The Arizona state Senate passed Wednesday the revised version of a bill that would require candidates to prove their citizenship before they can appear on state ballots.
The bill will now head to the state House for a final vote.
Though President Obama is not named in the bill or specifically by the bill’s sponsors, most read it as a directed attack from those who question whether Obama was born in the United States. Last week, lead House sponsor Rep. Carl Seel (R) met with Donald Trump, who’s lately become the national spokesperson for skepticism about Obama’s legitimacy. Seel told local press Trump gave his bill “the thumbs up.”
Details on the bill the state Senate passed 20-9 from the Arizona Daily Star:
As originally proposed, a candidate would have to produce a certified copy of a “long-form birth certificate” which would have to include the date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and any attending physician, and the signatures of any witnesses in attendance.Senators accepted an amendment by Sen. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson, for alternative documents. Instead, a candidate could produce such documents as a baptismal or circumcision certificate or a hospital birth record.
Democrats have said the bill, should it become law in Arizona, would likely be struck down by the courts. State Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D) said its political motives are all too clear.
“This is designed specifically to challenge [Obama’s] ability to run for re-election,” she told Arizona’s 3TV. “Frankly, I think they’d be better served by just surfacing a good candidate to run against him.”
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.