Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • With the 2016 Presidential race starting to heat up, several politicians have officially

  • thrown their hats into the ring. As usual, a number of political analysts have already

  • started to question the candidatesconstitutional qualifications, namely that of Ted Cruz, who

  • was born in Canada. So we wanted to know, who is allowed to run for president?

  • Well, according to the Constitution, there are only three major qualifications to run

  • for President. You must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and have been

  • a permanent resident of the United States for no less than 14 years.

  • There are also a few situations that could limit your eligibility. If youve been impeached

  • and convicted, the Senate can prevent you from serving as President. Additionally, part

  • of the 14th amendment says that if you take part in a rebellion or insurrection against

  • the United States, after swearing an oath to the Constitution, you are disqualified

  • from holding the Presidential office. However, that one can be overturned by a two-thirds

  • vote from Congress.

  • Now, many people assume that in order to be a natural born citizen, you must be born within

  • the physical borders of the United States. But the constitution does not actually define

  • what a natural born citizen is. In 2011 a Congressional Research Service report clarified

  • the distinction. A person born outside the country can qualify as long as one of their

  • parents is a US citizen. This is known asjus sanguinisor, “the law of descent”,

  • as defined by British common law at the time of the Constitution’s creation. This is

  • in addition to the concept ofjus soli”, or being born on US territory. Essentially,

  • if you are automatically granted US citizenship at birth, then you fulfill the requirement.

  • It is important to note that the United States Supreme Court has never addressed this question

  • directly.

  • As is stands, most legal experts say that Ted Cruz’s Canadian birth by his American

  • citizen mother seems to qualify the candidate as having fulfilled the natural born citizen

  • requirement. Had Barack Obama actually been born outside of the country, this interpretation

  • would have also qualified him, as his mother was an American citizen at the time of his

  • birth. In any case, without a constitutional amendment or Supreme Court ruling, there is

  • no 100% clear answer as to what defines a natural born citizen, and who is allowed to

  • run for president. But in legal circles, there is little debate. So, if you meet the requirements,

  • then by all means, register as a candidate with the FEC and run for president. Make sure

  • to mention Test Tube Daily in your Inaugural Address.

  • The Supreme Court plays an important role in american politics, but theyre actually

  • becoming more and more divided by party lines. To learn about how the bias of the supreme

  • court is increasing, check out our video here. Thanks for watching TestTube! Please subscribe

  • for all our new videos.

With the 2016 Presidential race starting to heat up, several politicians have officially

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it