Two New York voters are suing the state Board of Elections to have Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz booted from the ballot over questions about his citizenship.
The issue has been trumpeted by Cruz’s foe Donald Trump, though the pair who are suing say they are not aligned with the billionaire businessman.
“Notwithstanding the bluster of Mr. Trump … my issue is there is a constitutional problem that has arisen, and it has to be addressed,” said Manhasset, LI, resident William Gallo, who filed the lawsuit with Manhattanite Barry Korman.
The pair cites an article of the US Constitution that says, “No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to the office of president.”
Gallo, 85, a Republican, has not yet chosen a candidate to back.
“It’s got nothing to do with Mr. Cruz as far as whether he’s a good conservative or not a good conservative,” Gallo said. Instead, Gallo said, he wants the court to settle the constitutional question so that “people can go to the polls feeling they have an answer.”
Korman, 81, of West 96th Street, declined to comment. But his lawyer, Roger Bernstein, said Korman is an independent who wants to resolve the matter before the New York state primary in April.
Cruz contends that he is a naturalized citizen because his mother was an American. Most experts say that makes Cruz eligible to be president.
His spokesman declined to comment.
Top New York Trump supporter Carl Paladino applauded the suit challenging Cruz’s citizenship.
“The law is clear. If you’re born in Canada, you’re not a natural born citizen,” said Paladino, the 2010 GOP candidate for governor from Buffalo and a chief state organizer of the Trump campaign.
A spokesman for the state Board of Elections said the agency will address the matter at a meeting Feb. 23. The rep, John Conklin, said the BOE is likely to punt on the debate.
An agency staff report has found that the Board of Elections “is not the proper venue [for the issue] because the presidential primary doesn’t elect candidates for the presidency, it elects delegates for the national convention,” Conklin said.