PHOENIX » Controversy over President Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president flared anew Friday as Democrats criticized a Republican state official’s request that Hawaii officials confirm they have Obama’s birth certificate.
"This is just blatant political pandering," Arizona House Minority Leader Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix, said of Secretary of State Ken Bennett.
Bennett, an elected Republican, denied that, saying he was responding to constituents’ concerns. "I am not a birther," he said.
So-called birthers maintain Obama was born in Kenya, his father’s homeland, and his birth certificate must be a fake. The Constitution requires the president and vice president to be natural-born U.S. citizens.
Bennett had said Thursday during an interview on radio station KFYI that Obama’s Arizona ballot status is in question unless and until Hawaii responds positively to his request under a Hawaii law regarding confirmation of birth certificates.
Hawaii Attorney General spokesman Joshua Wisch said the state has granted Obama’s request for a certified copy of his "long form" birth certificate.
He said an April 2011 news release along with accompanying documentation, including the birth certificate, have been available on the state Department of Health website at hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/obama.html.
Wisch said the attorney general’s office has told Bennett that to receive anything beyond the publicly available information, Bennett would need to show he legitimately needs it.
Wisch said late Friday that Bennett hasn’t done that despite numerous email and phone exchanges between their offices since March.
Wisch said Hawaii laws require Bennett to show legal authority that his office needs the records to update its official lists as part of its ordinary work.
"As soon as Secretary Bennett’s office provides adequate legal authority, it will receive verification," Wisch said in a written statement.
"The state of Hawaii would look to be responsive to all legitimate requests for information, but to do so we must comply with Hawaii law governing the protection of our vital records," he said.
On the Arizona secretary of state’s website, Bennett said he’s been on record since 2009 that he believes the president was born in Hawaii. "I am not a ‘birther," he said. "At the request of a constituent, I asked the state of Hawaii for a verification in lieu of certified copy."
Gov. Jan Brewer appointed Bennett as Arizona secretary of state in January 2009, a position she formerly occupied. He was elected to a full term in 2010.
Bennett did not respond to queries from the Star-Advertiser about why he would make the request when Obama already ran for president in Arizona in 2008.
The newspaper also did not receive a response about the name of the constituent who made the request.
It’s not the first time a high-ranking Republican in Arizona has raised the issue of Obama’s birth.
Arizona Congressman John David Hayworth Jr., who unsuccessfully ran against U.S. Sen. John McCain, called in 2010 for Obama to produce his birth certificate.
Bennett said Friday that he assumes he’ll get confirmation he requested in March from Hawaii officials. "I’m working from the assumption that they will verify it one way or another," he told The Associated Press.
But he said no candidates will get on Arizona’s ballot without submitting forms declaring their eligibility.
"No one is on the ballot yet," Bennett said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
