Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett satisfied Obama was born in United States
President Obama will be on the ballot in Arizona after all.
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R), who earlier this month requested more information from Hawaii on President Obama’s birth certificate, has gotten the confirmation he needed. 
U.S. President Barack Obama's birth certificate that was released by the White House in Washington April 27, 2011. (REUTERS/The White House/Handout)
“Late yesterday, our office received the 'verification in-lieu of certified copy' from officials within the Hawaii Department of Health that we requested in March,” Bennett said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “They have officially confirmed that the information in the copy of the Certificate of Live Birth for the President matches the original record in their files.”
Bennett also defended his decision to request the additional information, which drew massive national headlines. The secretary of state, who is planning to run for governor in 2014, has repeatedly said that he is not a “birther” who believes Obama was born abroad. He was merely answering the requests of over a thousand Arizonans who wanted Obama’s birth certificate examined.
“At the request of numerous constituents, I merely asked Hawaiian officials to verify the information contained within President Obama’s original birth certificate,” he said in the statement. “They have complied with the request and I consider the matter closed.”
Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio is one of the most prominent national figures questioning Obama’s birth origins. A bill requiring presidential candidates to provide proof of citizenship in Arizona was vetoed last year by Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who said the measure “creates significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona.”
On Tuesday, Bennett told a local radio station that he “didn’t do this for attention” and that “if I embarrassed the state, I apologize.” But, he added: “What is so sacred or untouchable about this question that you can’t even ask the question?”
- Spam
- Obscene
- Duplicate
Blog Contributors
Chris Cillizza
Chris Cillizza is founder and editor of The Fix, a leading blog on state and national politics. He is the author of The Gospel According to the Fix: An Insider’s Guide to a Less than Holy World of Politics and an MSNBC contributor and political analyst. He also regularly appears on NBC and NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show. He joined The Post in 2005 and was named one of the top 50 journalists by Washingtonian in 2009.
Juliet Eilperin
Juliet Eilperin covers the White House for the Washington Post. She served as the Post's House of Representatives reporter from 1998-2004, covering the impeachment of Bill Clinton, lobbying, legislation, and five national congressional campaigns. Since 2004 she has been one of the country’s leading reporters covering the environment, reporting on science, policy and politics in areas including climate change, oceans, and air quality. She is the author of two books, "Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives," and "Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks." Follow her on Twitter.
Ed O’Keefe
Ed O’Keefe covers Congress and politics for the Washington Post. He previously covered the 2008 and 2012 campaigns and reported on federal agencies and federal employees as author of The Federal Eye blog. Follow Ed on Twitter.
Aaron Blake
Aaron Blake covers national politics at the Washington Post, where he writes regularly for “The Fix,” the Post’s top political blog. A Minnesota native and summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota, Aaron has also written about politics for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and The Hill newspaper. Aaron and his wife, Danielle, live in Annandale, Va. Follow him on Twitter.
Sean Sullivan
Sean Sullivan covers national politics for “The Fix.” Prior to joining the Washington Post in the summer of 2012, Sean was the editor of Hotline On Call, National Journal Hotline’s politics blog. He has also worked for NHK Japan Public Broadcasting and ABC News. Sean is a graduate of Hamilton College, where he received a degree in Philosophy. He lives in Washington, D.C. Follow Sean on Twitter.
Scott Clement
Scott Clement is a survey research analyst for Capital Insight, the independent polling group of Washington Post Media. Scott specializes in public opinion about politics, election campaigns and public policy. He helps design and analyze all Washington Post polls, including the Washington Post-ABC News poll. Follow Scott on Twitter.
Rachel Weiner
Rachel Weiner covers national politics for Post Politics and The Fix. She came to the Washington Post in 2010 as a political web editor and anchored the Post's 2012 election blog. She was previously a web editor at The Huffington Post. Follow her on Twitter.
Latest Tweets
@benpershing @JesseFFerguson @jmartpolitico best ever. Or Don Baker giving it to Robb press aide.
Gawker is doing kickstarter-esque campaign to raise $200k to buy Rob Ford video: http://t.co/phZXyfocOC
The NRSC narrowly edged out the DSCC in April fundraising: http://t.co/FRJKhZ7SYp
Loading...
Comments