Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

''U.S. citizen'' definition in law

In the ''Voter Registration in California'' 2001 handbook (put out by the Secretary of State) on pg. 3 under ''Who Can Register to Vote'' it says ''In order to register to vote, a person must: be a citizen of the United States'' and although this booklett dosen't include a definition for the term ''United States citizen'' it states under ''Citizenship'': ''Citizenship is defined in several places in both federal and state law''. My qusestion is: Where in California law is the term: ''United States citizen'' or ''citizen of the United States'' defined?


Asked on 3/24/04, 10:07 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: ''U.S. citizen'' definition in law

You're a U.S. citizen if you were born here, legally naturalized, or in some cases if you were born overseas to one or more parents who were U.S. citizens. I don't know offhand whether or not the term is or is not defined in California state law. If you want to search Califonia state law, you can do so on www.leginfo.ca.gov . You could also try a search engine such as google.com .

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Answered on 3/24/04, 10:19 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: ''U.S. citizen'' definition in law

I agree with Mr. Stone's definition of citizenship. California law does not define the word "citizenship" because citizenship is a federal matter and is defined exclusively by federal law. If a state tried to define "citizenship" in any way that differed from the federal definition, then the state definition would be invalid.

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Answered on 3/25/04, 12:25 am


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