More Questions for South Carolina

Mr. Whitmire,

Sorry for taking more of your time, but after our last correspondence, I remembered something, and wanted to get some extra clarification from you.

The law that I quoted in my original message to you (SECTION 7-13-40 ) was incorrect - the law I wanted to ask about actually came to me from somebody who had received a letter directly from Garry Baum - I've attached that document for you to review. As the question asked of him directly related to the qualifications of presidential candidates, it would appear he believes that Section 7-13-350 is the statute that applies to presidential candidates.

A few more questions, based on this new information:

1) The attached letter, and your correspondence, emphasize that it is the party's responsibility to verify the qualifications of their candidates. Does this mean the state party organization, or the national party organization (or both)?

2) If "political parties must verify the qualifications of those candidates prior to certification to the authority charged by law with preparing the ballot" then who is responsible for enforcing this requirement? I'm just not sure I understand the process here. The language of the statute seems clear (to me, a non-lawyer type): The candidate's qualifications have to be verified before the political party certifies the candidate to the authority in charge of preparing the ballot. So who ensures this process takes place? There has to be somebody, right? Otherwise, the party could choose NOT to verify the qualifications of their candidates, STILL certify the name of the candidate to the authority, and the law would not be followed. So who makes sure the party does their legally mandated job - and what evidence is provided by the party to that authority that shows that the party met the requirements of the law?

3) As I mentioned before, the SC Democratic Party has confirmed to me that the ONLY thing they did to verify Mr. Obama's qualifications was require him to submit a filing statement which states in part: "I certify that I am qualified to serve as President of the United States". Would this be considered sufficient evidence that he IS qualified, because as a citizen, that concerns me. It seems like asking a criminal, "are you innocent", and then letting him go if he signs a piece of paper that states, "I certify that I am innocent." My question, then, is this: Would a signed statement from the candidate to the political party be considered sufficient evidence to PROVE that the candidate was eligible?

I sincerely thank you for your time. I am sure that you are busy, and I recognize that it takes time out of your day to answer these questions. Please know that I am indeed grateful for your time and effort.

Sincerely,

Justin W. Riggs