March 14, 2016
A Pittsburgh resident is appealing his case against presidential candidate Ted Cruz, opening the possibility that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could rule on Cruz's eligibility to run.
As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, a Commonwealth Court judge on Thursday denied a request from resident Carmon Elliott to strike Cruz from the Pennsylvania primary ballot. Elliot argued that Cruz was born in Canada and is thus ineligible to run.
Elliot said on Friday that he plans to appeal the case, the Associated Press confirmed.
Related story: Trump escalates attacks on Ted Cruz's eligibility to run
The Constitution states that someone must be a "natural-born citizen" to run for president, meaning that they are a citizen from birth. Although Cruz was born in Canada, by law he was a U.S. citizen at birth because his mother, born in Delaware, was and is a U.S. citizen.
Judge Dan Pellegrini ruled that Cruz is indeed a natural-born citizen and certified that his name will be on the primary ballot on April 26.
Cruz is not the first man born outside the U.S. to run for president. George Romney, who ran for president in 1968, was born in Mexico. John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. Both were considered natural-born citizens, says Politifact, but the U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on this issue.
