The Constitutional Requirements of Natural Born Citizenship for President

“There has been some controversy in the last two presidential elections about candidates meeting the constitutional requirements of natural born citizenship. Can you give me some information about this?  Also, what paperwork do I need if I would decide to run for president?” The Newton Falls Public Library staff was aware that this issue was discussed for both candidates in the 2008 election and again in the 2012.

Looking online, the staff found many websites with opinions but wanted a nonbiased, legal opinion.  On November 14, 2011, Legislative Attorney Jack Maskell published the 53 page article, Qualifications for President and the “Natural Born” Citizenship Eligibility Requirement for the Congressional Research Service.  The CRS Report is for Congress, prepared for members and committees of Congress. The summary begins with:

“The Constitution sets out three eligibility requirements to be President: one must be 35 years of age, a resident ‘within the United States’ for 14 years, and a ‘natural born Citizen.’ There is no Supreme Court case which has ruled specifically on the presidential eligibility requirements and this clause has been the subject of several legal and historical treatises over the years, as well as more recent litigation. The term ‘natural born’ citizen is not defined in the Constitution, and there is no discussion of the term evident in the notes of the Federal Convention of 1787.”  

And then closes with:

The weight of legal and historical authority indicates that the term ‘natural born’ citizen would mean a person who is entitled to U.S. citizenship ‘by birth’ or ‘at birth,’ either by being born ‘in’ the United States and under its jurisdiction, even those born to alien parents; by being born abroad to U.S. citizen-parents; or by being born in other situations meeting legal requirements for U.S. citizenship ‘at birth.’”

The full report includes the following sections: History of the Qualifications Clause in the Federal Convention of 1787, Common Law Meaning of the Term “Natural Born” Citizen or Subject, Common Understanding in 18^th Century of the Term “Natural Born” Citizen, and Citizenship at Birth: Case Law and Interpretation.  This latter section includes Legal Cases and Senator McCain and Legal Cases and President Obama.

The second part of the inquiry was answered by the Federal Election Commission, which has an online Candidate Registration Toolkit as well as all the forms needed to declare candidacy. We were not able to find any indication that you are required to show a birth certificate to file.  Once candidates have declared, they are sometimes asked to prove that they are natural born citizens.  According to the Wikipedia article: Natural-born-citizen clause, there have been other candidates whose eligibility has been questioned. The list includes such famous names as President Chester A. Arthur, Barry Goldwater, George Romney, John McCain, and President Barack Obama.

I Need to Learn About 2012 Primary Candidates

“The primary is coming soon and I know nothing about the candidates. Does the library have any information?” The Newton Falls Public Library staff knows that many people will be trying to determine how to cast their votes on March 6^th.

The local election boards have information about all the candidates and issues in the current election.  Trumbull County voters can access this list at www.electionohio.com/trumbull.  A sample ballot is available for each city, village, and township. Mahoning and Portage County voters will also be able to find information at their counties’ Board of Election websites. 

The League of Women Voters of Ohio has a Primary Voters Guide which our patron can view online at www.lwvohio.org. The library has a print copy at the Reference Desk. The guide includes the candidates for U.S. Senate and Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. It has each candidate’s party affiliation, contact and biographical information, and the answers to questions.

We also searched online for websites pertaining to the upcoming election and found some interesting ones for our patron to examine.  2012 Presidential Candidates has links to their profiles, official website, and positions. ProjectVote Smart has biographical information, interest group ratings, public statements, voting records, issue positions, and campaign finances. This site may be searched by nine digit zip code. It will bring up the Presidential, Congressional, Gubernatorial, State Legislative, Federal and State Judicial, Statewide, and Ballot Measures applying to your community.

The library also has a variety of local and national newspapers and magazines available to our patrons. As the election date comes closer, there will be more information for our patrons to read.

Can I Register to Vote Here?

“Can I register to vote here?” With registration closing on October 4, 2010 in order to vote in the November 2, 2010 General Election, the Newton Falls Public Library staff views this as a very important and timely question.

The library has voter registration forms for Trumbull, ones that may be used for other counties, and Absentee/Early Voting ballot requests. The latter begins Saturday, September 18, 2010 for Uniformed and Overseas (UOCAVA) Voters. Absentee voting for non-UOCAVA Voters begins Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

According to the Trumbull County Board of Elections’ website [www.electionohio.com/trumbull]:
“Every voter will be required to provide proof of identity before voting.” Acceptable forms of identification include “your current and valid photo identification card, military identification, copy of utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or government document showing your name and current address. (Note: You cannot use as proof of identification a notice the Board of Elections mailed to you.) If you do not have, or fail or refuse to provide, the required proof of identity, you may cast a provisional ballot.”

The Board of Elections’ site also has other useful information including:

• Where to vote

• Are you registered

• Polling places

• Forms to be downloaded and printed

• Candidates and issues

• How to become a poll worker

• Election results.


Voters are always searching for information about local, state, and national candidates and issues in order to make wise choices. The library subscribes to local newspapers in Mahoning, Portage, and Trumbull counties; newspapers from larger Ohio cities; as well as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA today. Reading the library’s news magazines will also be helpful in making your decisions. The League of Women Voters [http://www.lwv.org/], the Ohio LWV [http://www.lwvohio.org/], and the Trumbull County LWV [www.orgsites.com/oh/lwvtc/index.html] all have useful information on their websites. Smart Voter [http://www.smartvoter.org/] is another website sponsored by the LWV.

Don't forget to register to vote!

“Can I register to vote here?” “Do you have change of address forms for voting?” The staff of the Newton Falls Public Library is always happy to answer “Yes!” to these questions. You may also get an application for an Absent Voter’s Ballot at the library.

Visit the library and ask one of the staff members at the circulation desk. Fill out the appropriate form and it will delivered to the Trumbull County Board of Elections. The deadline for registering to vote for the November 4, 2008 election is Tuesday, October 6. The form may also be filled out online at www.electionohio.com/trumbull/register_vote.htm, then printed and mailed to the Trumbull County Board of Elections. The absentee ballot is also available at www.electionohio.com/trumbull/absentee_1.htm. According to their website, these ballots may be cast beginning September 30. Mahoning and Portage County residents can find the voting information they need at both counties’ websites and public libraries.

When you go to vote, there is a new ID requirement. As a voter, you will need to provide proof of identity before voting. Acceptable forms of identification are “your current and valid photo identification card, military identification, copy of utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or government document showing your name and current address. (Note: You cannot use as proof of identification a notice the board of elections mailed to you.) If you do not have, or fail or refuse to provide, the required proof of identity, you may cast a provisional ballot.” [www.electionohio.com/trumbull]

Registering to vote may be the easiest part. Now, for many people, begins the more difficult; determining who to vote for. For local information, the Newton Falls Public Library receives area newspapers: Record Courier, Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator, as well as the smaller weekly papers: The Bridge, The NewTowne Press, The Review and The Weekly Villager. For national information: Christian Science Monitor, Columbus Dispatch, New York Times, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Plain Dealer, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal are available. Places to look online for information are the League of Women Voters [http://www.lwv.org/], Project Vote Smart [www.votesmart.org] and the U.S. Department of State [fpc.state.gov/fpc/c21250.htm]

Intrigued by a new book on the library shelf, Declaring Independence: the beginning of the end of the two-party system by Douglas E. Schoen, we became curious about who else was running for president besides the Democrat and Republican candidates. There are numerous sites listing alternative candidates. Two that seem to have the longest lists, as well as links to their websites, are Project Vote Smart [www.votesmart.org] and Politics1 [http://www.politics1.com/p2008.htm]. Among the many running, there are four independents from Ohio seeking the presidency: Donald K. Allen from Boardman [http://www.donaldkallenforpresident.com/], Steve Kissing from Cincinnati [http://www.kissing4prez.org/], James H. McCall from the Toledo area [http://www.callonmccall.com/], and “Average Joe” Schriner from Cleveland [http://www.voteforjoe.com/].

While looking for election information, several books and websites were discovered to include odd presidential facts. The Essential Book of Presidential Trivia by Noah McCullough and The Complete Book of Presidential Trivia by J. Stephen Lang can be borrowed through the library’s shared TiPL [Trumbull Independent Public Libraries] catalog. Typing ‘presidential trivia’ into an online search engine, such as Google or Metacrawler, finds some interesting facts: this year’s election is the first time since 1928 in which neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president is running for their party's nomination, and the first time since the 1952 election that neither incumbent is a candidate in the November presidential election. Neither Republican nor Democrat 2008 presidential candidate was born in the continental United States. John McCain was born on a military base in the Panama Canal Zone, and Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.