There are plenty of serious issues to debate in the upcoming
presidential election cycle. The less time spent dealing with specious
objections to candidate eligibility, the better. Fortunately, the Constitution
is refreshingly clear on these eligibility issues. To serve, an individual must
be at least thirty-five years old and a “natural born Citizen.” Thirty-four and
a half is not enough and, for better or worse, a naturalized citizen cannot
serve. But as Congress has recognized since the Founding, a person born abroad
to a U.S. citizen parent is generally a U.S. citizen from birth with no need
for naturalization. And the phrase “natural born Citizen” in the Constitution
encompasses all such citizens from birth. Thus, an individual born to a U.S.
citizen parent — whether in California or Canada or the Canal Zone — is a U.S.
citizen from birth and is fully eligible to serve as President if the people so
choose.
