Letter to State Senators and Representatives regarding a New Law on Presidential Eligibility

Art in Idaho | October 8, 2009 | Art in Idaho

[Art in Idaho]

Proposal of a Bill to become Law in the State of _________.

Summary: Any person that is running for the Office of President of the United States must present to the ______ State Election Commission and the Secretary of State proof that said person fulfills the Constitutional Requirements to be President.

Whereas, Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution states: "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. " This means that, in modern times, you cannot legally or legitimately serve as President of the United States, unless you are: . at least 35 years of age . a resident of the United States for at least 14 years . a natural born citizen. Since allegiance of the potential President and Commander-in-Chief was the main concern of the Founding Fathers, 'Natural Born Citizen' has been understood to mean meeting the following two requirements: . You must be born in the United States; “on US soil” and . Both of your parents must be U.S. citizens at the time of your birth.

Or as further elaborated on March 9, 1866, by Representative John Bingham of Ohio in a speech before The House of Representatives: "[I] find no fault with the introductory clause [S 61 Bill], which is simply declaratory of what is written in the Constitution, that every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural born citizen.”

Therefore, any candidate for President of the United States must present his/her Long Form Birth Certificate or a certified copy to The State Board of Elections and the Secretary of State for approval before said person will be on the Ballot in the State of ________. This is seen as certifying and satisfying a Constitutional requirement to run for the office of President of the United States of America.

This is meant as a rough template to put out there to All to review, add or delete comments, etc. I am not an attorney and would appreciate any feedback from such or paralegals. The jist of it is pretty straight forward, but how it would be presented as a bill to your state legislature is another thing. I ask all of you for your feedback to this template can be "prettied up" and presented with the best legalese so we can all present a final form letter to our State Senators and Representatives. As you know these things take time at the State level, but it's none too early to start.

Thanks for reviewing and your comments.

Art in Idaho

[usurper]

So either way you look at it, I think SCOTUS needs to step up the plate

It would be interesting but I doubt it will ever happen.

[Art in Idaho]

Found a great site to find your State Representatives and Senators: State Legislatures Internet Links

Just click your State on the left and then Legislators on the right and Presto, there's all your state Representative and Senators with email addresses!

[An American!]

I guess if a felon is running for president, then they just are not allowed to vote for themselves or their opponent :)

[urtax$@work]

Thanks Art. Add:

1.) All documents presented, shall be made available for public scrutiny within (yadda, yadda, )days etc...

2.) Challenges by state's citizens to the validity of submitted documents shall be reviewed and (yadda, yadda, yadda)........

3.) Candidates shall make available for pubic scrutiny all school records, police records, court records etc.....

[Art in Idaho]

Add: 1.) All documents presented, shall be made available for public scrutiny within (yadda, yadda, )days etc... 2.) Challenges by state's citizens to the validity of submitted documents shall be reviewed and (yadda, yadda, yadda)........ 3.) Candidates shall make available for pubic scrutiny all school records, police records, court records etc.....

Thanks urtax$@work. Good points. Will add to final draft. .

[Drew68]

If Ahmadinijead's wife is pregnant, he flies her over here, the baby is born on US soil, he/she could be President?

That would be up to the voters.

[wintertime]

1) They are afraid of being called racist.

2) The current occupant of the White House is a Democrat.

3) Republicans have the collective gonads the size of one dust mite. ( Sorry, to insult dust mites.)

You can be certain that if the current occupant of the White House were a white Republican with the same history, that this would have been heard by the courts, widely broadcast by the media, and corrected by congress within a few weeks.

[Munz]

problem is that such laws exist already in reality. NJ for example allowed a man who was not a us citizen on the ballot with a green card.
The Secretary of each state has the reproducibility to verify the candidate before they are put on a ballot in their state.

What would be most beneficial at this point is a clear understanding by everyone of what exactly a “natural born citizen” is.
Obama himself never claimed to be a “natural born citizen”, but rather a “native citizen” on his fight the smears web page for example.

[Art in Idaho]

I defer to fellow FReeper Beckwith for his excellent summary of what a Natural Born Citizen is: Natural Born Citizen

There are other sites that delve into this also, but I think his is the clearest and hits the nail on the head.

[Munz]

I know what a NBC is, but somewhere this has been lost in translation.
This is what the SOS needs to be aware of in no uncertain or trems that can not be twisted.

Then they have to follow the rules which they did not.