Clause 5 - Requirements To Be President of the United States

It might surprise you to know that the three basic requirements to be President of the  Uniited States have not changed since George Washington was in office.  

Seal of the President of the United States

Anyone who wants to be a candidate for President must:

• Be a natural-born citizens of the United States
• Have been a resident of the United States for 14 years
• Be at least 35 years of age.

See below for "Further Requirements"

Constitution: Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 -  "No Person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of the US Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of the 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."

Discussion:

- The person who becomes President must be a natural born citizen. Written into law at a time when America was fresh from a war with Great Britain, there were still some stragglers living in the country whose allegiance was with their mother country. This requirement was to instill that the elected person will be loyal to only the United States. Ultimately citizenship information should be made known sooner rather than later - that is, before the person announces their candidacy.    

 - The courts have never been called on to decide the citizenship of children born outside of the United States to American citizens. For example, children of American citizens who serve in foreign embassies, on military bases, or in countries at war with the US.  Acceptable proof would  be a birth certificate because it shows date and place of birth. 

- Written into law at a time when America was fresh from winning a war with Great Britain, the authors were conscious of the fact that there were people living in the country whose allegiance was with their mother country. Barring foreigners was meant to protect the United States from them holding office.

- Where one is born carries more emphasis. We saw an example of the ways this could be abused when Donald Trump spread rumors about President Obama's place of birth. The Naturalization Act of 1790 provided that the children of United States citizens who were born overseas and at sea are natural born citizens as long as one parent was an American at the time of the child's birth. Some other examples:  Senator John McCain of Arizona was born in the Panama Canal Zone. Governor George Romney of Massachusetts was born in Mexico. Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona was born in Arizona before it became a US state.

- Religon, culture, gender, prior experience, military service, financial or educational background have no bearing on whether one can be a candidate for President or eventually hold that office. There is also no requirement to be an attorney, have legal or former military experience. But strategists say that it helps to have studied law and economics. Fact: There are over 30 Presidents with military experience, and dozens of candidates who had prior political experience, for example, as mayor, governor, congressman, senator.

- The fourteen-year residency requirement was made to allow the ample time for the public to evaluate a candidate's track record in the community, their background, their personal and political interests, and their character and merits.

- The fourteen year requirement does not mandate that the person must live in the United States for the whole fourteen years. The courts have interpreted it to mean that the person must have (own or rent) a permanent domicile (not land, but a physical home) in the United States that is their permanent residence. For example, some states have a requirement that a person must live in a state for six months to be considered a resident of that state. 

Further requirements:

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) issues forms for each person to register their candidacy within 15 days of making their announcement. The forms include monthly or quarterly financial reports, that must be completed once a candidate raises $5,000 in contributions or spends $5,000 for their campaign.  Regular reports must be filed (monthly or quarterly) as designated on the form in order to disclose receipts and expenses.

The Federal Election Commission also requires, within 15 days, that the candidate establish a principle campaign committee to accept contributions and to pay the expenses of the campaign. Additionally, the candidate can option to authorize more campaign committees to help raise and spend funds, but only the principal committee is required. 

The campaign committee must register by filing a "Statement of Organization" form which covers five pages of the information stated on this post.

If a candidate has run in a prior election, they still must file a "Statement of Candidacy" form but they keep the same FEC identification number they had last time and the "Statement of Organization" only needs to be amended to show new names for their campaign committee members. 

Registration does not qualify a candidate to have their name on the ballot. A candidate must consult the election offices in a person's home state and complete the required registration forms.

There are contribution limits and limits on who can contribute and how often which is updated annually in election years.

FEC Requirements for Candidates: 

• Apply for a Tax ID number 
• Establish a designated bank account for campaign funds
• Appointing a Treasurer
• Apply for ballot access through your state government to get your name on the ballot.
• Be aware of the election dates in every state in the country
• File monthly and quarterly financial reports of campaign contributions and expenditures.

 

 

Sources:

https://fec.gov 

https://constitution.congress.gov

https://usa.gov/requirements-for-presidential-candidates

https://loc.gov