Two bills are pending in the Georgia House of Representatives to require birth certificates for presidential candidates. The first, HB 37, was introduced on January 10 by Representative Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta). It requires political parties to submit “original documentation” for candidates who appear on that party’s presidential primary, and also for the party to submit “original documentation” for its nominee in November.

The second bill, HB 401, was introduced on February 28 by Representative Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross). It originally had 93 co-sponsors, but now it has 89, because four co-sponsors have removed their names. The Georgia House has 116 Republicans, 63 Democrats, and one independent. All of the co-sponsors are Republicans. HB 401 requires “A certified exact copy of the candidate’s first original long-form birth certificate that includes the candidate’s date, time, and place of birth; the name of the specific hospital or other location at which the candidate was born; the attending physician at the candidate’s birth; the names of the candidate’s birth parents and their respective birthplaces and places of residence; and signtures of the witness or witnesses in attendance at the candidate’s birth.” However, the bill says if such a document does not exist, the candidate shall attach other documents. The bill does not say who is responsible for furnishing the birth certificate, for purposes of the general election ballot. The parties are responsible for submitting such documents for purposes of the presidential primary ballot.

HB 401 also says that if any presidential elector votes for someone in the electoral college who has not submitted documentation of birth, the elector will be guilty of a “misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.” Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this news.

The Texas House Elections Committee will hold a hearing on HB 418 on March 7, Monday. This is the bill that imposes filing fees on candidates who get on the ballot by petition, or by convention. Currently, only candidates running in a partisan primary pay filing fees. No party other than the Democratic or Republican Parties has ever had a primary that was paid for by Texas taxpayers, except for La Raza Unida in the 1970’s.

The purpose of the filing fees in primaries is to prevent the primary ballot from being too crowded. No one needs a petition to get on a partisan primary ballot, so the fees are the only protection against overly-crowded primary ballots. That rationale for the fees does not apply to the general election. Parties that nominate by convention (such as the Libertarian and Green Parties) pay for their own conventions, and there is no concern about crowded ballots at a convention. The general election ballot is never crowded in Texas because ballot access for independent candidates and new political parties is so difficult. When the Green Party qualified in Texas in 2010, the petition to get it on the ballot cost over $500,000.

Texas does occasionally have crowded ballots in special elections, because in special elections, no one needs a petition to get on the ballot. The sponsor of HB 418 is Leo Berman (R-Tyler).