Ted Cruz, tagged as “Canadian” by a needling Donald Trump since the GOP race tightened in January, rejects any idea of being ineligible to be U.S. president. While Trump hasn’t followed up on his threat to sue Calgary-born Cruz over what he says is the Texas senator not meeting the constitutional requirement of being a “natural-born citizen,” plenty of other people have. Trump has warned that Democrats will disrupt the electoral process by suing if Cruz is the nominee. And that’s caused Cruz a bit of trouble. He has had to lawyer up to fight the more than half-dozen lawsuits around the country, some in federal court, some in state court. A Cook County, Ill., judge tossed one of the suits Tuesday, not over the citizenship issue but over a technicality of how the papers were served.
On Thursday, a judge of the New York state Supreme Court in Albany will hear a case brought by two New York voters against the New York State Board of Elections for listing someone on the ballot who they allege is not eligible to be president. “My guys are of the view that before you go to the voting booth you don’t want to waste your vote on someone who isn’t going to be eligible,” said Roger Bernstein, the Manhattan attorney for plaintiffs Barry Korman and William Gallo, who are retired.
The judge will consider issues not directly related to Cruz’s status, but whether the court has jurisdiction and whether papers were filed on time. Cruz’s position is that his mother was a U.S. citizen when he was born, conferring him natural-born citizenship. His father was a Cuban émigré.
The individual cases across the country appear unconnected. Plaintiffs range from a conservative Illinois supporter of Republican Ben Carson to a Texas lawyer who supports Bernie Sanders.
Full Article: Ted Cruz, facing suits on Canadian birth, lawyers up | The State.