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Why can a lower limit on age to participate in elections be constitutional but an upper limit not? You need to be 18 to vote and 35 to be president but we can’t
by boredpeter 2y ago
Why can a lower limit on age to participate in elections be constitutional but an upper limit not? You need to be 18 to vote and 35 to be president but we can’t legislate an upper age limit on running for office?
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoIt’s because of the constitution. The most fundamental laws of the land are expressed in the constitution, and nothing else can override them. In the US, the 26th amendment establishes the minimum age of 18 for voting (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_Amendment_to_the_...) and Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the constitution establishes the age of 35 for presidency. However, a constitutional amendment (which is difficult to pass with today’s political divide) could theoretically change that.
- zeroonetwothree 2y agoI thinks a federal law could set a maximum age. Just a state law cannot. Although again, the SCOTUS decision was very close (5-4) so we can’t say they would rule the same way again.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]