology of the certification process, including the date and time of the decision to certify your Presidential candidate as qualified.

3) Copies of all documents provided to you by the candidate or any other source that were used in determining the candidates qualifications.

If for any reason you cannot provide some or all of the information I have requested, please provide specific and detailed reasoning as to why that information was not or may not be released to the public.

I respectfully request that a written response be sent to this email address (juriggs@yahoo.com) no later than 5:00 pm, Friday December the 5th, and thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Your Fellow Citizen,

Justin W. Riggs