Our states are in charge of elections. I just feel we need to move on getting it corrected now, before the next election. Please, please, pass the idea along of legislative change.
Remember what Senator McCain is reminding us “We are Americans. We don’t give up. We fight for what is right.”
Lets do what we can. He cannot carry all of this on his own. We are ALL Americans and must carry our weight as responsible citizens to hold our states accountable.
No time for whining, lets get out there and FIGHT!
This is the reply from Florida:
Thank you for inquiring about the determination of a candidate’s eligibility to run for President of United States. The Florida Department of State does not have investigative or enforcement authority to ensure that major parties’ Presidential candidates are properly qualified to be President of the United States. The U.S. Constitution establishes the qualifying requirements for President. Under Florida law, the way in which a major party’s candidate is placed on the ballot is that the state executive committee of each political party submits its slate of presidential electors for its candidate before September 1st of each presidential election year; then, by law, the names of candidates are printed on the ballot. Those candidates are not required to provide any documents to the State that they meet the qualifications for office.
The Florida Secretary of State performs only a ministerial function. So, the Secretary has no authority or responsibility to look beyond the filing documents to determine if a candidate is eligible. If a candidate (or the party in the case of a major political party nominating someone as a Presidential candidate) files the necessary paperwork, which papers are complete on their face, the Secretary must qualify the candidate.
Any challenge to the qualifications of a U.S. Presidential candidate should be made in a court of competent jurisdiction (such as what has occurred in federal court in Pennsylvania regarding Senator Obama). The Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., may also be a resource for information or inquiry on this matter. Contact information for the Department of Justice is: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.; phone: 202-514-2000; and U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Washington, DC 20530-0001.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Sincerely,
Kristi Reid Bronson, Chief
Bureau of Election Records