A Concerned Oregon Citizen

Yesterday, I received an email from "A Concerned Oregon Citizen". She shared with me a correspondence she had had with the Elections Division and Secretary of State of her state. I wanted to share a little bit of what she sent me:

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I visited the Oregon Elections Division this afternoon and spoke with Margie Franz, one of the election compliance specialists. Margie is responsible for verifying Federal candidacy qualifications and she is also responsible for coordinating the Oregon Electoral College vote on December 15th. I asked her if federal candidate qualifications are verified at the state level prior to a candidate being place on the ballot. The Oregon Elections Division does ensure that Congressional candidates do meet the necessary requisites as defined in Article I, as well as voter his/her registration, residency, and party affiliation.

When I asked her about Presidential candidates, she said the Oregon Elections Division does not validate his/her qualifications per Article II. She stated this is the responsibility of the FEC. The only Oregon requirement is the Presidential candidate has to submit a Declaration of Candidacy filing which includes a signed statement or affidavit that they will meet the Article II qualifications if elected. I sampled several Candidacy Declaration filing forms for other states and they all have this in common. In other words, Oregon (and in all likelihood other states), does not assume any responsibility for verifying Presidential candidate qualifications at any time before, during, or after the election.

I have visited the FEC, NARA, DNC, RNC websites and I cannot find anything that would suggest that Presidential candidate qualifications as defined in Article II are verified. I do however find it hard to believe that a candidate can make it all the way to the general election without being properly vetted for even the most basic requirements.

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It's wonderful to see people doing great work on this topic, and I post this here in hopes that if you are wondering whether or not you can do it, you will feel motivated to get out there and make a difference! And if you do find anything in your state, please email me at juriggs@yahoo.com, and I'll include your information in my library (much of which shows up at http://www.therightsideoflife.com).