[thecodont]

Two, California has thrown a presidential candidate, Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver, off the ballot before because he did not meet the constitutional test.

I did not know that. In what way did he not meet the Constitutional requirment?

Not old enough.

http://it-is-an-obama-nation.blogspot.com/2008/11/hope-we-can-believe-in.html

"Historically, California Secretaries of State have exercised their due diligence by reviewing necessary background documents, verifying that the candidates that were submitted by the respective political parties as eligible for the ballot were indeed eligible. In 1968, the Peace and Freedom Party submitted the name of Eldridge Cleaver as a qualified candidate for President of the United States. The then SOS, Mr. Frank Jordan, found that, according to Mr. Cleaver's birth certificate, he was only 34 years old, one year shy of the 35 years of age needed to be on the ballot as a candidate for President. Using his administrative powers, Mr. Jordan removed Mr. Cleaver from the ballot. Mr. Cleaver unsuccessfully challenged this decision to the Supreme Court of the State of California, and, later, to the Supreme Court of the United States."

Two side notes here.

Frank Jordan later became mayor of San Francisco.

Joe Biden ran for his Senate seat as a 29-year-old. He took his seat as a 30 year old (Constitutional requirement). The Sec. of State of Delaware apparently had no problem putting an underage Senate candidate on the ballot.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Thank you for the expanded explanation of Eldridge Cleaver’s predicament. I’m shocked that I don’t remember that because I lived there then. I guess that I was too distracted by all of the chaos around me because I was in the process of moving OUT of Berkeley at that time. Bezerkley had become uninhabitable for normal people. I guess a person cannot be expected to remember everything. That’s why somebody invented pencils and Google! ;))

[El Gato]

Joe Biden ran for his Senate seat as a 29-year-old. He took his seat as a 30 year old (Constitutional requirement). The Sec. of State of Delaware apparently had no problem putting an underage Senate candidate on the ballot.

The Constitutional requirement is: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years "be a Senator", not "run for the Senate. Biden was born November 20, 1942, so he would be 30 before he could possibly "be a Senator". The Sec State of Delaware was correct, regrettably.