Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett has reportedly received a response from the state of Hawaii regarding his request for verification that President Obama was born in the United States.
According to KTVK in Phoenix, the Hawaii attorney general's office told Bennett that he must take a number of steps, including proving that the confirmation is necessary to update his office's records, in order to receive the verification.
Bennett, in a radio interview last week, said he had petitioned the Aloha State to verify the existence of the president's long-form birth certificate, which the White House released last spring. According to Bennett, the request was made on behalf of over 1,200 Arizonans who had emailed him with concerns over Obama's eligibility for office.
Bennett further fanned the flames of birther rumors by threatening to keep Obama off his state's ballot if Hawaii failed to comply.
"I'm not a birther. I believe the president was born in Hawaii -- or at least I hope he was," Bennett said. "But my responsibility as secretary of state is to make sure that the ballots in Arizona are correct and that those people whose names are on the ballot have met the qualifications for the office they are seeking."
Although birther conspiracy theories have had something of a resurgence in recent months, the movement peaked prior to the White House's official birth certificate release last year. In 2010, Hawaii received so many requests for copies of the document that the state's governor, Linda Lingle, signed a bill allowing state officials to ignore the constant inquiries.
The state's current governor, Neil Abercrombie, has also expressed exasperation with birthers.