Illinois judge to decide jurisdiction over Cruz eligibility complaint

By Fiona Ortiz
CHICAGO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - An Illinois judge on Friday said
she would decide next month whether she had jurisdiction over a
voter's complaint that Republican presidential candidate Ted
Cruz should not be on the state's primary ballot because he was
born in Canada.
Lawrence Joyce, a lawyer and pharmacist, filed a complaint
in January with the Illinois State Board of Elections saying
that under the U.S. Constitution, the Texas senator cannot run
for president since he is not a "natural born" citizen. Cruz was
born in Calgary, Alberta of a Cuban father and an American
mother.
The Board rejected Joyce's complaint, so he petitioned the
Cook County Circuit Court to review the issue. Circuit Court
Judge Maureen Ward Kirby said on Friday she was not sure she had
jurisdiction, and set a March 1 hearing for arguments on whether
to dismiss the complaint.
The complaint comes in the wake of repeated attacks on Cruz
about his eligibility by New York businessman and presidential
rival Donald Trump, who has said Cruz may not be qualified to
serve as president because he was born in Canada.
Cruz says he is a natural-born citizen because his mother
was American. Children born abroad to American citizens can
immediately be registered as U.S. citizens through a document
known as a consular report of birth abroad.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in January found that one quarter of
Republicans did not think Cruz was qualified to be president
because of his birthplace.
Cruz and Trump are locked in a battle to win the Republican
nomination for the Nov. 8 election.
Cruz won the first nominating contest in Iowa, while Trump
prevailed in the second in New Hampshire and is the favorite to
win South Carolina's primary on Saturday.
Lawyers for both Cruz and the Illinois elections board
appeared at Friday's hearing and said they would present motions
to dismiss the case based on jurisdiction and because they said
Lawrence did not properly serve notice of his complaint.
Joyce is representing himself. The Illinois primary is March
15 but early voting has already begun.