Senate-seeker wants Obama birth-certificate treatment

Mexican-born candidate: 'If I didn't prove citizenship, I'd be removed from the ballot'

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

A Mexican-born candidate for U.S. Senate said he is considering a lawsuit against the Missouri secretary of state for discrimination because her office forced him to produce a birth certificate but "didn't make Obama show proof of citizenship" to appear on the ballot.

Hector Maldonado, 38, a self-described "Lincolnian Republican conservative," is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri. He was born one of 10 children in Durango, Mexico. His father is a migrant field worker who owns a small hog ranch in Perris, Calif.

Maldonado continued, "But it's not that simple. I didn't get away with it. I got a certified letter from Ms. Robin Carnahan's office saying that if I did not prove that I was a U.S. citizen, then I would be removed from the ballot."

He claims Carnahan's office gave him a deadline of May 12.

"I got all my documents together: my birth certificate, which is a Mexican birth certificate; my naturalization certificate; my orders sending me to Iraq and Afghanistan; my bronze-star citations and a couple of officer evaluations that say I'm a pretty good and effective leader," he said. "So I brought all this documentation, and they were only interested in the naturalization certificate. They made a photocopy of it."

Maldonado said he asked Carnahan's office if his citizenship documentation would be public record and available to anyone who wants a copy.

"They said, oh yes, absolutely, anyone that wants proof, we have it," he explained. "I said, OK, can you do me a favor then? I'm sure Ms. Carnahan requested the same of Barack Obama when he petitioned to get on the Missouri ballot to become president."

He added, "They had no response. They had nothing."

During the following July 5 interview with Karen Berka of Branson Radio Live posted on YouTube, Maldonado explains why he thinks his rights were violated when the secretary of state's office asked for proof of U.S. citizenship when he filed to run for the Senate: FULL STORY

In an earlier interview on the subject, Maldonado said he spoke with other candidates running for the same office and asked if they had to show proof of citizenship or prove that they were citizens.

"They said no. I was the only one," he said. "... I just don't know, if I were running as a Democrat, would I have to prove the same thing? Or is there a more stringent process for the Republican candidates?"

The following is a YouTube posting with audio from that interview: