( CNN ) -- Arizona Gov . Jan Brewer vetoed a bill late Monday that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they were American citizens , born in the United States , before their names could have been placed on the state ballot . The so-called `` birther bill '' got final approval in the state House last week . Now that Brewer , a Republican , has vetoed it , the bill will not become law unless legislators vote to override her veto . `` As a former Secretary of State , I do not support designating one person as a gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate , which could lead to arbitrary or politically-motivated decisions , '' the governor wrote in a letter addressed to the Arizona House speaker . Under the measure , if there were any dispute about whether a candidate had proved he or she had been born in the United States , Arizona 's secretary of state would have the final say . `` This measure creates significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona , '' she added . Obama has been hounded by allegations since he began running for president in 2008 that he was not born in America . Critics contend , among other things , that he was born in his father 's home country of Kenya . The U.S. Constitution stipulates that only `` natural born '' citizens are eligible to be president . Obama has insisted that he was born in Hawaii , and the allegations against him have been repeatedly discredited in investigations by CNN and other organizations . Nevertheless , the issue remains politically potent among segments of the electorate and has served as a rallying cry for many of the president 's opponents , most recently potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump . William Bennett 's take on Donald Trump . The author of the so-called `` birther bill , '' Arizona State Rep. Carl Seel , has said the bill was not targeted at Obama , but at `` maintaining the integrity of the Constitution . '' Among other things , a candidate would have to show a copy of his or her birth certificate . If a birth certificate could n't be produced , a candidate would have to show a combination of baptismal or circumcision records , hospital birth files , postpartum medical records or other documents . Candidates also would have to submit affidavits declaring their citizenship as well as sworn statements regarding their residency for the previous 14 years . `` 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 . This is a bridge too far , '' wrote Brewer . Fourteen other states are considering similar legislation this year , according to Jennie Bowser , a senior fellow with the National Conference of State Legislatures . Measures have failed in three states -- Connecticut , Maine and Montana . Obama 's sister criticizes 'birthers ' In an effort to counter the charges of the birthers , Obama 's 2008 campaign produced a `` certification of live birth , '' a document traditionally accepted legally as confirmation of a birth . Both the current Hawaii governor , Neil Abercrombie , a Democrat , and the previous governor , Linda Lingle , a Republican , have insisted that Obama was born in their home state . Nearly 75 % of Americans believe Obama was definitely or probably born in the United States , according to a March 11-13 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll . More than four in 10 Republicans , however , believe the president probably or definitely was not born in America .
Rep . Jan Brewer says the bill is ` ` a bridge too far '' It would have required presidential hopefuls to prove they were born in the US . Barack Obama has fought allegations that he was n't born in Canada .