{"id":2334357,"date":"2024-08-30T14:31:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T18:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-open-door-to-foreign-born-presidential-candidate\/"},"modified":"2024-08-30T14:36:17","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T18:36:17","slug":"states-open-door-to-foreign-born-presidential-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-open-door-to-foreign-born-presidential-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"States Open Door To Foreign-Born Presidential Candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstates-open-door-to-foreign-born-presidential-candidate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2334357&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ng to the New \u200cYork \u2063State Board of Elections<\/a>, that led\u2063 to his disqualification on their\u200b ballot. This highlights the challenging landscape Ayyadurai faces as he strives for legitimacy in his presidential run while grappling with the constitutional impediments associated with his\u2063 immigration status.<\/p>\n<p>Ayyadurai&#8217;s campaign has not only \u200bfueled legal\u200d debates\u2064 but also stirred discussions regarding the\u200c broader implications of ballot\u200d access and the interpretation of constitutional requirements. By contesting his eligibility based\u200b on the \u2064principles of the\u200c First Amendment, Ayyadurai is invoking a contemporary conversation \u2064about the balancing act\u200c between constitutional mandates and individual rights to political participation.\u2064 <\/p>\n<p>However, legal\u200b experts and\u2062 political analysts assert that the Constitution&#8217;s stipulations concerning the presidency\u2014the natural-born \u200ccitizen clause\u2014are\u2062 unequivocal and firmly \u2064established. His position does raise pertinent questions about the\u2062 perceived adequacy of mechanisms \u2062in place to vet candidate eligibility at the state level, particularly when such candidates might wield unexpected influence in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-con-defeats-incumbent-in-brazilian-presidential-election\/\" title=\"Ex-Con Defeats Incumbent In Brazilian Presidential Election\">tightly contested election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As the November elections approach, Ayyadurai&#8217;s potential impact,\u2064 however minimal, could\u2064 still alter\u2063 the\u2064 dynamics of voter support, especially among specific voter\u200b demographics that may resonate with his\u2064 anti-establishment views. The juxtaposition of his candidacy against the \u2064backdrop of \u200dmore \u2064traditionally recognized figures like Trump and\u200c Harris exemplifies the eccentricities of the current political landscape,\u2064 where the requirements and traditions of prior candidacies \u2064are\u200d being\u2062 scrutinized\u2063 in real-time. <\/p>\n<p>This situation also highlights\u200d the necessity of consistency and rigor in enforcing the eligibility criteria for presidential candidates, reminding election \u200dofficials and voters alike of the \u2064integrity\u200b that such requirements are meant to uphold in \u200cthe democratic process. As Ayyadurai fights to challenge\u2064 the status quo, it remains to be \u2063seen \u2063how \u2064the judicial system and election\u200c officials will navigate the complexities\u2063 of his candidacy in light of the Constitution&#8217;s mandates.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Shiva Ayyadurai has a very interesting political story to tell. He was born in 1963 in Bombay (now Mumbai) &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8-HOCjs4DsA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a low-caste untouchable in India&rsquo;s caste system&rdquo;<\/a> and moved with his family to the United States and a better life when he was seven years old. He graduated with an undergraduate diploma in computer science and electrical engineering from MIT, where he holds advanced degrees, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/speakers\/396401\/Shiva-Ayyadurai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> his bio, including a <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Shiva_Ayyadurai\">PhD<\/a> in biological engineering.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-41188004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claims to have invented email<\/a> and was reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-news\/culture\/fran-drescher-doesnt-mind-being-single-she-has-a-friend-with-benefits-615343\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">briefly married <\/a>to television star Fran Drescher.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now Ayyadurai wants to be president of the United States. But he can&rsquo;t. While he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1983, he&rsquo;s not a natural-born U.S. citizen &mdash; one of three requirements to be president. It&rsquo;s clearly spelled out in Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/browse\/essay\/artII-S1-C5-1\/ALDE_00013692\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Constitution<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ayyadurai has spent much of his campaign fighting that restriction with what one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dershowitz-chauvin-conviction-should-be-reversed-on-appeal-maxine-waters-used-kkk-playbook-to-intimidate-jury\/\" title=\"Dershowitz: Chauvin Conviction \u2018Should Be Reversed On Appeal,\u2019 Maxine Waters Used KKK \u2018Playbook\u2019 To Intimidate Jury\">constitutional law expert<\/a> describes as &ldquo;bizarre&rdquo; legal arguments. And, strikingly, some state election officials seemingly don&rsquo;t know or care about the citizenship qualification that Americans have abided by for the better part of 240 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps such lack of care on constitutional detail speaks to a bigger citizenship issue: The Democrat Party&rsquo;s quest to involve foreign nationals in U.S. elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Erroneous Placement&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Minnesota resident and conservative activist Jesse Smith last week filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court a petition &ldquo;to correct the erroneous placement&rdquo; of Ayyadurai on the November ballot. The petition, which names Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.mn.us\/about-the-office\/about-the-office\/about-steve-simon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Secretary of State Steve Simon<\/a> as the defendant, asks the court to force Simon to remove Ayyadurai from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-top-six-takeaways-from-last-nights-primaries\/\" title=\"The Top Six Takeaways From Last Night&#039;s Primaries\">general election lineup<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Why? Because the Constitution disqualifies him. While the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8-HOCjs4DsA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">independent<\/a> candidate may have compelling policy ideas and an understandable contempt for Dr. Anthony Fauci and lockdowns, Ayyadurai is not a natural-born citizen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Because Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai is a naturalized, but not natural born citizen, under Article II, he is ineligible to hold the office of President under the &lsquo;natural born Citizen&rsquo; requirement,&rdquo; states the petition, filed on behalf of Smith by election integrity attorneys Erick Kaardal and Elizabeth Nielsen. The filing also argues that Simon has errors under state statute, which prohibits &ldquo;placement of a candidate on the official ballot who is not eligible to hold the office for which the candidate is filed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Time is of the essence, the plaintiff argues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Because the early voting in Minnesota begins on September 20, 2024, meaning ballots are to be printed soon or are being printed, this Court must take immediate action to direct Secretary of State Steve Simon and his office to remove Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai &hellip;,&rdquo; the petition filed last week states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, Ayyadurai is a very minor candidate in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-democrats-tried-to-reverse-trump-2016-win-change-electors-pledged-votes\/\" title=\"Flashback: Democrats Tried to Reverse Trump 2016 Win, Change Electors&#039; Pledged Votes\">presidential election dominated<\/a> by former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The independent will garner relatively few votes in Minnesota or elsewhere. But in another close, hotly contested election where every vote could prove critical, minor contestants could peel away just enough support to make a difference.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The anti-vax activist and basher of the elite class who has unsuccessfully run for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts might be more likely to take a sliver of votes from Trump in Minnesota and elsewhere. But his position on ballots presents a core constitutional question.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;No Position&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.state.mn.us\/about-the-office\/news-room\/secretary-simon-certifies-presidential-candidates-for-november-5-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">On Thursday,<\/a> Simon certified the presidential candidates appearing on Minnesota&rsquo;s Nov. 5 ballot. Other than Trump and Harris, the list includes Ayyadurai and his running mate, the leftist Green Party ticket, a couple of socialist party tickets, the Libertarians, independent far-left candidate Cornel West and his running mate, and independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. &mdash; despite the fact that he dropped out last week and has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/23\/rfk-jr-drops-out-of-2024-race-endorses-trump-for-president\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">endorsed<\/a> Trump.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In his response to the petition before the Minnesota Supreme Court, Simon disputes &ldquo;particular contentions &hellip; regarding errors or omissions that the Secretary has allegedly committed,&rdquo; but &ldquo;takes no position on&rdquo; Smith&rsquo;s &ldquo;contentions&rdquo; about Ayyadurai&rsquo;s ineligibility to appear on the ballot.&nbsp;The secretary also insisted that he &ldquo;lacked sufficient knowledge to admit or deny the factual allegations in the petition related to whether Ayyadurai is a natural born citizen,&rdquo; the left-dominated Supreme Court noted on Friday. <\/p>\n<p>No position? Doesn&rsquo;t the secretary of state agree that the first constitutional requirement to be president of the United States of America is to be a natural-born citizen?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our office doesn&rsquo;t comment on pending litigation,&rdquo; Peter Bartz-Gallagher, communications director for the Minnesota Secretary of States&rsquo; office told me in an email response to my questions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It appears the office doesn&rsquo;t consider the constitutional requirements when processing ballot access requests.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In his court filing, Simon&rsquo;s attorney said staff &ldquo;determined that the petition met all applicable form and signature requirements provided by Minnesota law.&rdquo; Further, the response argues that the secretary has &ldquo;no legal authority to determine whether a candidate for President is eligible to appear on the ballot.&rdquo; So, Simon&rsquo;s staff didn&rsquo;t investigate whether a candidate &ldquo;meets the federal constitutional requirements to serve as President, including whether the candidate is a natural-born citizen.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How difficult would it be to investigate Ayyadurai&rsquo;s citizenship status? Not very. He&rsquo;s made his humble origins as an Indian-American a central part of his story and his campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday morning, the state Supreme Court dismissed the petition because Smith&rsquo;s attorneys failed to &ldquo;file the proof of service required by our prior orders.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s true. The court demanded the law firm &ldquo;personally serve&rdquo; Ayyadurai and all of his fellow presidential candidates with the petition, the court&rsquo;s briefing order, and other documents within four days of the petition being submitted &mdash; an insane request in a short window of time. Kaardal previously told me the court&rsquo;s order was logistically impossible and cost-prohibitive. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;By failing to comply with the service requirements in our orders, petitioner has deprived Ayyadurai and the other presidential candidates with any meaningful opportunity to respond to the petition by the timeframes in our briefing order,&rdquo; the court&rsquo;s decision states. <\/p>\n<p>So a candidate that can&rsquo;t meet the first requirement to be president in the U.S. Constitution will remain on Minnesota&rsquo;s November ballot. <\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Bizarre Claims&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Ayyadurai, born <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnaindia.com\/business\/report-who-is-shiva-ayyadurai-mumbai-born-inventor-of-email-interested-in-replacing-elon-musk-as-twitter-ceo-3013193\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vellayappa Ayyadurai Shiva,<\/a> filed a preemptive federal <a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/ayyadurai-v-garland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> earlier this year against Attorney General Merrick Garland asking for &ldquo;declaratory judgment that he is eligible to serve as President notwithstanding the natural born citizens clause &hellip; .&rdquo; He claimed his &ldquo;campaign will be hampered by a variety of state and federal officials who will refuse to permit ballot access to [him] on the basis of his place of birth.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit was dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/ayyadurai-v-garland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaint<\/a>, Ayyadurai argued that the First Amendment guarantees his right to run for president regardless of the Constitution&rsquo;s pesky qualifications. And he asserted that such a qualification has been &ldquo;abrogated and implicitly repealed&rdquo; by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Heritage Foundation&rsquo;s Election Law Reform Initiative and former member of the Federal Election Commission, had some pointed descriptors for Ayyadurai&rsquo;s legal arguments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They are nutty claims, bizarre claims,&rdquo; he told me in a phone interview Thursday afternoon. &ldquo;No one would take them seriously.&rdquo; He added that there&rsquo;s no reason why the Minnesota Supreme Court couldn&rsquo;t take judicial notice of the federal court ruling, among others already raised. The petition before the Minnesota court, in fact, references the federal court case.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Von Spakovsky said there have been instances of presidential candidates who were born overseas, like the late <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-fix\/wp\/2016\/01\/07\/there-was-a-very-real-birther-debate-about-john-mccain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sen. John McCain<\/a>, who was born on the Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone where his U.S. Navy officer father served. Ayyadurai&rsquo;s situation is not the same.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There are sometimes provisions in the Constitution that are ambiguous; this is not one of them,&rdquo; the constitutional law expert said. &ldquo;The only reason to leave this individual on the ballot is for partisan political reasons because the Constitution is so clear.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;At Face Value&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Minnesota is among at least three states that have granted Ayyadurai full ballot access as an independent presidential candidate, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Shiva_Ayyadurai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ballotpedia<\/a>. The others are deep blue Washington and, interestingly, deep red <a href=\"https:\/\/sos.iowa.gov\/elections\/pdf\/Candidates\/primarycandidatelist.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iowa<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs&rsquo; office did not respond to a request for comment. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.wa.gov\/about-office\/news\/2024\/nine-presidential-nominations-minor-parties-and-independent-candidates-qualify-washingtons-november\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a> earlier this month, the office laid out the stipulations for candidates to qualify for the general election ballot. None explicitly mentions the constitutional requirement of being a natural-born citizen.<\/p>\n<p>For Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, it&rsquo;s a matter of trust.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The role of the Iowa Secretary of State&rsquo;s Office is to accept filing paperwork from candidates in good faith and at face value,&rdquo; Ashley Hunt, a media contact for the office, told me in an email response. &ldquo;We do not investigate or verify a person&rsquo;s place of birth, where they live, etc.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Objections may be filed with a state panel. Earlier this week, the panel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wowt.com\/2024\/08\/28\/objection-panel-votes-keep-libertarians-off-november-ballot-iowa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted to boot<\/a> three Libertarian Party of Iowa congressional candidates off the November ballot after the party did not follow state law involving caucuses and conventions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;I Do Solemnly Swear&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Ayyadurai has been disqualified on general election ballots in several states, including Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Utah, and, most recently Wisconsin, <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Shiva_Ayyadurai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> Ballotpedia. The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Tuesday <a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinexaminer.com\/2024\/08\/27\/elections-commission-votes-to-keep-kennedy-on-wisconsins-presidential-ballot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted 5-1<\/a> to keep the candidate off the Badger State&rsquo;s November ballot because he failed to meet the Constitution&rsquo;s citizenship requirement. He has lost multiple times in attempting to get on New Jersey&rsquo;s presidential ballot, the Garden States Supreme Court handing Ayyadurai his latest <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Shiva_Ayyadurai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rejection<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The case against Ayyadurai is a simple one: he was born in India to non-American parents, and was naturalized as an American citizen when he was 19. That entitles him to nearly every right afforded to any other citizen, but the U.S. Constitution explicitly requires that the office of president be held by a &lsquo;natural-born citizen,&rsquo; which Ayyadurai isn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; the New Jersey Globe <a href=\"https:\/\/newjerseyglobe.com\/presidential-election\/n-j-supreme-court-bats-down-ayyadurais-ballot-access-appeal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In his presumptive <a href=\"https:\/\/ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov\/cgi-bin\/show_public_doc?2023cv2079-21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filing<\/a> in May in federal court, the independent argued&nbsp; he suffered &ldquo;an injury in fact because Utah and Wyoming have asked him to confirm that he is a natural born citizen as part of their ballot-access process.&rdquo;&nbsp; In Utah, Ayyadurai <a href=\"https:\/\/vote.utah.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2024\/06\/Ayyadurai-Shiva-Pres.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">affirmed<\/a>, &ldquo;I do solemnly swear that I can qualify to hold that office both legally and constitutionally if selected.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In New York, it wasn&rsquo;t the constitutional question but an &ldquo;insufficient&rdquo; number of signatures on his petition of candidacy, <a href=\"https:\/\/elections.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2024\/06\/prima-facie-determinations-at-06132024-commissioner-meeting-draft.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> the New York State Board of Elections. The story was the same in Michigan, where the independent submitted just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/sos\/-\/media\/Project\/Websites\/sos\/BSC-Announcements\/Staff-reports\/Staff-Report-on-Shiva-Ayyadurai.pdf?rev=93e065c588404b79a36a83732e31dec0&amp;hash=368B9E195333392719474621239F95D6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">889<\/a> of the 12,000 signatures needed, according to the state&rsquo;s Bureau of Elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Liberals have been pushing hard for noncitizens to participate in U.S. elections, a position underscored by <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/11\/if-democrats-wanted-to-reassure-voters-of-safe-elections-they-would-have-backed-the-save-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrats in the House voting en masse against a bill<\/a> this summer that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the Minnesota petition before the Supreme Court, Smith argues that including Ayyadurai on the general election ballot could harm the Minnesota voter.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai were to win Minnesota&rsquo;s popular vote, thus gaining the Electoral votes, Minnesota would lose our Electoral votes and be subject to the rest of the nation,&rdquo; the petition asserts. It acknowledges that such a possibility &ldquo;may be small, but any candidate with their name on the ballot for any office has a potential to win.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, constitutional law experts like von Spakovsky say allowing a foreign-born, naturalized citizen access to the presidential ballot changes the Constitution without the benefit of amendment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shiva Ayyadurai has a compelling political narrative. Born in 1963 in Bombay (now Mumbai) as &#8220;a low-caste untouchable&#8221; within India&#8217;s caste system, he relocated to the United States with his family at the age of seven in search of a better life. He earned an undergraduate degree in computer science and electrical engineering from MIT, where he also obtained advanced degrees, including a PhD in biological engineering. Ayyadurai claims to have invented email and was briefly married to actress Fran Drescher. Now, he aspires to become President of the United States; however, he faces a significant obstacle. Although he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1983, he is not classified as a natural-born citizen\u2014one of the three constitutional requirements for presidential eligibility outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>This clause states that only natural-born citizens or those who were citizens at the time of the Constitution&#8217;s adoption can hold the office of President; candidates must also be at least thirty-five years old and have resided in the U.S. for fourteen years.<\/p>\n<p>Ayyadurai has dedicated much of his campaign to challenging this restriction using what some legal experts describe as &#8220;bizarre&#8221; arguments regarding constitutional law. Notably, some state election officials appear unaware or indifferent to this long-standing citizenship requirement that has been upheld for nearly 240 years.<\/p>\n<p>The issue raises broader concerns about citizenship and electoral integrity amid ongoing efforts by some Democrats to involve foreign nationals in U.S elections.<\/p>\n<p>In Minnesota last week, conservative activist Jesse Smith filed a petition with the state Supreme Court seeking &#8220;to correct the erroneous placement&#8221; of Ayyadurai on November&#8217;s ballot due to his disqualification under constitutional law. The petition names Democrat Secretary of State Steve Simon as defendant and requests that Ayyadurai be removed from consideration because he does not meet eligibility criteria set forth by Article II.<\/p>\n<p>Despite having appealing policy ideas and criticism towards figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci regarding lockdowns during COVID-19, Ayyadurai\u2019s status as a naturalized rather than natural-born citizen renders him unqualified for presidency according to Smith\u2019s petition filed by election integrity attorneys Erick Kaardal and Elizabeth Nielsen.<\/p>\n<p>The urgency is emphasized since early voting begins on September 20th next year; thus ballots are being prepared soon requiring immediate action from Secretary Simon\u2019s office regarding Ayyadurai&#8217;s candidacy status.<\/p>\n<p>While it is acknowledged that Ayyadurai may attract only minimal support compared to major candidates like former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris\u2014his presence on ballots could still influence close elections where every vote counts significantly.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday Simon certified candidates for Minnesota\u2019s November ballot which includes Trump and Harris alongside other independent contenders including Ayyadurai despite ongoing legal challenges against him concerning his eligibility based on citizenship requirements outlined constitutionally.<\/p>\n<p>In response to Smith&#8217;s petition before Minnesota&#8217;s Supreme Court Simon disputed certain claims but did not take an official stance on whether Ayyadurai should be considered eligible or not citing insufficient knowledge about his citizenship status\u2014a surprising position given such fundamental qualifications exist within constitutional law itself.<\/p>\n<p>Simon\u2019s office indicated they do not investigate candidate backgrounds beyond ensuring paperwork meets formality standards under state laws which raises questions about their adherence towards federal constitutional mandates when processing ballot access requests.<\/p>\n<p>A court ruling dismissed Smith\u2019s petition due largely because procedural errors occurred during filing processes preventing timely responses from involved parties including candidates themselves leading ultimately toward maintaining an individual deemed constitutionally unqualified upon Minnesota ballots come November.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year,Ayyadurai preemptively sued Attorney General Merrick Garland seeking judicial confirmation asserting rights against perceived barriers stemming from birthplace issues affecting campaign viability\u2014a lawsuit ultimately dismissed highlighting tensions surrounding interpretations around First Amendment rights versus established qualifications necessary per federal guidelines governing presidential candidacy criteria specifically addressing \u201cnatural born\u201d stipulations clearly defined within foundational documents guiding American governance structures over centuries past.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota joins several other states allowing full access onto general election ballots despite ongoing disputes surrounding legitimacy tied directly back toward original founding principles enshrined into national framework emphasizing necessity behind ensuring proper vetting processes remain intact safeguarding democratic integrity across all levels throughout electoral cycles moving forward into future contests ahead amidst evolving political landscapes shaping contemporary discourse today across America overall reflecting diverse perspectives emerging nationwide continually influencing public opinion shaping outcomes seen unfolding regularly through various channels available now more than ever before!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2334358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-30-at-12.48.42-AM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3728,27757,3813,35293],"class_list":["post-2334357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-foreign-born","tag-immigration","tag-presidential-candidate"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-30-at-12.48.42-AM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2334357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2334358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2334357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2334357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2334357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}