Age of candidacy laws in the United States

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This article delineates the age of candidacy laws of the federal government and individual states of the United States.

Federal government[]

State government[]

State Governor Upper House Lower House Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Treasurer
Alabama 30 25 21 30 25 25 25
Alaska 30 25 21 30 18* N.A. 18*
Arizona 25 25 25 N.A. 25 25 25
Arkansas 30 25 21 30 18* 18* 18
California 18* 18* 18* 18* 18* 18* 18*
Colorado 30 25 25 30 25 25 25
Connecticut 30 18* 18* 30 18 None 18*
Delaware 30 27 24 30 None None None
Florida 30 21 21 30 30 None 25
Georgia 30 25 21 30 25 25 18*
Hawaii 30 25 18 30 None N.A. None
Idaho 30 18* 18* 30 30 25 25
Illinois 25[1] 21 21 25[1] 25 25 25
Indiana 30 25 21 30 None 18*
Iowa 30 25 21 30 18 18*
Kansas 25[2] 18* 18* 25[2] None None
Kentucky 30[3] 30 24[3] 30 30 30 30
Louisiana 25 30 18 25 25 25 25
Maine 30 [4] 25* 21* N.A. None None
Maryland 30[5] 25[5] 21[5] 30[5] 18* 18*
Massachusetts 25[6] 25 18 18* 18 18 18
Michigan 30[7] 21[7] 21[7] 30[7] None 18*
Minnesota 25 21 21 25[8] 21 21
Mississippi 30 25 21 20 26 25 25
Missouri 30 30 24 30 None None
Montana 30 None None 25 25 25
Nebraska 30 21 N.A. 30 None None
Nevada 25 21 21 25 18* 18* 18*
New Hampshire 30[9] 30[9] 18[9] N.A. 18* 18*
New Jersey 30[10] 30[10] 21 30 None None
New Mexico 30 25 21 30 30 30 30
New York 30[11] 18[11] 18[11] 30[11] 30 None 30
North Carolina 30[12] 25[13] 21[14] 30[12] None 21 21
North Dakota 30 19* 18* 30 25 25 25
Ohio 18 18 18 None 18 18 18
Oklahoma 31[15] 25[15] 21[15] 31 31 31 31
Oregon 30 21 21 N.A. 18 18
Pennsylvania 30 25 21 30 30 None None
Rhode Island 18 18 18 18 18 18 18
South Carolina 30[16] 25[17] 21[17] 30 18* 18*
South Dakota 21 21 21 21 None None
Tennessee 30 30 21[18] 30† 18 None
Texas 30 26 21 30 18 18* 18*
Utah 25 25 25 30 25 N.A. 25
Vermont None None None None None None
Virginia 30[19] 21[20] 21[20] 30 30 18* 18*
Washington 18* 18* 18* 18* 18* 18* 18*
West Virginia 30 18 18 N.A. 25 18* 18
Wisconsin 18 18 18 18* 18* 18* 18
Wyoming 30 25 21 N.A. 18* 25 25

* Qualified elector/registered voter requirement.
† State Senate membership requirement.
N.A. implies that such a position does not exist in that state.

Alaska[]

Astride Any public office: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[21]

Arizona[]

  • Any public officer: at least 18[22]

California[]

  • Any public office: 30 [23]

Colorado[]

  • Any public office: at least 21[24]

Connecticut[]

Georgia[]

  • Any public office: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[25]

Hawaii[]

  • Neighborhood Board Member: 18

Idaho[]

Illinois[]

  • Comptroller: 25[1]
  • School Board Member: 18 (qualified voter requirement)[27]

Indiana[]

  • Mayor: 18 (qualified voter requirement)[28]

Iowa[]

  • Any elected office: 18 (qualified voter requirement)[29]

Louisiana[]

  • Treasurer: 25
  • School Board Member:6

Maryland[]

  • Circuit Court Judge: 30[5]
  • County Sheriff: 25[5]
  • Other county offices: vary according to local law[5]
  • Any public office: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[30]

Massachusetts[]

  • Most offices: 21

Michigan[]

Most offices: 21 or 30

School Board: 18

Minnesota[]

  • Many offices: 21[31]

Montana[]

  • Mayor: at least 21[32]

Nebraska[]

Nevada[]

  • Any public office: 18 (qualified voter requirement)[33]

New Mexico[]

  • Most offices: 18 (qualified elector requirement)[34]

New York[]

  • Comptroller: 30[11]
  • State Senator: 18[35]
  • State Assembly:18[36]

North Carolina[]

  • Many offices: 21[14]
  • Municipal offices: 18 (qualified voter requirement) [37]

North Dakota[]

  • Mayor/council: 18 (qualified voter requirement)[38]

Oklahoma[]

  • State, county, and municipal public offices: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[39]

Oregon[]

  • Sheriff: 21
  • Other county and local offices: 18[40]
  • Justice of the Peace: 18

Pennsylvania[]

  • Mayors of Third-Class Cities: 18[41]

Rhode Island[]

  • Any elected office: 18 (qualified voter requirement)[42]

South Carolina[]

South Dakota[]

  • Public Utilities Commissioner: 25
  • Mayor/alderman: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[44]

Tennessee[]

  • Supreme Court Judge: 35
  • Other state judges: 30
  • County mayor/county executive: 30
  • Sheriff: 25
  • Constable: 21
  • County School Board Member: 18 (registered voter requirement)

Texas[]

  • Any public office: at least 19 (qualified voter requirement) [45]

Vermont[]

  • Town officials: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[46][47]

Virginia[]

  • Any office: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[48]

Washington[]

  • Any office: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[49]

Wisconsin[]

  • Any city office: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[50]

Wyoming[]

  • Any municipal office: at least 18 (qualified voter requirement)[51]

Local government[]

Many states require elected municipal officers to be at least 18 years of age or be a registered voter in the city thereof. Montana requires mayors to be at least 21 years of age.

As of November 2016, most U.S. cities with populations exceeding 200,000 required their mayor to be a registered voter in the city thereof or at least 18 years of age. Here are the following exceptions:

  • 30 Years: Denver, CO; Honolulu, HI; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; St. Louis, MO
  • 25 Years: Baltimore, MD; Colorado Springs, CO; Columbus, GA; Glendale, AZ; Kansas City, MO; Omaha, NE; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC Westminster, MD
  • 21 Years: Louisville, KY, Oklahoma City, OK; Aurora, CO
  • 19 Years: Hialeah, FL (qualified voter requirement + 1 year of residence)
  • No Age Minimum Listed or Implied: Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA; Saint Paul, MN; Wichita, KS; Jersey City, NJ; Buffalo, NY; Yonkers, NY; Troy, NC
  • Data unavailable: Birmingham, AL; Newark, NJ

Baltimore[]

  • City Comptroller, and City Council President: 25[5]
  • City Council Member: 21[5]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Article V, Section 3". Constitution of the State of Illinois. Illinois General Assembly. December 15, 1970. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b KWCH (May 18, 2018). "New law sets minimum age for Kansas governor candidates". KWCH.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "072". Archived from the original on 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  4. ^ Maine Constitution Article IV, Part 1.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i http://www.elections.state.md.us/candidacy/qualifications.html
  6. ^ https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Candidates-Guide-generic.pdf
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Article V, Section 22" (PDF). Michigan Constitution. State of Michigan. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  8. ^ http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/rules/mncon/Article5.htm, Section 2
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c http://www.nh.gov/constitution/governor.html, Article 42
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/lawsconstitution/constitution.asp, Article 5, Section 1
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e http://www.elections.ny.gov/RunningOffice.html
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Article III, Section 2". North Carolina Constitution. North Carolina General Assembly. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  13. ^ "Article II, Section 6". North Carolina Constitution. North Carolina General Assembly. Archived from the original on May 21, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "Article VI, Section 6". North Carolina Constitution. North Carolina General Assembly. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c http://oklegal.onenet.net/okcon/VI-3.html
  16. ^ "Article IV, Section 2". South Carolina Constitution. South Carolina Legislature. Archived from the original on 2012-04-27. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "Article III, Section 7". South Carolina Constitution. South Carolina Legislature. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  18. ^ http://www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/05-06/46-tnconst.pdf
  19. ^ http://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article5/section3/
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b http://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article4/section4/
  21. ^ http://codes.findlaw.com/ak/title-15-elections/ak-st-sect-15-25-180.html, Title 15
  22. ^ http://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.azleg.gov%2Fars%2F38%2F00201.htm
  23. ^ http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV&sectionNum=34904.&article=3.&highlight=true&keyword=mayor+elector+voter, Article 3. Elective Mayor
  24. ^ http://web.lexisnexis.com/research/retrieve?_m=9e9836b085fa7b5a93b79ba47973ff6a&csvc=toc2doc&cform=searchForm&_fmtstr=FULL&docnum=1&_startdoc=1&wchp=dGLbVzk-zSkAb&_md5=2a867ad9288cad190ba5e150c582f536
  25. ^ http://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2015/title-21/chapter-2/article-4/part-1/section-21-2-132/, 21-2-132f
  26. ^ http://law.justia.com/codes/idaho/2016/title-50/chapter-6/section-50-601
  27. ^ "Your School Board and You" (PDF).
  28. ^ http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2013/ic/titles/003/articles/008/chapters/001/pdf Archived 2017-04-10 at the Wayback Machine, Article 8. Candidates
  29. ^ https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2017/39.27.pdf
  30. ^ http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2017RS/Statute_Web/gel/gel.pdf, Maryland Election Law 5-301
  31. ^ http://www.sos.state.mn.us/election-administration-campaigns/become-a-candidate/candidate-qualifications/, Candidate Qualifications
  32. ^ http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title_0070/chapter_0040/part_0430/section_0010/0070-0040-0430-0010.html
  33. ^ https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-281.html#NRS281Sec010, NRS 281.040
  34. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2017-04-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. ^ https://www.elections.ny.gov/RunningOffice.html
  36. ^ https://www.elections.ny.gov/RunningOffice.html
  37. ^ http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_163/GS_163-294.2.pdf, North Carolina Statutes Chapter 163
  38. ^ http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t40c08.pdf#nameddest=40-08-14
  39. ^ https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=438654
  40. ^ https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors249.html, Chapter 249
  41. ^ http://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-11-pacsa-cities/pa-csa-sect-11-11201.html, Title 11
  42. ^ http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE17/17-14/17-14-1.HTM, Rhode Island 17-14-1
  43. ^ "Article V, Section 15". South Carolina Constitution. South Carolina Legislature. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  44. ^ http://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/Codified_Laws/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statute=9-8-1.1
  45. ^ http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/DocViewer.aspx?DocKey=GV%2fGV.601&Phrases=qualified%7cvoter&HighlightType=1&ExactPhrase=False&QueryText=qualified+voter
  46. ^ http://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/17/055/02646
  47. ^ https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/17/043/02121
  48. ^ http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/24.2-500/
  49. ^ http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=29A.24.075
  50. ^ https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/62
  51. ^ http://legisweb.state.wy.us/NXT/gateway.dll/2016%20Wyoming%20Statutes/2016%20Titles/1195/1234/1237?f=templates$fn=document-frameset.htm$q=%5Brank%3A%5Bsum%3A%5Bstem%3Aqualified%5D%5Bstem%3Avoter%5D%5D%5D$x=server$3.0#LPHit1 Archived 2017-04-10 at the Wayback Machine, Article 3 - Nominations
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