Colorado should follow the lead of many other states and lower the age requirement for state legislative candidates.
We agree with state Rep. Michael Garcia, D-Aurora, that it’s time to amend the state constitution to allow candidates 21 and older to seek legislative office. The current minimum age is 25.
Garcia is sponsoring a constitutional proposal that would ask voters to lower the age requirement. His original resolution sought to lower the age to 18, but the bill was amended to 21 in a House committee. That was a more palatable age for many lawmakers. The measure, HCR 1002, has passed the House by the necessary two-thirds vote and is set to go before the Senate’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee today. We urge senators to move it along so voters can decide the question.
Efforts to lower the age limit have been tried and rejected by past legislatures. Some of the concerns expressed about younger lawmakers is that they wouldn’t have the maturity, life experience or commitment for the job. After observing the legislature for years, we note the same can be said of some legislators of any age. And younger people may have the energy, creativity and fresh ideas that more senior lawmakers occasionally lack.
Fourteen states, including Kansas, California and Montana, allow candidates as young as 18 to run for the House and Senate. Several states set different age limits for the House and Senate, such as Tennessee, which requires House candidates to be at least 21 and Senate candidates to be 30 or older.
The vast majority of states have laws that allow House candidates to be under 25. Seventeen states allow House candidates to be 18. Half the states allow Senate candidates to be under 25.
It makes perfect sense. Young people are running for key offices in many states – not to mention voting and going to war. Teenagers have been elected mayor in small towns in Michigan and Iowa. In Torrington, Conn., Mayor Ryan Bingham was elected last year at age 22.
If people that young can lead a city, surely they can participate in making state policy. The governor’s office may be another matter. Candidates for chief executive have to be at least 30 years old.
If the legislature approves the measure, it would be put before voters in 2008. We urge lawmakers and voters to approve this sensible reform.
