Noob
09-03-2011, 08:05 AM
FEC Allows Presidential Campaign for Foreign-Born Man. So what happen to Natural born citizen?
The Federal Election Commission ruled Friday that a Guyana-born American citizen could file papers and raise money to run for president of the United States. But the agency also told the prospective candidate, Abdul Hassan, that his campaign may not receive federal matching funds because he was not born in America.
The FEC’s unanimous vote allows Hassan — who born in the South American country in 1974 — to be a candidate, solicit funds and requires him to file disclosure reports for a presidential bid. However, the agency’s decision stopped short of addressing the constitutional issue of whether someone born outside the United States can be president.
Instead, the agency told Hassan he may not receive any presidential primary matching funds by quoting the Constitution, stating “[n]o Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
Hassan’s request appeared to put the FEC in the rare role of deciding a large constitutional issue that has only a few intersections with campaign finance law. The two commonly held constitutional requirements to run for president are that the candidate be 35 years of age or older and be a “natural born citizen.”
But FEC commissioners said repeatedly that their decision to define Hassan as a candidate had nothing to do with his birth country. They said that current federal election law allows for someone to be a candidate, regardless of whether they can legally hold the office they seekand that the FEC is not charged with deciding presidential criteria including one’s natural-born citizenship.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/fec_allows_presidential_campaign_for_foreign_born_ man-208435-1.html?pos=hln
The Federal Election Commission ruled Friday that a Guyana-born American citizen could file papers and raise money to run for president of the United States. But the agency also told the prospective candidate, Abdul Hassan, that his campaign may not receive federal matching funds because he was not born in America.
The FEC’s unanimous vote allows Hassan — who born in the South American country in 1974 — to be a candidate, solicit funds and requires him to file disclosure reports for a presidential bid. However, the agency’s decision stopped short of addressing the constitutional issue of whether someone born outside the United States can be president.
Instead, the agency told Hassan he may not receive any presidential primary matching funds by quoting the Constitution, stating “[n]o Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
Hassan’s request appeared to put the FEC in the rare role of deciding a large constitutional issue that has only a few intersections with campaign finance law. The two commonly held constitutional requirements to run for president are that the candidate be 35 years of age or older and be a “natural born citizen.”
But FEC commissioners said repeatedly that their decision to define Hassan as a candidate had nothing to do with his birth country. They said that current federal election law allows for someone to be a candidate, regardless of whether they can legally hold the office they seekand that the FEC is not charged with deciding presidential criteria including one’s natural-born citizenship.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/fec_allows_presidential_campaign_for_foreign_born_ man-208435-1.html?pos=hln