Georgia leaders reject call for special session ahead of Senate runoff
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ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) — There is more pressure being applied on Governor Brian Kemp to call a special session of the Georgia General Assembly.
On Tuesday, a group of voters dropped off two bags of signed petitions at the Capitol demanding that state leaders address concerns of election fraud. Constitutional law attorney Page Pate said he believes the Governor’s hands are tied.
“In Georgia, the Governor has the right to call a special session,” Pate said. “In this situation, Governor Kemp has been clear that the legislature has absolutely no jurisdiction to undo the election or look into any allegations of fraud related to this election that would in any way change the results. The Governor said I’m not going to do it.”
Senate Republicans also responded to the calls of millions of Georgians who they say have raised deep concerns that state law has been violated. They issued a statement saying, “Our state constitution precludes us from calling a special session due to the lack of a three-fifths majority in both chambers. As constitutionalists, we must respect that.”
Perhaps, the most viable option to address these concerns, according to state leaders, is a Texas lawsuit filed against Georgia over election irregularities which is pending before the United States Supreme Court.
“Before the Supreme Court even gets to the merits of the case, they have to find that they want to take jurisdiction of the case and I don’t think that’s going to happen in this situation,” Pate said.
Seventeen states have joined Texas in this lawsuit. Georgia has until 3 PM Thursday to respond to the suit. State Attorney General Chris Carr’s office has said that the Texas AG is constitutionally, legally, and factually wrong about Georgia.
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