WHEREAS The Freedom of Association is commonly understood to include the individual’s right to form and join groups and organizations of religious, political, and social nature without harmful intent; and

 

WHEREAS The Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously in NAACP V Alabama (1958) that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees individuals the right to join such political parties, clubs, and other organizations; and

 

WHEREAS Justice John Marshall Harlan II opined, “It is beyond debate that freedom to engage in association for the advancement of beliefs and ideas is an inseparable aspect of the ‘liberty’ assured by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which embraces freedom of speech,” linking the right of peaceful assembly and the freedom of speech to the right to due process under the law; and

 

WHEREAS Republican Primary Voters of the State of Georgia utilize the Republican Primary Process to determine for themselves who is or isn’t worthy of earning the Republican Nomination; and

 

WHEREAS The Georgia Republican Party Executive Committee resolved to exclude, without due process according to the State Party Rules, a Republican from qualifying as a Republican candidate in the State of Georgia; and

 

WHEREAS The Catoosa County Republican Party Executive Committee resolved to exclude, without due process according to the State Party Rules, a Republican from qualifying as a Republican candidate in the State of Georgia; and

 

WHEREAS The Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) 21-2-153(b)4 states that “no person shall be prohibited from qualifying for such office if he or she,” according to Party Rules, “...affirms his or her allegiance to his or her party by signing the following oath: "I do hereby swear or affirm my allegiance to the (name of party) Party;” and

 

WHEREAS The Georgia Republican Party Rule 1.1 states “All electors who are in accord with the principles of the Republican Party, believe in its declaration of policy and are in agreement with its aims and purposes may participate as members of the Georgia Republican Party, Inc. in its conventions or precinct caucuses,” but makes no mention of Primary Elections; and

 

WHEREAS The Georgia Republican Party Platform states, “We believe that the rights of freedom of religion and freedom of association, recognized by the First Amendment, must be vigilantly defended;” and

 

WHEREAS The Rules of the Georgia Republican Party provides neither an appropriate method of banishment from the ballot, nor a clear definition of the “aims and purposes” of the Republican Party;

 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the delegates of the Clayton County Republican Convention consider null and void all efforts to ban any Republican Candidates from any Primary Ballot until such time as the State Committee or the Delegates of the State Convention can address the aforementioned lack of clarification in the Rules of the Georgia Republican Party. We further resolve to be the “Big Tent Party” by remaining determined to win over Democratic voters, infrequent voters, and disenfranchised Republican voters through the timelessness of our founding conservative values.

 

Adopted March 22, 2025