Letter to the Editor

Is your candidate qualified?

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Dear Editor:

I am a Missouri resident. I have voted in elections for over 45 years. I have never felt an occasion to question any candidate's qualifications who had been placed on a ballot. I may have questioned their beliefs, idealology or politics. However, this last election and subsequent controversy, as well as the issues that came to light before and after the election, has left me with a feeling of disenfranchisement.

I have read Missouri's election laws and have contacted the secretary of state for clarification. My understanding is that a candidate is to be vetted by their party and sign a statement that they are qualified to hold the office they are seeking. I also contacted Rep. Barney Fisher concerning this law and he confirmed this is exactly what happens. Rep. Fisher stated "When I file with the secretary of state to run for office, I have to provide two IDs to prove that I'm a resident of Missouri. While that establishes residency, it doesn't establish U.S. citizenship. However, I do have to sign documents that say I'm a U.S. citizen, but do not have to provide proof (emphasis mine)." He went of to say, "I'll confer with Rep. Jones to investigate the possibilities of a ballot issue to tighten citizenship requirements."

Does anyone think the party will not qualify the person that everyone in their party is cheering for? Does anyone think that the person who is seeking to have his or her name placed on a ballot is going to refuse to sign, saying I'm not qualified, but put me on the ballot? Another example of vetting by the party is the DNC which produced two "Official Certification of Nomination" documents during the last presidential election, both dated 8/28/2008; one with the statement of qualification in it and the other with it removed. The latter being the one given to almost every state for documentation.

Another example is that the Senate had to issue a resolution stating that John McCain was a "natural born citizen" because of the controversy surrounding his birth. However, they did not feel it necessary to do the same for Barack Obama whose birth issues were even more questionable and even had lawsuits in the courts prior to election. And even at this very moment there is a "Quo Warranto" filed in the District of Columbia still seeking proof of qualification. I find this quite amazing since this all could have been avoided with proper election laws, even if only in Missouri: a challenge would have been presented at the proper time and avoided what has the potential of a Constitutional crisis.

It is incumbent on the secretary of state of Missouri, as well as, every other state, to be the person to qualify a candidate. And this must be done with hard paper evidence, i.e., birth certificate, passport documentation, driver's license, school records, and any other records deemed pertinent. The idea that a person could post a Photoshopped document on the Internet and use that as evidence is preposterous. That scenario would never fly to get a driver's license, to register your child in little league, or anything else when a birth certificate is required for authentication.

The process for a change in election laws in Missouri is through your elected officials. Please contact your state representative and senator and encourage them to persevere in updating Missouri's election laws to require the secretary of state to be the qualification entity for candidates to be placed on a ballot in Missouri. If you don't know who your senator and representative are then go to the following web site to find out: http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspX (copy this link into your web browser.) Then, whether entering or exiting the voting booth, we can rest assured and confidently say "YES, my candidate is qualified!"

Tom Cooke,

Nevada