Arizona Lawmaker Revives Bill Requiring Presidential Candidates to Show Birth Certificate

An Arizona lawmaker has reintroduced a proposal that would require presidential candidates to provide their birth certificates in order to remain on the ballot in the state.

The "birther bill," which state Rep. Judy Burges failed to get through the Arizona legislature last year, has already attracted more than 30 co-sponsors in both chambers. The proposal comes out of a fringe movement that believes President Obama, whose father was from Kenya, did not meet the citizenship requirements to run in 2008.

Though his campaign provided a Certification of Live Birth showing he was born in Hawaii, skeptics have called for the president to release the long-form birth certificate -- one of several documents required under the Arizona proposal.

Under Burges' bill, presidential campaign committees would have to provide an affidavit stating a candidate's citizenship and age. The bill would require along with that "an original long-form birth certificate that includes the date and place of birth, the names of the hospital and the attending physician and signatures of the witnesses in attendance."

It would also require a "sworn statement attesting that the candidate has not held dual or multiple citizenship and that the candidate's allegiance is solely to the United States of America." Finally, it would require another sworn statement detailing the candidate's "places of residence" in the United States 14 years prior to filing.

The bill would prohibit Arizona's secretary of state from listing on the ballot any candidate who does not meet those requirements.