April 13-15, 2011: ’Birther’ Bill Requiring Proof of Citizenship for Presidential Candidates Passes Arizona Legislature

Arizona House Bill 2177, a bill requiring presidential candidates to prove they are natural-born citizens before being listed on Arizona state ballots, passes the Arizona State Senate, on a 20-8 party-line vote. The bill then passes the House on another party-line vote, 40-16. House Republican Carl Seel (R-AZ), who co-sponsored the bill, says the intent of the legislation is to “maintain the integrity of the Constitution.” A candidate wishing to run for president in Arizona would, under the legislation, have to submit a “long form birth certificate” that includes at least their date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and doctor, and, if applicable, signatures of any witnesses in attendance. Candidates who do not have such a document could submit other documents in its stead. The original bill required the long-form certificate to be presented, but after some tension between Republican state lawmakers, the long-form certificate was made optional, and other documents were inserted as certifying natural birth—including for Jewish citizens a circumcision certificate, a document given to Jewish parents after their male child is ceremonially circumsized. Such certificates are religious and not legal documents, but the bill would allow such a document to be used to prove citizenship. Other “acceptable” documents include hospital birth records, a postpartum medical record, or an early census record. Critics of the bill say it is driven by the “birther” controversy over whether President Obama is actually a US citizen (see June 27, 2008, July 20, 2008, and August 21, 2008). Billionaire Donald Trump, who says he may run for president as a Republican in 2012, has made frequent calls for Obama to reveal his birth certificate. Obama’s birth certificate has long been made publically available (see June 13, 2008), but “birthers” have consistently refused to accept its validity. State Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) voted against the bill and says it would have no standing in federal or state law even if signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ). “This is designed specifically to challenge [Obama’s] ability to run for re-election,” she says. “Frankly, I think they’d be better served by just surfacing a good candidate to run against him.” Critics note that such requirements as stated in the bill already exist under federal law, and Obama, as every presidential candidate has before him, submitted such documents during his filing to run for the White House. [Salon, 4/15/2008; State of Arizona House of Representatives, 2011; KTVK-TV, 4/13/2011; Phoenix New Times, 4/13/2011; Phoenix Business Journal, 4/13/2011] Many credit Trump with energizing the Republican legislators’ push to pass the bill. Trump recently met with Seel concerning the bill and his considered run for the presidency (see April 7, 2011). [Phoenix Business Journal, 4/13/2011] The Senate version of the bill included wording that some lawmakers said defined natural-born citizens as children whose parents were citizens at the time of the candidate’s birth, which would possibly conflict with constitutional statute. That wording was eliminated from the House version. [Arizona Republic, 3/23/2011] When the bill reaches Brewer’s desk four days later, she vetoes it (see April 19, 2011).