Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment
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The Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment, also known as the Hatch Amendment, is a Constitutional Amendment proposed in July 2003 by US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to repeal the nativist clause prohibiting foreign-born individuals from holding the office of President or Vice President of the United States. Hatch's amendment would allow anyone who has been a US citizen for twenty years to seek these offices. In the wake of the California recall election of 2003, this proposal is widely seen as an attempt to make California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger eligible for the presidency. However, there are other politicians who were not born as American citizens and therefore would benefit from such an amendment. Notables include, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, California Congressman Tom Lantos and Florida Senator Mel Martinez. The text of the amendment reads as follows:
- Section 1. A person who is a citizen of the United States, who has been for 20 years a citizen of the United States, and who is otherwise eligible to the Office of President, is not ineligible to that Office by reason of not being a native born citizen of the United States.
- Section 2. This article shall not take effect unless it has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States not later than 7 years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
