Voters in North Dakota on Tuesday backed a state constitutional amendment that would impose age restrictions on congressional candidates.
The measure bans people from running for House or Senate seats in North Dakota "if that person could attain 81 years of age by December 31st of the year immediately preceding the end of the term."
Sixty-one percent of voters approved the measure, while 39% opposed it.
The measure, believed to be the first in the country imposing age limits on candidates running for federal office, is expected to be challenged in court.
The measure, which doesn't affect any of the current federal officeholders from North Dakota, comes as voters voice concerns about the ages of President Joe Biden, who is 81, and former President Donald Trump, who turns 78 this week, as they vie for another term as president.
There are three senators over 80: Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. At least 10 House members are over 80, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, who is seeking his second full Senate term and won an unopposed primary in North Dakota on Tuesday, said he opposes the measure and believes voters should get to vote for whomever they want, regardless of age.
"To limit those decisions arbitrarily just doesn’t make sense to me,” Cramer told The Associated Press.
