Posted on 03/11/2011 5:39:24 PM PST by Red Steel
Just wondering: What legal document does a presidential candidate in New Hampshire have to attach to his application to show proof that he is eligible to run for president under the laws of the Constitution?
That is, can a presidential candidate get away without attaching NO legal document at all like, say, an OFFICIAL document from a candidate’s birth state with the state’s SEAL on it?
For instance, if a publicly unknown person like me wants to run for president on the Noname Party primary ballot, do I simply fill out and sign the application form without having to attach any legal document that I was born in the United States and that I meet the age requirement?
Do the election officials in New Hampshire simply take my word for it that I am who I say I am on my presidential application form I fill out in order to enter the primary?
If true, it scares me that anybody can run for president in New Hampshire without providing any OFFICIAL state documents that he was born in the United States, that he is the right age, and that he was not adopted by a citizen in a foreign country at some point in his life.
And how does New Hampshire election officials prove that I am NOT lying on my application form if they have doubts and suspicion that I was NOT born in the United States and that I do not meet the age requirement?
How about this idea: Republican presidential candidates VOLUNTARILY attach their long form birth certificates to their application forms in order to reassure the public that they have nothing to hide about their births and that they are who they say they are?
I bet state election officials would be thrilled to see a long form birth certificate attached to a presidential candidate’s application form even though the candidates are not required to do so under state law.
As I see, a state law can tell a presidential candidate that he is not required to attach a long form birth certificate to his application form, but there is no state law that keeps a candidate from VOLUNTARILY attaching a long form birth certificate to his application if he wants to.
Someone attesting to meeting the constitutional requirements can be charged with perjury.
The Declaration of Candidacy can be challenged in court and indeed, Senator John Sidney McCain’s eligibility was challenged in 2008 in New Hampshire. Both McCain and the Republican Party were sued on the grounds that McCain’s birth in Panama made him ineligible.
The lawsuit was Hollander v McCain and the RNC:
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/hollanderv.mccain.php
Someone attesting to meeting the constitutional requirements can be charged with perjury.
The Declaration of Candidacy can be challenged in court and indeed, Senator John Sidney McCain’s eligibility was challenged in 2008 in New Hampshire. Both McCain and the Republican Party were sued on the grounds that McCain’s birth in Panama made him ineligible.
The lawsuit was Hollander v McCain and the RNC: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/hollanderv.mccain.php
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Perjury: How do New Hampshire election officials prove that a candidate who fills out the application form may have committed perjury as to his place of birth, his date of birth, and that he was not adopted by a citizen in another country at some point in his life, if election officials are not allowed to examine the person's long form birth certificate?
McCain: For non-lawyers like me, could you please explain in simple terms what happened in the McCain case? For instance, did McCain have to provide his long form birth certificate to the court so the court could examine it?
Thanks.
Perjury: How do New Hampshire election officials prove that a candidate who fills out the application form may have committed perjury as to his place of birth, his date of birth, and that he was not adopted by a citizen in another country at some point in his life, if election officials are not allowed to examine the person’s long form birth certificate?
McCain: For non-lawyers like me, could you please explain in simple terms what happened in the McCain case? For instance, did McCain have to provide his long form birth certificate to the court so the court could examine it?
Thanks.
The reason it is known to be a forgery is that the Hollander copy states that McCain was born in “The Republic of Panama” when the real McCain long form birth certificate states that he was born in the “Panama Canal Zone.”
Since the lawsuit was dismissed before the “discovery” or “evidence” phase, there was no need for McCain to submit any documents.
The bottom line is that it is up to the challengers to initiate legal procedures to block an ineligible candidate from being on any state’s ballot.
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