Gov. Jan Brewer on Wednesday shot down an effort by the Arizona Legislature to require presidential candidates to provide proof of citizenship in order to get on the state's ballot.

In her veto letter, Brewer said House Bill 2177 "creates significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona."

The House and Senate could override the governor's veto with a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber, but on Monday, such a move appeared unlikely.

Read Brewer's letter

House Speaker Kirk Adams shook his head wearily when asked Monday evening if lawmakers would attempt to override the veto. "No," he said. He added that legislative researchers found that the last time a governor's veto was overridden was 50 years ago.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Carl Seel, R-Phoenix, said pursuing an override would be as much about defying the governor as it would be supporting the bill's intent.

"Overrides are a real difficult monster," said Seel, who called the governor's decision to veto the measure "unfortunate."

The state Legislature was the first in the nation to pass such a bill.

The U.S. Constitution requires that presidential candidates be "natural born" U.S. citizens, be at least 35 years old, and be a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

HB 2177 would have required the candidates' national political party to provide documents validating that information, preferably with a long-form birth certificate. That generally means a detailed birth certificate with extensive birth-related information, such as date and time of birth, the doctor's signature, the hospital and parents' names and birthplaces of the parents.

If that document was not available, the candidate would have had to provide at least two of the following: an early baptismal or circumcision certificate, hospital birth record, postpartum medical record signed by the person who delivered the child or an early census record.

The bill would have given the secretary of state the authority to determine whether the documents were appropriate and whether that person's name should appear on the ballot. Some legal experts questioned the constitutionality of such an effort. Brewer did not address those concerns in her veto letter. But she did suggest the measure was not in good taste.

"I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on Earth to submit their 'early baptismal or circumcision certificates,' among other records, to the Arizona Secretary of State," Brewer said in her letter. "This is a bridge too far."

The push for so-called birther measures stems from questions about President Barack Obama's birthplace. Hawaii officials have repeatedly confirmed Obama's birth in their state, but some continue to believe he was born in Kenya, his father's homeland.

Lawmakers in several states, including Arizona, have proposed legislation to require that candidates show proof of citizenship. But, like the numerous lawsuits that have been filed challenging Obama's qualifications, none has been successful.

Democrats cheered Brewer's decision Monday, while some members of her own party questioned the wisdom of her actions.

"At the end of the day, it was the right thing for Arizona," Sen. Steve. Gallardo, D-Phoenix, said of the veto, adding that the birth-certificate bill "puts another black cloud over the state of Arizona."

But Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, said the bill would have put questions to rest over Obama's citizenship.

Rep. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, said he wasn't surprised by her action, suggesting that Brewer believed the bill would put the secretary of state in an uncomfortable position.

In her letter, Brewer wrote, "I do not support designating one person as the gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically motivated decisions."

Republic reporters Alia Beard Rau, Mary K. Reinhart and Mary Jo Pitzl contributed to this article.