The Complete Correspondence With South Carolina

Today, Ms. Carol Fowler made good on her promise to fax me the document that she signed, certifying to the state that Mr. Obama is eligible to hold the office of President. I don't yet have the document in my possession, but I expect to have it either tomorrow or Monday. At that time, I will scan it and have it posted on http://www.therightsideoflife.com. In the meantime, I am posting the entire correspondence between Ms. Fowler and I.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank the fine lady for honoring her word; particularly when it seems that she might feel that I am out to undermine her and her candidate. I respect her integrity in this matter, and thank her sincerely.

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From: Justin Riggs [mailto:juriggs@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2008 12:07 PM
To: Carol Fowler
Subject: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*

Chairwoman Fowler,

According to a document from you to the South Carolina Election Commission dated August 14, 2008, you stated that:

"In accordance with South Carolina Code of Laws 7-13-350 and 7-11-15, as amended, the South Carolina Democratic Party is pleased to submit our list of Democratic candidates for the 2008 general election ballot.

The South Carolina Democratic Party certifies that each candidate meets, or will meet by the time of the general election, or as otherwise required by law, the qualifications for the office for which he/she has filed.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 803-799-7798."

Instead of contacting your office by phone, I thought email might be more convenient. I have three questions that I hope you might be able to answer for me:

1) What individual or group of individuals was legally responsible for certifying that Barack Obama was and is eligible to hold the office of President?

2) Will you please provide a detailed chronology of the certification process, including the date and time that the final determination to certify was made?

3) Will you please provide a complete list of all documentary evidence that was required from then-Senator Obama by your office in regards to the certification process?

If for any reason you cannot provide some or all of the information I have requested, please provide specific and detailed reasoning as to why that information was not or may not be released to the public.

I respectfully request that a written response be sent to this email address (juriggs@yahoo.com) no later than 12:00 pm, Thursday December the 4th, and thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Your Fellow Citizen,


Justin W. Riggs

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From: Carol Fowler <cfowler@SCDP.ORG>
Subject: RE: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*
To: juriggs@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, December 1, 2008, 8:15 AM

Where in SC are you?

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From: Justin Riggs [mailto:juriggs@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 11:33 AMTo: Carol FowlerSubject: RE: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*

Ms. Fowler,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply to my message. I sincerely appreciate it.

I'm not located in South Carolina. I am from Denver, CO. I've been researching the issue of how Presidential candidates get certified as eligible since I learned that both John McCain and Barack Obama had their qualifications questioned during this latest campaign. This is non-partisan, personal research that I'm conducting.

During my research, I've contacted electors, government officials, and party representatives (from both major political parties) from several states, and not had any problem in having documents released to me. In this case, do I need to find a proxy from South Carolina to make the request for me? I'd be happy to do so, if need be.

Again, I thank you for your prompt reply, and look forward to meeting whatever requirements need to be met in order to receive the documents I've requested.

Your Fellow Citizen,

Justin W. Riggs

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From: Carol Fowler <cfowler@SCDP.ORG>
Subject: RE: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*
To: juriggs@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, December 1, 2008, 9:33 AM

The only documentation our state law requires is that the candidate (for any office) certify to the party that he or she meets the requirements of the office.

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From: Justin Riggs [mailto:juriggs@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 12:33 PM
To: Carol Fowler
Subject: Spam:RE: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*

Interesting! Could I have you send me an electronic copy of the document where President-Elect Obama certified to you that he meets the requirements of the office?

Thanks again - I appreciate you taking the time to help.

Justin

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From: Carol Fowler <cfowler@SCDP.ORG>
Subject: RE: Spam:RE: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*
To: juriggs@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, December 1, 2008, 2:23 PM

I can fax it to you when I get a chance. What's the number?

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From: Justin Riggs [mailto:juriggs@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 9:15 PM
To: Carol Fowler
Subject: RE: Spam:RE: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*

Ms. Fowler,

I'm sorry it took me awhile to get back to you. I had to track down a fax machine that could accept a fax without me standing right next to it.

Here's the number you can fax the document(s) to: (303) 873-6101. Just put it to my attention. I understand that you must be very busy, but I request that you please try to fax it by the close of business on December 2nd.. Please let me know if that doesn't fit with your schedule.

I don't want you to feel like I'm backing you into a corner, but I'm also interested in getting answers to the original questions I asked. In particular, I'd like to know who in your office has the legal responsibility for certifying the candidates. I simply haven't been able to answer this question up to this point, but certainly someone carries the responsibility.

One last thing (I hope). Could you provide me with a reference to the state law that you referred to earlier in our conversation? You said:

"The only documentation our state law requires is that the candidate (for any office) certify to the party that he or she meets the requirements of the office."
If you could provide me the statute number, it would save me a great deal of time.

Once again, thank you for your help.

Your Fellow Citizen,

Justin W. Riggs

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Ms. Fowler,

To the best of my knowledge, the document you have promised to fax me has not yet arrived. At the very least, could you please provide me a timeline as to when I can expect to see it? Ideally, I would request that you provide it to me by the end of business today.

Thank you for your attention to this matter...

Your Fellow Citizen,

Justin W. Riggs

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From: Carol Fowler <cfowler@SCDP.ORG>
Subject: RE: Spam:RE: Certification of Presidential Candidates Eligibility - *TIME SENSITIVE*
To: juriggs@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, December 5, 2008, 12:50 PM

I will fax it in a few minutes.

I have legal responsibility for certifying candidates to the state for inclusion on the ballot. You will have to research the law yourself, as I don't have time to do that. But I can tell you that presidential qualifications are a federal, not state, issue. Nothing in SC law, whether or not it was followed in this case (which it was) will disqualify Barack Obama.

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Wonderful.

Thank you very much. I certainly don't expect you to research the law for me! I'm becoming fairly proficient at that myself, so I'll do it when I get some free time.

You say that "presidential qualifications are a federal, not a state, issue". I have no reason not to believe you. Since you seem to possess some knowledge on the subject, could you point me towards whom in the federal government might be responsible for checking Presidential candidates' qualifications? That would be a GREAT help.

Finally, I am very sorry that you believe that I am out to disqualify Barack Obama. That is NOT my inent. While I was drawn to this issue because of the questions surrounding Mr. Obama's eligibility, I am neither pro nor anti-Obama. I am an unaffiliated voter who is decidedly pro-Constitution, and I am gravely concerned in that it appears our Presidential candidates are not having their qualifications checked against those those our Constitution lays out for them. The MINUTE I have an answer to these questions:

a) WHO is responsible for ensuring that our Presidential candidates meet the Constitutional requirements for holding office?

b) WHEN does the certification process take place? and

c) WHAT EVIDENCE is provided by the candidate to the official responsible for certification, so that the certifier can declare the candidate eligible in good faith?

then I will disappear back into the ether, content that my Constitution has been followed. Until then, I'm afraid I can't rest easy - and I would hope, neither can you.

As for Mr. Obama, I have NO reason to believe that he is not eligible. Serious allegations have been leveled at him, but my efforts could equally be seen as PRO-Obama. After all, if he was properly certified, then SOMEBODY certified him SOMEWHERE, and EVIDENCE exists that he meets the qualifications set out in the Constitution. I'm just trying to locate that information.

I thank you again for your cooperation. If you come across any further information that you feel may help me answer my questions, I would greatly appreciate it if you would forward that information on to me through this email address.

All my best to you and yours during this wonderful holiday season...

Respectfully Yours,

Your Fellow Citizen,

Justin W. Riggs