HACKER Q&A
📣 meowmeowmeowww

Should we have an age limit on running for office?


I’m all for people staying in the workforce as long as they want, but public office, especially the presidency or the senate, feels different. I can’t think of any major downsides. What am I missing?


  👤 James_Henry Accepted Answer ✓
I think that age and general health, especially mental acuity, should be considered when voting, but I don't feel like it would be wise to try and set an age limit. There are many old people who despite their frail state would be great presidents and I would gladly vote for them as long as their VP was in good health and younger.

👤 easytiger
Wanna ban Clint Eastwood from making movies too?

Also, creating an account to troll with this nonsense doesn't belong here


👤 Mountain_Skies
No. Candidate ages aren't secret and the voters have their chance to have their say when they vote. Age limits on lifetime appointments however would be a good idea as medical science keeps people living longer and often beyond the time of peak mental reasoning.

👤 aaron695
It's admitting democracy doesn't really work.

But it doesn't, so yes.

There are restrictions like citizenship which is required, so we already admit we don't trust the population to chose suitable candidates.

They are also head of the military, which has requirements I would think.


👤 rolph
i wonder how constructive it would be to require a physical/psych exam, just like any other job that has the potential to do grevious harm, such as driving a big rig, or air traffic control etc.

👤 easytiger
Wanna ban Clint Eastwood from making movies too?

👤 paultz
An IQ test would be a good too, 50 should be the maximum age for a candidate,