Age in politics has always been a prominent issue, and as the general election inches closer and the age of our candidates remains high, many voters and candidates themselves call into question some candidates’ ability to lead and fulfill their duties in office. There are two leading solutions to the issue of age in politics: an age limit or required cognitive/competency testing. As America’s population has aged, our representation has aged with us; the current members of Congress are older than they’ve ever been, with the median age of the House being 59 years old and 65 years old for the Senate, in contrast to 1981, when the average age for the House was 48.5 and the Senate average being 51.7 (FiveThirtyEight, ABC News). In response to our aging representation, conversations about requiring age limits and cognitive testing to be in office have been circulating.
Members from both political parties believe that the solution to elderly politicians remaining in public office past their prime is to have a maximum age limit put in place, with 82% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats supporting establishing a maximum age limit for elected officials in D.C Pew Research Center). Even though the proposal of a maximum age limit for public office is extremely popular among the American public, there is no consensus on what that age limit should be, as there is little polling related to deciding the maximum age. Requiring a maximum age limit for public office is a popular sentiment among the public. However, it would require an amendment to the Constitution (Pew Research Center). In Article II Section 1 of the Constitution, the age requirement to become President is stated, “.. neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years.” (Article II, Section 1 Functions and Selection, Clause 5 Qualification U.S Constitution), since there is no age limit stated within the section an amendment would be needed to create the age limit. Congress is required to amend the Constitution, and with many of our Congressmen being on the older side, with the median age of the House being 59 years old and 65 years old for the Senate (FiscalNote), it is unlikely that the 2/3rds majority needed to amend the Constitution would be met in the House and Senate.
In addition to age limits, many Americans have considered the idea of requiring competency/cognitive testing for politicians to be able to run for office. Cognitive tests were developed to detect cognitive decline in older adults. The tests evaluate people’s cognitive functions by testing their attention, memory, language, reasoning, and visuospatial skills (Oxford Academic Gerontological Society of America). Since many different types of cognitive tests are available, there has not been a push for a specific test to be administered to elderly officials; however, one test has gained attention. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, also known as MoCA, is a brief screening test used to detect dementia and test for a vast number of cognitive functions, such as attention or executive function. The test is scored out of 30; a score of 26 or higher is considered normal (National Institutes of Health); the test includes questions focused on testing one’s memory, executive and visuospatial skills, attention, orientation, and ability to determine how things are related (MoCA Cognition).
Overall, 76% of adult Americans strongly support or somewhat support a mandatory cognitive test for politicians over the age of 75 (The Economist/YouGov). The call for cognitive tests also has traction among politicians, with former President Donald Trump calling for a mental competency test for all candidates running for President (NBC News), former candidate for President Nikki Haley calling for candidates over the age of 75 to take a cognitive test to ensure they can do the job and for reasons of transparency (The Hill) and Senator Bill Cassidy calling for cognition testing for all aging members of the government (Axios). Nikki Haley cited the Montreal Cognitive Assessment as the cognitive test that Senator Feinstein, President Biden, and other officials over the age of 75 should take to be transparent to voters to ensure they know who they are voting into office and who is making decisions (Foxnews). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment also gained attention for being the test that President Trump took in 2018.
The topic of age limits and competency tests has become an increasingly prominent issue as our politicians have aged, and many believe the solution is to institute age limits and cognitive testing. While these solutions have support from many Americans, there continues to be an issue of translating the support into policy. Ultimately, the decision to put in place age restrictions is in the hands of those the American public elects, so time will tell if politicians set limits or if the voting public does at the ballot box.
Sources:
The economist/yougov polls. YouGov. (2023, September 5). https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/ze05ewgo9y/econTabReport.pdf
Greenwood, M. (2023, February 15). Haley calls for “mental competency tests” for politicians over 75. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3859468-haley-calls-for-mental-competency-tests-for-politicians-over-75/
Haley, N. (2023, May 1). It’s time for a competency test for politicians. here’s why. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/time-competency-test-politicians-heres-why
Lin, K. (2023, July 6). About half of Americans say the best age for a U.S. president is in their 50s. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/06/about-half-of-americans-say-the-best-age-for-a-us-president-is-in-their-50s/
Orth, T. (2022, January 19). More than half of Americans support a maximum age limit for elected officials. YouGov. https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/40527-elected-officials-maximum-age-limit-poll?redirect_from=%2Ftopics%2Fpolitics%2Farticles-reports%2F2022%2F01%2F19%2Felected-officials-maximum-age-limit-poll
Skelley, G. (2023, April 3). Congress today is older than it’s ever been. FiveThirtyEight. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/aging-congress-boomers/
Stowe, L. (2023, February 6). Age of members of 118th Congress (& averages). FiscalNote. https://fiscalnote.com/blog/how-old-118th-congress
Sugiyama, M., Ijuin, M., Ito, K., Sakuma, N., Inagaki, H., Miyamae, F., Okamura, T., & Awata, S. (2015, October 23). The five cognitive tests as a good assessment tool for screening mild cognitive impairment in community-dwellers. OUP Academic. https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/55/Suppl_2/189/2491244#
Syal, A. (2020, July 23). Trump cognitive test: What is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Exam?. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/trump-cognitive-test-what-montreal-cognitive-assessment-exam-n1234762
Timm, J. (2023, September 17). Full transcript: Read Kristen Welker’s interview with trump. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/transcripts/full-transcript-read-meet-the-press-kristen-welker-interview-trump-rcna104778
