|
 Lawrence Joyce, a lawyer and pharmacist, filed a complaint in
January with the Illinois State Board of Elections saying that under
the U.S. Constitution, the Texas senator cannot run for president
since he is not a "natural born" citizen. Cruz was born in Calgary,
Alberta of a Cuban father and an American mother.
The Board rejected Joyce's complaint - saying Cruz became a
natural-born citizen at the moment of his birth because of his
mother's citizenship - so he petitioned the Cook County Circuit
Court to review that decision.
Circuit Court Judge Maureen Ward Kirby said she was not sure she had
jurisdiction, and set a March 1 hearing for arguments on whether to
dismiss the complaint.
The complaint comes in the wake of repeated attacks on Cruz about
his eligibility by New York businessman and presidential rival
Donald Trump.
 Children born abroad to American citizens can immediately be
registered as U.S. citizens through a consular report of birth
abroad, but Joyce said that process is a form of naturalization.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in January found that one quarter of
Republicans did not think Cruz was qualified to be president because
of his birthplace. [n:L2N14Z098]
Cruz and Trump are locked in a battle to win the Republican
nomination for the Nov. 8 election. Cruz won the first nominating
contest in Iowa while Trump prevailed in New Hampshire.
"A potential nightmare scenario may be developing if Ted Cruz
becomes the nominee and is then forced to resign the nomination,"
Joyce told reporters. He backs Republican candidate Ben Carson but
said no candidate was involved in his lawsuit.
[to top of second column] |
Voters in New York and in Alabama have also filed legal challenges
to Cruz's eligibility.
"It is widely assumed and believed that no court is going to
invalidate a presidential candidate on this issue," said Gerald
Rosenberg, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
Lawyers for both Cruz and the Illinois State Board of Elections said
they would present motions to dismiss the case based on jurisdiction
and because they said Lawrence did not properly serve notice of his
complaint.
The Illinois primary is March 15 but early voting has already begun.
(Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Writing by Mary Wisniewski;
Editing by Mary Milliken)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
