Civil Discourse – Should There be a Maximum Age Limit For Elected Officials?

There should be a maximum age limit for federal elected officials

Abby Sutton, Clayton Lynch , Zion Okano, and The Civil Discourse Program

The age of political leaders in the United States has become a topic of debate in recent years, as some of the most prominent figures in the government are in their 70s or 80s. While the U.S. Constitution sets minimum age requirements for federal elected officials, it does not specify any maximum age limits. This raises the question of whether there should be an age limit for holding public office.  We believe that there should be.

The first reason there should be an age limit is that generational experiences matter. Over the past 20 years, America has significantly changed with what’s socially acceptable and what’s technologically possible. Yet our government seems not to understand or even acknowledge the new problems of modern America. When was the last time you heard about the government creating specific solutions and regulations to things like social media, the gig economy, or AI deepfakes? Ideally, our representatives with the power to address these complex technologies would have substantial experience using them.  Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with this technology. The CEOs of Meta, TikTok, and Discord were all born during the 1980s.  It’s not unreasonable to want Senators who question these powerful individuals and create laws that regulate their companies to come from a generation that has more experience interacting with their social media sites.

Second, there is a large disparity between the median age of our country and our lawmakers. Representing the country’s population is an important aspect that plays into federally elected positions. Currently, without a maximum age limit to hold federally elected office, we are seeing a disparagingly high difference between the median age of the United States and the median age of the country’s politicians. The median age for current Senate members is 65, while the country’s median age is 39. This difference of over two-and-a-half decades could lead to issues with navigating society’s ever-changing complexities and nuances. 

Finally, it’s important to acknowledge as human beings age, our cognitive abilities decline. Cognitive abilities are the mental skills that enable us to learn, remember, reason, and communicate. Although this isn’t always the case, some of these abilities may decline gradually as we age. Approximately two out of three Americans experience some level of cognitive impairment at an average age of approximately 70 years.  Some signs of cognitive decline include difficulty finding words, losing things, forgetting appointments, and becoming overwhelmed by complex tasks.  It is not ageist to want people who are capable of vigorously tackling the hard work of governance day in and day out.  

There are many reasons why imposing a maximum age limit for federally elected officials would benefit our country. It would ensure that leaders are fit, competent, and representative of the diverse and dynamic population they serve. The current practice of federally elected officials continuing to occupy far past the average age that most people retire, is not good for our government. Accordingly, the United States should have an age limit for being an elected representative.

There should not be a maximum age limit for federal elected officials

Eagle Hunt, Norah Steed, and The Civil Discourse Program

It appears that the two major candidates for US President this year will be 77-year-old Donald Trump and 81-year-old Joe Biden. Many people have voiced concerns that both of these candidates are too old to lead the country effectively and that perhaps it’s time for the nation to adopt an age cap for elected officials. This proposal is wrong.

An age limit for elected officials is discriminatory and undemocratic. Barring an entire demographic from candidacy ignores the rights and responsibilities of voters to select the best candidate possible. If we accept, as many people have argued, that Joe Biden’s mental capacity has deteriorated in his old age and he’s no longer fit to be president, the solution isn’t to ban all candidates above a certain age, it’s to vote for someone other than Joe Biden. It should be the role of the populous to decide who is fit for the presidency on a candidate-by-candidate basis. No restrictions of any kind should be adopted that impinge upon that agency. Currently, all US-born adults 35 and over can become president. US citizens must be at least 30 to serve in the US Senate and 25 to serve in the House of Representatives. The predominance of older people in elected offices is an expression of the public will. If we want younger candidates, younger people need to run, and we need to vote for them. If younger leadership is the goal, it can be achieved under the current system, without limiting the scope of our democracy.

In addition to not being fair to voters, an age cap would be unfair to the potential candidates. Age is not the only determinant of mental capacity. An age cap reinforces negative stereotypes about older people, assuming that they are all decrepit, unreliable, confused, out of touch, and otherwise unfit for leadership. Predicating the idea that senior citizens are unable to run for office due to cognitive deterioration is a fallacious argument and a gross overreaction that fails to address the actual qualities that make bad candidates. 

While there are merits to the idea that age can impact cognitive abilities, plenty of senior citizens still retain their reasoning skills during their later years. Just because some become impaired as they age, does not mean all of them do. Consider Nelson Mandela, a widely respected figure who became president of South Africa shortly before turning 76. He was the ideal leader for the country at that critical historical moment. If we stop older people from running for office, our nation would potentially lose the valuable insights and wisdom they acquired throughout their lives.

It is crucial that we examine who is running for office in a way that best serves our country. Filtering out candidates based solely on age, a metric that does not accurately address the issues of cognitive deterioration, is undemocratic and unfair. By removing their ability to run for office, our country would legalize discrimination against many able and competent individuals. This is why there should not be an age limit for elected officials.