Birther bill may go too far, AZ Governor Jan Brewer suggests
After six years as Secretary of State, she’s shooting from the hip?Gov. Jan Brewer hinted Friday she might veto legislation designed to give the Arizona secretary of state the final say of who gets to run for president here.
Brewer said she is still reviewing the measure, given final approval late Thursday, which spells out what documents have to be presented by political parties to get their candidate on the ballot. It requires the secretary of state, as chief elections officer, to deny ballot status to those who do not submit the required paperwork.
Backers, led by Rep. Carl Seel, R-Phoenix, say they are just trying to protect the integrity of the electoral process. But Brewer, who was secretary of state for six years before becoming governor, said the wishes of the state legislators who support the measure may be irrelevant.
“I think my big concern probably, just shooting a little bit from the hip, is the fact that I don’t know if we regulate federal elections,” she said.
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Emphasis added to the “but” clause.…[Seel] said the bill, which will reach Brewer next week, is not an attack on the 2012 candidacy of incumbent Barack Obama. The legislation requires candidates for all offices to attach “documents necessary to show that the person will be qualified at the time of the election to hold the office the person seeks.”
But he acknowledged he has “a lot of misgivings” about whether the president is a “natural born citizen.” And it is only presidential candidates who would have to provide a “long form birth certificate” or two other documents from a list of options.
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Carl Seel. Image: azsos.gov