LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California has been asked to determine if Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, who was born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936, meets the legal test to qualify for the nation’s highest office.
The Constitution requires that only “natural born” citizens hold the presidency, a term on which the Founding Fathers did not elaborate.
The Arizona senator has said there is no question about his eligibility, an assessment echoed by former Solicitor General Ted Olson, who is examining the issue for the campaign. It was also researched for his first presidential bid in 2000.
A two-page complaint filed March 6 in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., argues that a judge should step in because the constitutional language is not precise, opening questions about the Arizona senator’s standing.
The complaint was filed by Riverside lawyer Andrew Aames, 52, who says he is a registered Republican.
He said he had no political stake in the outcome. A court ruling would clear up any confusion for voters, he added, and McCain has a “very, very good” chance of prevailing.
The Panama Canal Zone was a U.S. territory when McCain was born on Aug. 29, 1936. His father was stationed there by the Navy.
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