Cathy Latham

Cathleen A. Latham is an American teacher and political activist. She is the former chairwoman of the Coffee County, Georgia Republican Party and a member of the Georgia Republican Party's executive committee. She is known for her involvement in the 2020 election interference case in the U.S. state of Georgia, where she was indicted along with former President Donald Trump and 17 others.[1]

Personal life and career

Latham is a Texas native who has spent her career in education at Coffee High School in Georgia.[2] She began her teaching career as an English teacher, but transitioned to teaching economics after a colleague's unexpected retirement.[3] Latham has been teaching economics full-time since 2006 and her students consistently achieve the highest scores in the district on state standardized tests.[3]

In 2019, Latham was recognized as the Georgia Economics Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Council on Economic Education (GCEE).[4][5] She has been active with GCEE, participating in their workshops for over 10 years, serving on some of their sister organization boards, and taking her students to the first annual Personal Finance Challenge in Atlanta.[5]

Latham also works as an educational consultant for the Georgia Department of Education, where she is responsible for writing new Economic Standards and serves as a workshop instructor for AP Economic Education.[5] She holds a Bachelor of Science in English and History from Baylor University, and a Masters of Education from Troy University with a concentration in Government and Finance.[5]

Latham is married.[6] She has served as the under 80,000 Caucus Chair for the Georgia GOP, overseeing 129 rural counties of Georgia.[1]

Involvement in 2020 election

During the 2020 elections in Georgia and their aftermath, Latham was a member of the Georgia Republican Party's executive committee and sat on its election confidence task force. She was one of the “fake electors” who signed unauthorized certificates in a bid to keep Trump in power after his 2020 election defeat.[6]

2020 absentee voting lawsuit

Main article: Twelfth Congressional District Republican Committee v. Raffensperger

In December 2020, Latham was one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of the Georgia State Election Board. The lawsuit, filed by the Twelfth Congressional District's Republican Committee, sought to invalidate certain rules related to absentee voting in Georgia. Latham, a member of the Republican Party who had been selected to appear as a member of the Republican Presidential Elector Slate on the November 3, 2020 general election ballot, claimed that the rules facilitated ballot harvesting and vote fraud, and violated her rights as a voter who votes in person.[7] The case was dismissed with prejudice by the district court.[8] The lawsuit was part of a wave of legal actions stemming from the 2020 elections.[9]

2023 indictment for racketeering

Main article: Georgia election racketeering prosecution

In August 2023, Latham was indicted in Georgia for racketeering, over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. She was one of the false electors who met to cast their votes for then-President Donald Trump, something the Jan. 6 Committee proved was part of a larger failed conspiracy to replace the lawful electors for Biden in several key states, including Georgia, with Trump electors.[1]

In a court filing that month, Latham requested the case be moved from state court to federal court, arguing she “possesses a right to remove” the criminal prosecution in the state “as an officer of the United States or a person acting under officers of the United States.”[10] On September 29, 2023, a federal court rejected the request.[11] On October 6, 2023 the decision was appealed,[12] and on October 24, 2024 the decision was upheld.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Who is Cathy Latham? Former Coffee County GOP chair indicted in election interference case". WSBTV.com News Staff. August 16, 2023 – via Yahoo News.
  2. ^ Joyce Lupiani (August 16, 2023). "Who is Cathy Latham? Former Coffee County GOP chair accused of being a 'fake elector'". Fox 5 Atlanta. Fox Television Stations. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Georgia Council on Economics Education Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Georgia Council on Economics Education. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  4. ^ "HR 171 Georgia House of Representatives commending Cathleen A. Latham for being named 2019 Georgia Economics Teacher of the Year, 2019-2020 session". Georgia General Assembly.
  5. ^ a b c d Jerry Huon (February 5, 2019). "Coffee High's Cathy Latham Selected 2019 Georgia Economics Teacher of the Year". Douglas Now. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Video appears to undercut Trump elector's account of alleged voting-data breach in Georgia". Jon Swaine and Emma Brown. Washington Post. September 20, 2022.
  7. ^ "IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA AUGUSTA DIVISION" (PDF). United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. December 9, 2020. [1]
  8. ^ "Twelfth Congressional District Republican Committee v. Raffensperger". Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project.
  9. ^ White, Brian (December 11, 2020). "Republican Georgia Voters Fighting State's Absentee Ballot Laws". Top Class Actions.
  10. ^ Bushard, Brian (August 25, 2023). "Trump Co-Defendant Cathy Latham Becomes Latest Requesting Georgia Case Be Moved To Federal Court". Forbes.
  11. ^ "Federal judge rejects requests by 3 Trump co-defendants in Georgia case, Cathy Latham, David Shafer, Shawn Still, to move their trials". CBS News. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  12. ^ Hallerman, Tamar. "Electors, ex-DOJ official appeal to move RICO case to fed court". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  13. ^ Fung, Katherine (October 24, 2024). "Republican Judges Deny Trump Co-Defendants' Request". Newsweek. Retrieved December 22, 2024.