Fall City resident Steve Marquis is going to King County Superior Court to challenge the Washington Secretary of State’s standards on allowing candidates on the state ballot.

Marquis told the Record that he has been following online reports about a challenge by a Pennsylvania attorney to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s citizenship. He filed suit this month to demand that Secretary of State Sam Reed determine whether Obama is a valid U.S. citizen before the Nov. 4 election. There has been some speculation on the Internet that Obama was born in Kenya rather than Hawaii. Obama’s campaign has brought forward his Hawaii birth certificate in response, according to media reports.

Marquis said he’s concerned about potential civil unrest if Obama wins the election but is later is discovered not to be a U.S. citizen. Marquis argued that it’s easier to file for president than to apply for a job.

David Ammons, a spokesman for the Washington Secretary of State’s office, said the state typically places the nominees of the major parties on the ballot. The secretary’s office also certifies signatures for nominees of minor parties. However, the state doesn’t examine candidates’ birth records.

“We don’t have staff or statutory authority to go off investigating complaints,” or in this case, residency, Ammons said. In the case of the November election, Ammons described Marquis’ effort as “too little, too late, plus we can’t do it.”