The
Constitution of the United States
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nati ...
provides several basic requirements for eligibility to be elected to the office of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
. Individual states did not introduce significant relevant legislation until
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
was elected in 2008. The controversy generated by various
conspiracy theorists
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
who asserted during the
2008 presidential election campaign that Obama was not a
natural-born U.S. citizen, as mandated by the Constitution, and thus was ineligible to be
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
, prompted several
state legislatures to consider legislation aimed at requiring future presidential candidates to show proof of presidential eligibility before being granted
ballot access
Elections in the United States refers to the rules and procedures regulating the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots. As the nation's election process is decentralized b ...
in their state.
Background
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets only three qualifications for holding the presidency. To serve as president, one must:
* be a
natural-born U.S. citizen of the United States;
* be at least 35 years old;
* be a
resident in the United States for at least 14 years.
A person who meets the above qualifications could still not be qualified to hold office if they have exceeded the term limits of the
22nd amendment, or if they have been disqualified from holding any "
office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States" a