Why 35 to be president

A reader wants to know why the minimum age for running for president is Editorial Page writer George Hager answers this reader question.

Find out why, and how old our youngest president was. Ask your question with askusatoday on Twitter. Share your feedback to help improve our site! And if Bernie Sanders were to somehow resurrect his campaign and go on to win in November, he would be It was 40 years ago that, at the age of 69, Ronald Reagan was elected President and one month later would turn At the time, he was the oldest person ever to claim the Oval Office, and many wondered then whether he was too old.

Why this fact of life should not be a matter of constitutional concern given the incredible sway, authorities, and importance of the American President is unclear. Age, after all, is already a factor in who can be sworn in as President.

An individual has to be at least 35 years old to hold the office. Of course, there are always exceptions—as there is in any large group. You can fill in an online form with comments. Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of outline the presidential order of succession.

An election for president of the United States happens every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The most recent presidential election was November 3, The election process begins with primary elections and caucuses.

These are two methods that states use to select a potential presidential nominee Nominee: the final candidate chosen by a party to represent them in an election. In general, primaries use secret ballots for voting. Caucuses are local gatherings of voters who vote at the end of the meeting for a particular candidate.

Then it moves to nominating conventions , during which political parties each select a nominee to unite behind. During a political party convention, each presidential nominee also announces a vice presidential running mate. The candidates then campaign across the country to explain their views and plans to voters. They may also participate in debates with candidates from other parties. During the general election General Election: a final election for a political office with a limited list of candidates.

But the tally of those votes—the popular vote—does not determine the winner. Instead, presidential elections use the Electoral College. The ad stunt does raise a question with an interesting constitutional background. The Constitution clearly spells out three age requirements for public office. First, the President and Vice President must be 35 years of age or older when assuming office; a Senator must be 30 years of age, and a member of the House must be 25 years of age.

There are no age requirements for Supreme Court Justices. At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, there was little public debate about the age requirements and no discussion about the age requirement for the presidency. The one discussion of note involved two important Founders: James Wilson, a future Supreme Court Justice, and George Mason, a constitutional dissenter. Mason, who was 62 years of age, argued that a requirement of 25 years of age was needed for the House because of his own experience.