Somebody Else Who Doesn't Have Authority - I Think

So, after looking at NARA's website and seeing that they don't have the authority to certify candidates, I took their advice and contacted my Secretary of State's office. I wrote three different letters, but I'll only post the one about the Presidential candidates here:

Sent to http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?tid=637

Your Email: juriggs@yahoo.com
Your Name: Justin Riggs
Subject: Ensuring candidates meet qualifications

In a document posted on your website entitled "ACCESS TO COLORADO GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT; CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT" it states that a Presidential candidate must:

a) be a natural-born citizen
b) be 35 years of age or older
c) have been 14 years a resident within the United States

How do you ensure that the qualifications you set out in this document are met? What documentary proof do you require?

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my questions.

Sincerely,

Justin W. Riggs

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But minutes after I sent my letters, I stumbled across this posting on http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2137448/replies?c=14 (formatted by me for readability)

"Apparently we have to take the DNC's word that Obama is A-ok.

An email from a friend just now: Dear Concerned Voter: The Colorado Secretary of State's office, has received numerous calls and emails inquiring into the procedures undertaken to ensure that presidential candidates are qualified to be placed on the ballot. This email is intended to answer your questions regarding the qualifications of candidates for the office of President of the United States.

First, please understand that, pursuant to Colorado statute, the process of nominating and certifying presidential candidates to the ballot is party-oriented; candidates are certified to the state and, therefore, the legal responsibility for confirming citizenship (or any other qualification) lies with the certifying entity.

Any questions regarding the qualifications of a presidential candidate should be directed to the parties, who are the certifying entities in this case. Second, if you wish to challenge the qualifications of a Presidential candidate, the proper forum is the district court, not the Secretary of State's office. Because the nomination and certification of candidates is purely a party function, this office lacks the authority to investigate complaints levied against a particular candidate's eligibility or qualifications for office. Please see section 1-4-909, C.R.S., for more information regarding challenges to a candidate's qualifications.

In sum, please direct any inquiries regarding the qualifications of candidates to the respective parties. If you wish to challenge these qualifications, you must do so in district court. Thank you for contacting the Secretary of State's office.

Elections Division
Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division
1700 Broadway, Suite 270 Denver, CO 80290

So while this wasn't a response to my letter, I assume I'll get one very similar to it (I wish I had known about this before I wrote my letter - I could have somebody some time). As you can see, this letter is very helpful. It tells us:

a) The Secretary of State's (SoS) office does not have the authority to certify candidates.
b) "the process of nominating and certifying presidential candidates to the ballot is party-oriented." So we're going to need to go to the Colorado Democratic Party next...
c) "the legal responsibility for confirming citizenship (or any other qualification) lies with the certifying entity". This is pretty strong language. They're telling us that the Democratic party has a legal obligation to certify their candidate before they present them to the SoS. So theoretically, our search should almost be over - we should find someone in the party who was authorized to certify the candidate, and there should be documentation surrounding that process.
d) if we want to challenge a particular candidate's eligibility, we should do it through the district court. I'm not particularly interested in this - but others might be, and the SoS just told us where to file our grievance. They even told us what statute to look up - that was nice of them, right?

Phew! That's a lot of info. The most important piece of information (as far as I'm concerned) is that the party is responsible for certifying that their candidate is eligible for the office. So let's find someone to ask from the Colorado Democratic Party!