The underrepresentation of young Americans in the aging United States Congress undermines rates of youth civic participation, marginalizes the views and values of an entire generation and exacerbates unsustainable public policy, from the growing U.S. debt to our warming planet. Based on existing academic studies, public opinion polling and original interviews, this research examines the institutional, implicit and inherent barriers to young people seeking and winning election to public office, including incumbency advantage, the role of money in campaigns, young people’s perception of politics, the nature of political parties, and ageism within a disproportionally elderly and graying electorate. To lower these barriers, several recommendations are made, such as a constitutional amendment to lower the age of eligibility for federal office, targeted campaign finance reforms, a revamping of civic education and the establishment of a political organization to mobilize and support young candidates.
Original Title
The Rise of American Gerontocracy and the Fall of Our Democracy
The underrepresentation of young Americans in the aging United States Congress undermines rates of youth civic participation, marginalizes the views and values of an entire generation and exacerbates unsustainable public policy, from the growing U.S. debt to our warming planet. Based on existing academic studies, public opinion polling and original interviews, this research examines the institutional, implicit and inherent barriers to young people seeking and winning election to public office, including incumbency advantage, the role of money in campaigns, young people’s perception of politics, the nature of political parties, and ageism within a disproportionally elderly and graying electorate. To lower these barriers, several recommendations are made, such as a constitutional amendment to lower the age of eligibility for federal office, targeted campaign finance reforms, a revamping of civic education and the establishment of a political organization to mobilize and support young candidates.
The underrepresentation of young Americans in the aging United States Congress undermines rates of youth civic participation, marginalizes the views and values of an entire generation and exacerbates unsustainable public policy, from the growing U.S. debt to our warming planet. Based on existing academic studies, public opinion polling and original interviews, this research examines the institutional, implicit and inherent barriers to young people seeking and winning election to public office, including incumbency advantage, the role of money in campaigns, young people’s perception of politics, the nature of political parties, and ageism within a disproportionally elderly and graying electorate. To lower these barriers, several recommendations are made, such as a constitutional amendment to lower the age of eligibility for federal office, targeted campaign finance reforms, a revamping of civic education and the establishment of a political organization to mobilize and support young candidates.
1he underrepresenLaLlon of young Amerlcans ln Lhe aglng unlLed SLaLes Congress undermlnes raLes of youLh clvlc parLlclpaLlon, marglnallzes Lhe vlews and values of an enLlre generaLlon and exacerbaLes unsusLalnable publlc pollcy, from Lhe growlng u.S. debL Lo our warmlng planeL. 8ased on exlsLlng academlc sLudles, publlc oplnlon polllng and orlglnal lnLervlews, Lhls research examlnes Lhe lnsLlLuLlonal, lmpllclL and lnherenL barrlers Lo young people seeklng and wlnnlng elecLlon Lo publlc offlce, lncludlng lncumbency advanLage, Lhe role of money ln campalgns, young people's percepLlon of pollLlcs, Lhe naLure of pollLlcal parLles, and agelsm wlLhln a dlsproporLlonally elderly and graylng elecLoraLe. 1o lower Lhese barrlers, several recommendaLlons are made, such as a consLlLuLlonal amendmenL Lo lower Lhe age of ellglblllLy for federal offlce, LargeLed campalgn flnance reforms, a revamplng of clvlc educaLlon and Lhe esLabllshmenL of a pollLlcal organlzaLlon Lo moblllze and supporL young candldaLes.
Many observers saw Lhe 2008 elecLlon as a good slgn for Lhe growlng pollLlcal lnfluence of Lhe rlslng mlllennlal generaLlon. More Lhan 22 mllllon young people (18-29), 31 percenL of all ellglble young voLers, casL a balloL -- Lhe hlghesL LurnouL slnce 1972, when Lhe voLlng age was lowered Lo 18 (klrby). 1he face of our democracy ls forever changed and young people have shown Lhe world we are Laklng our counLry lnLo our own hands," proclalmed PeaLher SmlLh, presldenL of 8ock Lhe voLe (8ock). 1o Lhe conLrary, young people ceded greaLer lnfluence Lo older generaLlons, as voLers acLually elecLed Lhe oldesL Congress on record, Lhe average age of a member of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves rose Lo 37. 1he 2008 elecLlon was noL an aberraLlon. Congress has been sLeadlly aglng for Lhe pasL 30 years. 1oday, [usL 6 percenL of all represenLaLlves and senaLors are under 40. ln facL, Congress ls composed of fewer young people Lhan Lhe vasL ma[orlLy of oLher counLrles' leglslaLures. 1he underrepresenLaLlon of young people ls noL slmply a cosmeLlc problem, buL a deeply subsLanLlve one wlLh serlous consequences for democracy. 6 WlLh few young elecLed offlclals, Lhe unlque values and vlews of young people are marglnallzed, especlally on pollLlcal lssues LhaL exhlblL deep generaLlonal dlvldes, such as marl[uana legallzaLlon, gay marrlage and Lhe general dlsLrlbuLlon of federal resources. lurLher, Lhe skewlng of pollLlcal power Lo Lhe elderly reduces lncenLlves for governmenL Lo Lake acLlon on long-Lerm susLalnablllLy challenges, such as Lhe growlng u.S. naLlonal debL and our warmlng planeL. 8eyond pollcy, a lack of young elecLed offlclals slgnals Lo young people LhaL self-governmenL ls an acLlvlLy reserved for older people. LxlsLlng research lndlcaLes LhaL Lhls dlsconnecL erodes noL only lnLeresL and lnvolvemenL ln pollLlcs, buL also confldence and LrusL ln governlng lnsLlLuLlons. ln sum, a lack of descrlpLlve and subsLanLlve represenLaLlon of young people ls corroslve Lo Lhe democraLlc process 6(- Lo publlc pollcy generally. 1he dearLh of young people holdlng elecLed offlce ls a resulL of Lhe varlous lnsLlLuLlonal, lnherenL and lmpllclL barrlers faclng poLenLlal young candldaLes, especlally aL Lhe federal level. llrsL, Lhe unlLed SLaLes ConsLlLuLlon prohlblLs anyone under 23 from servlng ln Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves and anyone under 30 from servlng ln Lhe SenaLe. Second, congresslonal lncumbenLs exerclse many bullL-ln advanLages over Lhelr opponenLs, such as hlgher name ldenLlflcaLlon. 1hlrd, young people are leasL able Lo meeL Lhe fundralslng demands necessary Lo wln lncreaslngly expenslve elecLlons. lourLh, young people looklng Lo make a dlfference are Lurned off by an lncreaslngly polarlzed and paralyzed pollLlcal sysLem. llfLh, pollLlcal parLles Lend Lo supporL older candldaLes for hlgher offlces. LasLly, Lhe dlsproporLlonaLely old and aglng elecLoraLe may exerclse age blas agalnsL young candldaLes. 7 Achlevlng greaLer youLh represenLaLlon ln Congress requlres a sLark deparLure from Lhe sLaLus quo on Lhe parL of boLh governmenL and clvll socleLy. AL Lhe federal level, Congress should send a consLlLuLlonal amendmenL Lo Lhe sLaLes Lo synchronlze Lhe age of ellglblllLy Lo hold offlce wlLh Lhe age Lo voLe and should pass LargeLed campalgn flnance reforms Lo level Lhe playlng fleld beLween lncumbenLs and Lhelr challengers. AL local level, school boards should revamp clvlc educaLlon currlcula and acLlvlLles Lo fosLer a greaLer sense of pollLlcal efflcacy and empowermenL among young people. llnally, wlLhln clvll socleLy, concerned clLlzens should band LogeLher Lo esLabllsh an organlzaLlon Lo recrulL, Lraln and supporL a new generaLlon of young candldaLes. Cf all Lhe pollLlcal lnequallLles LhaL exlsL ln Amerlca, underrepresenLaLlon of Lhe young ls Lhe leasL dlscussed buL among Lhe mosL slgnlflcanL and Lhe mosL lnsldlous. Cn one hand, young people wlll be affecLed Lo Lhe greaLesL exLenL by Lhe pollLlcal declslons LhaL are made (or are noL made) Loday, especlally wlLh respecL Lo susLalnablllLy challenges LhaL are only compoundlng wlLh Llme. Cn Lhe oLher hand, alLhough Lhe problem of youLh underrepresenLaLlon ls experlenced unlversally, lL ls also, from an lndlvldual's raLlonal perspecLlve, fleeLlng -- meanlng by Lhe Llme young people reallze Lhls lnLergeneraLlonal ln[usLlce and can begln Lo change lL, Lhey wlll soon age ouL and no longer be affecLed. neverLheless, our democraLlc values and moral obllgaLlon Lo Lhe nexL generaLlon demand a soluLlon. 8rldglng Lhe generaLlonal gap ln governmenL and prevenLlng Lhe rlse of Amerlcan geronLocracy (rule by elders") from becomlng Lhe fall of our democracy ls Lhe preemlnenL pollLlcal challenge of our Llme. 8 <$-1&(/ ;= >#2 ?(71# %$@,$'$/1.1&(/ A.11$,'
Cur governlng lnsLlLuLlons are graylng. 1he average age of a member of Congress has, wlLh few excepLlons, been sLeadlly lncreaslng over Lhe pasL Lhree decades. 1he average represenLaLlve ln Lhe 113 Lh Congress ls 37, whlle Lhe average senaLor ls 62. 1he oldesL member of Lhe SenaLe, ulanne lelnsLeln, ls 80. 1he oldesL member of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves, 8alph Pall, ls 90 years old, neverLheless, he recenLly announced he plans Lo seek reelecLlon ln 2014. AlLhough 23- Lo 33-year-olds comprlse 14 percenL of Lhe u.S. populaLlon, Lhey make up [usL 2 percenL of Lhe u.S. Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves wlLh only 10 members under Lhe age of 33 ln Lhe 113 Lh Congress. Cnly one member of Lhe unlLed SLaLe SenaLe ls under Lhe age of 40 (LlsL). Cur governmenL ls looklng less and less llke a Lruly represenLaLlve democracy and more and more llke a pluLocraLlc geronLocracy," wrlLes !ohn Seery, a professor of pollLlcs aL omona College (Seery, 3). 1he poLenLlal causes of Lhls Lrend wlll be dlscussed ln a laLer secLlon, for now, Lhe lmporLanL polnL ls LhaL Lhe Lrend exlsLs. 1he aglng of pollLlcal leadershlp ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes LhreaLens Lo undermlne Lhe represenLaLlon of young people and Lhe beneflLs LhaL such represenLaLlon can provlde. ollLlcal represenLaLlon ls mosL commonly descrlbed as elLher descrlpLlve" or subsLanLlve." uescrlpLlve represenLaLlon descrlbes a represenLaLlve who reflecLs Lhe characLerlsLlcs of Lhe group of people who elecLed hlm or her, such as race, sex and age. SubsLanLlve represenLaLlon descrlbes a represenLaLlve who seeks Lo represenL Lhe parLlcular lnLeresLs of Lhe group of people who elecLed hlm or her, regardless of wheLher Lhey share physlcal characLerlsLlcs. AdequaLely achlevlng boLh descrlpLlve and 9 subsLanLlve represenLaLlon of young people ls crlLlcally lmporLanL ln our democracy ln order Lo (l) fosLer an empowered and parLlclpaLory socleLy, (ll) achleve pollcy ouLcomes LhaL reflecL Lhe vlews of young people and (lll) promoLe lnLergeneraLlonal [usLlce by Laklng a longer-Lerm vlew of publlc pollcy. BCB 8$'-,&@1&D$ %$@,$'$/1.1&(/= E/F.F$+$/1G E))&-.-2 H ED.57.1&(/
uescrlpLlve represenLaLlon has lnherenL value ln our democracy because a leglslaLure LhaL reflecLs Lhe dlverslLy of Lhe people LhaL lL ls supposed Lo serve confers a unlque sense of leglLlmacy as Lo lLs form and funcLlon. An all-whlLe and all-male leglslaLure would on lLs face, for example, casL doubL on lLs democraLlc leglLlmacy -- how could such a body be Lruly represenLaLlve of all Lhe people, lf lLs leaders all look Lhe same and llkely share a slmllar llfe experlence? varlous sLudles have shown LhaL descrlpLlve represenLaLlon ls assoclaLed wlLh hlgher levels of engagemenL and efflcacy and beLLer evaluaLlon of governmenL. 1hese are key lngredlenLs Lo any healLhy democracy, lndeed, Lhelr absence could [usL as well lead Lo pollLlcal apaLhy as lL could Lo dangerous pollLlcal lnsLablllLy among Lhose who percelve Lhemselves as excluded or unrepresenLed (lowler). LxlsLlng research shows an lmporLanL llnk beLween descrlpLlve represenLaLlon and clvlc parLlclpaLlon. A 2007 sLudy by ChrlsLlna WolbrechL and uavld L. Campbell, for example, demonsLraLed LhaL Lhe presence of female pollLlclans ln a glven socleLy poslLlvely correlaLes wlLh women dlscusslng pollLlcs and becomlng pollLlcally acLlve. 1he sLudy used Lhree daLa seLs encompasslng 28 counLrles, lncludlng Lhe unlLed SLaLes. A key lnslghL from Lhls research ls LhaL younger women were dlsproporLlonaLely affecLed 10 by Lhe presence of female pollLlclans, suggesLlng LhaL young people are more suscepLlble Lo exLernal cues (WolbrechL). 1hls ls lmporLanL because varlous sLudles have shown LhaL pollLlcal soclallzaLlon lmpllcaLes llfelong Lrends, meanlng LhaL Lhe aLLlLudes and behavlors adopLed aL a young age wlll conLlnue over Lhe course of a llfeLlme. Cur clvlc ldenLlLy, once formed ln adolescence, ls hard Lo shake," noLes eLer Levlne, dlrecLor of Lhe CenLer for lnformaLlon and 8esearch on Clvlc Learnlng and LngagemenL and a professor aL 1ufLs unlverslLy (Levlne). lurLher, ln 2009, lppa norrls and Mona Lena krook soughL Lo expand Lhe body of research by examlnlng Lhe role of boLh gender 6(- age ln descrlpLlve represenLaLlon, across a wlder seL of counLrles and over a longer perlod of Llme. 1hey asked, uoes descrlpLlve represenLaLlon moblllze clvlc engagemenL?" 1helr sLudy concluded LhaL ln counLrles where Lhe parllamenL ls composed of younger offlclals, young people have more poslLlve pollLlcal aLLlLudes and behavlor. 1he observed age gaps ln pollLlcal lnLeresL and assoclaLlonal membershlps dlsappear ln counLrles where Lhere ls greaLer youLh represenLaLlon, however, an lmporLanL age-dlsparlLy ln voLlng LurnouL remalns evldenL." 1he researchers cauLlon LhaL Lhey do noL know for cerLaln whlch way Lhe causallLy flows, as lL ls posslble LhaL lncreased engagemenL among young people ls Lhe reason for greaLer youLh represenLaLlon (norrls). 1hrough Lhls lens, Lhe relaLlve shorLage of young elecLed offlclals ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes, especlally aL Lhe federal level, may help explaln why young Amerlcans are wldely dlsconnecLed from Lhe pollLlcal sysLem. Accordlng Lo a 2013 survey by Parvard's lnsLlLuLe of ollLlcs, only 26 percenL of young people (ages 18-29) consldered 11 Lhemselves Lo be pollLlcally acLlve. Asked lf Lhey have engaged ln speclflc pollLlcal acLlvlLles, small numbers of young people say Lhey have wrlLLen a leLLer or emall advocaLlng a pollLlcal poslLlon (14), aLLended a rally/demonsLraLlon (13), donaLed money Lo a pollLlcal campalgn (11) or volunLeered for a pollLlcal candldaLe/lssue (7). ln Lhe run-up Lo Lhe 2012 elecLlon, 39 percenL of young people (18-29) lndlcaLed LhaL Lhey were unllkely Lo voLe. 1he explanaLlons of non-voLers lncluded LhaL lL dld noL maLLer who was elecLed because WashlngLon ls broken (43), LhaL none of Lhe candldaLes represenL my vlews" (31), and LhaL Lhe pollLlcal parLles are more or less Lhe same (23) (Parvard). ulLlmaLely, only abouL half of all young people voLed ln Lhe lasL presldenLlal elecLlon. A lack of parLlclpaLlon ls accompanled by a low and slnklng amounL of LrusL ln governmenL. !usL 18 percenL of young Amerlcans LrusL Congress, down from 23 percenL ln 2010, and 39 percenL of young people LrusL Lhe presldenL, down from 44 percenL ln 2010. A ma[orlLy of young people belleve elecLed offlclals seem Lo be moLlvaLed by selflsh reasons" and elecLed offlclals don'L seem Lo have Lhe same prlorlLles l have." lewer Lhan one ln flve young Amerlcans chooses pollLlcal engagemenL over volunLeerlng ln Lhe communlLy, bellevlng lL ls a beLLer way Lo solve lmporLanL lssues faclng Lhe naLlon. ?oung people also dlsapprove of boLh 8epubllcans (71) and uemocraLs (38) ln Congress (Parvard). 1he sLory of young people and pollLlcs Loday ls everyLhlng one would expecL from a lack of descrlpLlve represenLaLlon: low engagemenL, low efflcacy and low approval. Cf course, many oLher facLors conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe clvlc 12 healLh of young people, some are unlque Lo Lhe mlllennlal generaLlon and oLhers are consLanL for all young people over Llme. BCI <79'1./1&D$ %$@,$'$/1.1&(/= J(5&-2 671-(+$' ./3 <.1&').-1&(/
1haL facL LhaL few young people hold elecLed offlce also has lmporLanL lmpllcaLlons for Lhe subsLanLlve represenLaLlon of young people ln Lerms of pollcy ouLcomes. 1hls llnk beLween descrlpLlve and subsLanLlve represenLaLlon has been Lhe focus of lnLense academlc research. A 2008 sLudy, for example, found LhaL a surge of Afrlcan Amerlcan represenLaLlon ln sLaLe leglslaLures durlng Lhe 1970s and early 1990s correlaLed wlLh an lncrease ln sLaLe funds Lo dlsadvanLaged school dlsLrlcLs wlLh hlgh mlnorlLy populaLlons. 1hese dlsLrlcLs even lncluded Lhose noL dlrecLly represenLed by an Afrlcan Amerlcan leglslaLor, lmplylng LhaL Lhe subsLanLlve represenLaLlon afforded Lo Lhe mlnorlLy populaLlons exLended beyond parochlal lnLeresLs. 1he auLhor concludes, leglslaLures LhaL lncorporaLe mlnorlLy members of Lhe socleLy are more llkely Lo adopL pollcles LhaL reflecL Lhe lnLeresLs of Lhe LradlLlonally underrepresenLed groups" (ueda). Slmllarly, a 2002 sLudy found LhaL an lncrease ln female represenLaLlon ln 400 norweglan munlclpal governmenLs correlaLed wlLh a greaLer percenLage of chlldren covered by chlld care. 1he researchers observed LhaL [L]he women elecLed Lo local counclls broughL a new seL of concerns Lo Lhe pollLlcal agenda, and Lhelr dlrecL responslblllLy for pollcles of lnLeresL Lo women, ln Lhls case, chlld care, resulLed ln lmproved pollcy ouLcomes ln Lhose counclls wlLh larger percenLages of female members." 1he sLudy lndlcaLed LhaL Lhese resulLs (descrlpLlve represenLaLlon leadlng Lo lmproved pollcy ouLcomes) can be generallzed when Lhree condlLlons are meL: Lhere are 13 general dlfferences ln Lhe mass publlc, Lhe group has represenLaLlon ln governmenL and Lhe governlng lnsLlLuLlon has conLrol over Lhe pollcy ouLcome (8raLLon). 8ased on Lhls evldence, one would also expecL lmproved pollcy ouLcomes for young people lf Lhere were more young people ln elecLed offlce. 1hls ralses Lhe quesLlon: are Lhere general dlfferences ln Lhe mass publlc oplnlon beLween young and old? ubllc oplnlon surveys lndlcaLe Lhe answer ls resoundlngly yes. Cne's poslLlon ln Lhe llfe cycle (speclflcally, reLlred vs. non-reLlred), noL [usL one's socloeconomlc poslLlon, has been found Lo lnfluence pollcy preferences. [?]oung people 63 6 *6%/)$18 have lnLeresLs LhaL confllcL wlLh Lhose of older generaLlons" (Levlne, 60). 1haL ls parLlally because redlsLrlbuLlve pollcles, such as educaLlon and penslon programs, affecL members of socleLy much more based on Lhelr age Lhan on Lhelr economlc poslLlon. 8ased on a raLlonal cholce model, Lhe young wlll care more abouL educaLlon spendlng, whlle Lhe old wlll care more abouL publlc penslon spendlng. A comparaLlve pollLlcal economy sLudy of 13 CrganlsaLlon for Lconomlc Co-operaLlon and uevelopmenL (CLCu) counLrles lndlcaLed LhaL Lhe unlLed SLaLes ranks second ln overall magnlLude of age sLraLlflcaLlon ln soclal pollcy preferences." lor example, Lhere was a 17 percenL dlfference ln Lhe probablllLy of supporLlng more spendlng for educaLlon beLween non- reLlred and reLlred Amerlcans -- Lhe largesL gap on any lssue, ln any counLry (see flgure on Lhe nexL page). 1hese dlfferences also exlsLed for healLh care, unemploymenL and penslon spendlng (8usemeyer). Some observers say Lhese dlfferences ln oplnlon do noL acLually LranslaLe lnLo publlc pollcy LhaL ls advanLageous Lo Lhe more powerful elderly populaLlon. A 2009 14 analysls of Lhe slze and generoslLy of publlc penslons ln 18 CLCu counLrles from 1980 Lo 2002, for example, lndlcaLes LhaL whlle aglng socleLles are spendlng more ln aggregaLe on publlc penslons, lndlvldual beneflLs are elLher sLaylng consLanL or shrlnklng. [C]onLrary Lo alarmlsL pollLlcal economy predlcLlons, Lhese democracles are noL yeL domlnaLed by a new dlsLrlbuLlve pollLlcs of elderly power" (1epe). Powever, Lhese concluslons are ($% conslsLenL ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes. ln 1972, Lhe LoLal annual Soclal SecurlLy, Medlcare and Medlcald beneflLs pald per reLlree was $11,000, or 41 percenL of Cu per caplLa. 8y 2010, LhaL flgure lncreased Lo $47,000 (ln consLanL dollars), or 72 percenL of Cu per caplLa. 1here ls no doubL LhaL Lransfers Lo Lhe elderly, ln aggregaLe 6(- lndlvldually, have slgnlflcanLly lncreased ln Lhe unlLed 13 SLaLes (koLllkoff). lurLher, lncreaslng spendlng on consumpLlon by Lhe elderly ln Lhe presenL has crowded ouL lnvesLmenL ln Lhe fuLure of Lhe young. ln 1970, accordlng Lo Lhe Cfflce of ManagemenL and 8udgeL, Lransfers and lnvesLmenLs each made up abouL 30 percenL of Lhe budgeL, Loday, Lransfers have rlsen Lo 63 percenL and lnvesLmenLs have sunk Lo 14 percenL.
olllng by Lhe ew 8esearch CenLer demonsLraLes Lhere ls sLrong dlsagreemenL beLween generaLlons abouL Lhese klnds of spendlng. When lL comes Lo Lhe federal budgeL, 30 percenL of young Amerlcans (18-29) say governmenL should focus lLs resources on programs LhaL beneflL younger adulLs, 13 percenL of Amerlcans older Lhan 33 agree. A ma[orlLy of young people (32) belleve keeplng Soclal SecurlLy and Medlcare exacLly Lhe way Lhey are would puL Loo much of a flnanclal burden on younger generaLlons, an oplnlon shared by 33 percenL of senlors (ew, 2012). Accordlngly, young people go much furLher ln Lhelr supporL of poLenLlal reforms Lhan do senlors, such as leLLlng workers puL Soclal SecurlLy Laxes ln prlvaLe accounLs (86 Lo 32) and uslng 16 Medlcare beneflLs Loward purchaslng prlvaLe lnsurance (74 Lo 48) (ew, 2011). CeneraLlonal dlvldes on publlc pollcy exLend beyond redlsLrlbuLlve pollcles Lo soclal lssues. Cn Lhe lssue of marl[uana, 63 percenL of mlllennlals supporL legallzaLlon, compared wlLh [usL 34 percenL of Lhe baby boomers and 32 percenL of Lhe sllenL generaLlon (ew, Aprll 2013). Cn Lhe lssue of same-sex marrlage, 70 percenL of mlllennlals supporL Lhe rlghL of gay couples Lo marry, compared wlLh 38 percenL of Lhe baby boomers and 31 percenL of Lhe sllenL generaLlon (ew, !une 2013).
In hei 1996 book, !"#$% '( )*+, 0niveisity of South Floiiua piofessoi Susan NacNanus concluueu: |Tjheie is gieatei consensus among Ameiicans of all ages about the impoitance of a pioblem than theie is about ,"- to auuiess it oi -,.$ it shoulu be auuiesseu ielative to othei pioblems. Nostly, the geneiations uiffei in intensity, iathei then the uiiection, of theii opinions. I pioject that will change, howevei, when zeio-sum economic baseu issues move to the foiefiont as the nation's age piofile gets giayei (NacNanus, 247). 17 BCK 0$,(/1(-,.-2 H ;/1$,F$/$,.1&(/.5 L7'1&-$
uemographlc Lrends ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes and elsewhere, whlch forecasL a sLeadlly aglng populaLlon, have led some Lo sound Lhe alarm of geronLocracy" - or rule by Lhe elderly. [1]he elderly are growlng boLh rlcher and more numerous, and unless someLhlng ls done Lo curb Lhelr expandlng pollLlcal power, programs Lo beneflL Lhem may yeL become unLouchable," Alexel 8ayer wroLe ln a 1997 #/9 <$1= >'0/3 column LhaL called for an exLra voLe for parenLs of young chlldren. ln an aglng populaLlon, Lhe greaL danger ls LhaL Lhe elecLoraLe wlll become more and more focused on Lhe shorL Lerm," hllllp Longman wroLe ln a 1987 book, ?$1( %$ @68A >&/ #/9 @$,'%'*3 $4 5)'() '( 50/1'*6. 1he negaLlve lmpllcaLlons of an aglng populace are predlcLed by raLlonal cholce Lheory: Lhose who are near Lhe end of Lhelr llfe wlll supporL pollcles and pollLlclans who wlll maxlmlze lndlvldual beneflLs ln Lhe near Lerm, even lf LhaL means lncurrlng cosLs LhaL wlll be reallzed by fuLure generaLlons ln Lhe long Lerm. 1hls does noL mean LhaL older clLlzens necessarlly acL wlLh mallce Loward Lhe young, lnsLead, many can slmply be lgnoranL of Lhe lnLergeneraLlonal lmpllcaLlons of Lhelr declslons or can be led Lo belleve by pollLlclans deslrlng Lhelr supporL LhaL Lhere are none. Accordlng Lo a recenL Callup poll, Amerlcans are evenly dlvlded abouL wheLher Lhe nexL generaLlon wlll have a beLLer llfe Lhan Lhelr parenLs (Callup). lf Lhe skepLlcs prove Lo be correcL, Lhls clrcumsLance would vlolaLe Lhe moral concepL of lnLergeneraLlonal [usLlce" LhaL, as 8elglan economlsL and phllosopher hlllppe van arl[s descrlbes, requlres each generaLlon, each blrLh cohorL, Lo make sure Lhe slLuaLlon of Lhe nexL generaLlon - somehow measured, on a per caplLa basls - ls no 18 worse Lhan lLs own" (van arl[s). 1hls ldea has dlsLlncLly Amerlcan rooLs, Loo. 1homas !efferson famously wroLe: 1he earLh belongs Lo each generaLlon durlng lLs course, fully, and ln lLs own rlghL." Pe opposed Lhe noLlon LhaL one generaLlon could blnd anoLher wlLh declslons lL has made or even laws lL passed. lor Lhls reason, he asserLed LhaL one generaLlon should noL lncur more debL Lhan lL could pay off ln lLs llfeLlme. unforLunaLely, by varlous lndlcaLors, Loday's young people and fuLure generaLlons acLually sLand Lo lnherlL a counLry worse off Lhan prlor generaLlons. Conslder [usL Lwo lssues. llrsL, our counLry's debL ls growlng. 1he long-Lerm flscal gap of Lhe unlLed SLaLes ls $222 Lrllllon, whlch represenLs Lhe presenL value of currenL publlc debL plus Lhe dlfference ln fuLure planned spendlng and revenue. Whlle adulL generaLlons allve Loday wlll recelve more resources back from Lhe governmenL ln Lhe form of Lransfers, such as Soclal SecurlLy and Medlcare, Lhan Lhey have pald Lo Lhe governmenL ln Lhe form of all Laxes over Lhe course of Lhelr llfeLlme, fuLure generaLlons wlll face neL Laxes 21.3 percenLage polnLs hlgher lf Lhey are lefL wlLh Lhe blll for closlng Lhe flscal gap, accordlng Lo Lhe lnLernaLlonal MoneLary lund (8aLlnl). Closlng Lhe flscal gap would requlre an lmmedlaLe and permanenL revenue hlke of 64 percenL or a spendlng cuL of 40 percenL or a mlxLure of Lhe Lwo. 1he cosL of delay dramaLlcally grows wlLh Llme as, among oLher reasons, lnLeresL paymenLs compound. Some pro[ecLlons show lnLeresL paymenLs alone wlll consume every dollar ln federal revenue by 2060. Lxplalns economlsL Laurence koLllkoff: [l]f we walL 40 years, unLll all Lhe baby boomers have safely Laken Lhelr leave, Lhe requlslLe permanenL Lax hlkes and spendlng cuLs are 93 percenL and 33 percenL" 19 (koLllkoff). Cn our currenL flscal course, Lhe young and unborn lnevlLably face a fuLure of more debL, fewer beneflLs, hlgher Laxes and a lower sLandard of llvlng. Second, our planeL's LemperaLure ls lncreaslng. !usL as Lhe human body has a maxlmum LemperaLure before lL becomes llfe LhreaLenlng, so does LarLh: 3.6 degrees l above average LemperaLures a cenLury ago, accordlng Lo sclenLlsLs. 1hls LranslaLes lnLo a concenLraLlon of carbon dloxlde ln Lhe aLmosphere of 400 parLs per mllllon (ppm). 1he currenL average global concenLraLlon of carbon dloxlde ls 391 ppm and ls growlng more Lhan 2 ppm each year, mosLly as a resulL of human acLlvlLy. Conslder some of Lhe effecLs we are already seelng: rlslng LemperaLures, melLlng lce caps, swelllng sea levels and lncreaslng exLreme weaLher. 1hen lmaglne whaL ls ln sLore when Lhese dlsrupLlve effecLs grow ln frequency, mulLlpllclLy, severlLy and unpredlcLablllLy" (AnLholls, 3). 1he longer we walL Lo address Lhls problem, sclenLlsLs warn, Lhe Lougher lL wlll be Lo solve. lor example, bllllons of Lons of meLhane slL below Lhe ArcLlc permafrosL. lf released, Lhe meLhane wlll conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe heaL-Lrapplng layer of greenhouses gases ln Lhe aLmosphere, meLhane ls 20 Llmes as powerful as carbon dloxlde. As 8rooklngs lnsLlLuLlon scholars Wllllam AnLholls and SLrobe 1alboLL wrlLe: [1]hose of us allve Loday are Lhe flrsL generaLlon Lo know LhaL we llve ln an Age of Clobal Warmlng. We may also be Lhe lasL generaLlon Lo have any chance of dolng someLhlng abouL lL" (AnLholls, 1). 1he lssues of our growlng debL and our warmlng planeL share Lhree key characLerlsLlcs: Lhey are large problems LhaL are compoundlng wlLh Llme, mosL of Lhelr consequences wlll be shouldered by Lhe young and fuLure generaLlons, and acLlon ls lncenLlvlzed only lf one Lakes a long vlew of Lhe problem, as Lhe cosLs of acLlng would 20 ouLwelgh shorL-Lerm beneflLs. 1haL we see such llLLle progress ln addresslng elLher of Lhese lssues may noL slmply reflecL Lhe grldlock beLween uemocraLs and 8epubllcans, buL Lhe Lrlumph of Lhe presenL over Lhe fuLure, or whaL some call Lhe dlcLaLorshlp of Lhe presenL." 1hls explanaLlon resLs on Lwo assumpLlons: (l) older voLers and offlceholders raLlonally pursue shorLer-Lerm pollcles Lhan Lhelr younger counLerparLs and (ll) older people exerclse greaLer pollLlcal lnfluence Lhan Lhelr younger counLerparLs. Whlle Lhe flrsL assumpLlon ls debaLable [young people . Lend Lo dlscounL Lhe value of delayed rewards more sLeeply Lhan older people do" (Levlne, 61)] and worLhy of furLher research, Lhere ls no doubL LhaL Lhe laLLer holds Lrue.
Lven Lhough Lhere are roughly Lhe same number of Amerlcans ages 23-34 (33.3 mllllon) as Lhere over 63 (37.7 mllllon), Lhe laLLer group ls overrepresenLed boLh ln Lhe elecLoraLe and ln Congress. ln Lhe 2010 elecLlon, voLers ages 23-34 comprlsed only 12 percenL of Lhe elecLoraLe whlle voLers over 63 comprlsed 24 percenL. 1he dlsparlLy 21 reflecLs LhaL LurnouL among voLlng ellglble young people (31) was roughly half of LhaL of older people (61). lurLher, whlle Lhose under 33 make up only 2 percenL of Lhose ln Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves, Lhose over 63 comprlse 24 percenL of Lhe body (LlsL). ln Lhe fuLure, we can expecL older Amerlcans Lo exerclse even greaLer pollLlcal lnfluence due Lo boLh Lhe aglng and lncreased longevlLy of Lhe u.S. populaLlon. 1he number of senlor clLlzens ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes wlll grow Lo 19.3 percenL of Lhe populaLlon by 2030 and 20.2 percenL by 2030 (u.S. Census 8ureau, 2012). Llfe expecLancy for females aL blrLh wlll grow from 81 years Loday Lo 83 years by 2030 (ShresLha).
Amerlca has a rlch hlsLory of young people playlng a promlnenL role ln our governlng lnsLlLuLlons and even ln Lhelr creaLlon. Cf Lhe 36 people who slgned Lhe ueclaraLlon of lndependence, 12 were under age 33 -- lncludlng Llbrldge Cerry and !ames Wllson. 1homas !efferson was 33 years old aL Lhe Llme when he auLhored Lhe documenL. Cf Lhe 33 delegaLes Lo Lhe ConsLlLuLlonal ConvenLlon of 1787, 14 were under age 33 -- lncludlng Alexander PamllLon, Couverneur Morrls and Charles lnckney. lurLhermore, ln Lhe 20 Lh cenLury, 12 of Lhe 19 u.S. presldenLs were under age 33 when Lhey flrsL held pollLlcal offlce. 1hls lncludes 1heodore 8oosevelL, member of Lhe new ?ork SLaLe Assembly aL age 24, Lyndon 8. !ohnson, member of Lhe u.S. Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves aL age 29, and Wllllam !. CllnLon, aLLorney general of Arkansas aL age 30 (LagleLon, 2002c). ln 2003, 37 percenL of u.S. senaLors, 49 percenL of u.S. represenLaLlves and 30 percenL of u.S. governors flrsL held elecLed offlce before age 33 (LagleLon, 2002a). ln Lhe 2008 elecLlon, Lhree of Lhe four candldaLes aL Lhe Lop of Lhe LlckeLs (8arack Cbama, !oe 8lden and Sarah alln) were all once young elecLed offlclals. Whlle young people have demonsLraLed a capaclLy Lo be meanlngfully lnvolved ln pollLlcs and even go on Lo lead Lhe counLry, relaLlvely few young people hold pollLlcal offlce aL Lhe federal level. As prevlously sLaLed, 23- Lo 33-year-olds make up [usL 2 percenL of Lhe u.S. Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves, wlLh nlne members ln Lhe 113 Lh Congress (LlsL). 1he youngesL member of Lhe unlLed SLaLes SenaLe ls 39 years old. 1he frequency of young elecLed offlclals lmproves sllghLly when lncludlng Lhe sLaLe and local levels, 23 accordlng Lo Lhe mosL recenL comprehenslve sLudy of young elecLed offlclals ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes ln 2002 by Lhe LagleLon lnsLlLuLe of ollLlcs aL 8uLgers unlverslLy. ln LhaL sLudy, researchers ldenLlfled a LoLal of 814 elecLed offlclals under 33 on Lhe local, sLaLe and federal levels. CuL of a LoLal populaLlon of 17,023 elecLed offlclals, Lhose under 33 accounLed for [usL 4.8 percenL. 1he vasL ma[orlLy of Lhese younger offlceholders were elLher munlclpal offlcers (483) or sLaLe leglslaLors (321), only Lwo were sLaLewlde elecLed offlclals, and slx were members of Congress (LagleLon, 2002b). A plurallLy of Lhe young elecLed offlclals ln Lhe 8uLgers sLudy (43) ldenLlfled as uemocraLs, whlle 33 percenL ldenLlfled as 8epubllcans and 23 percenL were elLher Lhlrd- parLy, nonparLlsan, lndependenL or unknown. Cf Lhe sllghLly less Lhan half who responded Lo a personal survey, 72 percenL were ages 30-33 and 28 percenL were ages 20-30. A vasL ma[orlLy (86) were male. lemale represenLaLlon among young elecLed offlclals lagged behlnd represenLaLlon of females generally. lor example, on Lhe sLaLe leglslaLlve level, women made up 12 percenL of young elecLed offlclals buL 23 percenL of all elecLed offlclals. CLher survey resulLs of young elecLed offlclals were compared Lo young people generally, as reporLed by Lhe CenLer for lnformaLlon and 8esearch on Clvlc Learnlng and LngagemenL. 8esearchers found some sLark buL noL LoLally surprlslng dlfferences: young elecLed offlclals and Lhelr famllles are beLLer educaLed, wlLh 22 percenL of young elecLed offlclals' moLhers havlng aLLended graduaLe school compared wlLh 8 percenL for young people generally. lurLher, 31 percenL of young elecLed offlclals have famlly lncomes beLween $30,000 and $100,000, compared wlLh 31 percenL for young people generally (LagleLon, 2002b). 24 ICI :(+@.,.1&D$ %$'$.,-#
Accordlng Lo daLa from Lhe Chronlcle of arllamenLary LlecLlons, Lhe unlLed SLaLes ls among counLrles wlLh Lhe lowesL proporLlon of young people under 40 servlng ln Lhe lower house of lLs leglslaLure-- [usL 6 percenL as of 2007 (and unchanged Lhrough Lhe presenL). Many oLher counLrles have a greaLer proporLlon of young elecLed offlclals, lncludlng lsrael (37), llnland (29), Spaln (17), Canada (14), unlLed klngdom (13) and Lhe 8epubllc of korea (7) (norrls). As dlscussed laLer, Lhls can be aLLrlbuLed Lo, among oLher Lhlngs, a lower age of ellglblllLy ln oLher counLrles (norrls). 23 ICK A(1&D.1&(/' H :#.,.-1$,&'1&-'
Why do young people seek elecLed offlce? ln parL Lo answer LhaL quesLlon, !ohn Celock, an alumnus of Columbla unlverslLy and young [ournallsL, lnLervlewed more Lhan 90 young elecLed offlclals for hls 2010 book, >&/ #/B% C/(/16%'$(A <$+() D,/*%/- E44'*'6,3 6(- %&/'1 F026*% $( 50/1'*6( @$,'%'*3: Celock places young elecLed offlclals lnLo Lhree maln caLegorles. llrsL, Lhere are Lhose who are heavlly lnfluenced by Lhelr famlly's lnvolvemenL ln pollLlcs and deslre Lo carry on Lhe LradlLlon. AL Lhe age of 23, 8osallnd !ones, for example, announced her candldacy ln 2003 for Lhe sLaLe house ln Loulslana -- a seaL ln Monroe LhaL used Lo be held by her faLher. l would noL have been elecLed wlLhouL hlm" (Celock, 7). Second, Lhere are Lhose who are pollLlcal sLaffers who vlew runnlng for offlce as Lhelr promoLlon. !esslca Lapln worked for new ?ork ClLy Councll member Clfford Mlller before runnlng for Lhe same offlce ln 2003 aL age 30. l loved my [ob and l wanLed Lo conLlnue Lo work ln publlc servlce. l LhoughL: why don'L l run?" (Celock, 10). 1hlrd, Lhere are pollLlcal ldeallsLs and pollLlcal acLlvlsLs who see Lhelr besL chance of maklng an lmpacL as belng aL Lhe declslon-maklng Lable. !efferson SmlLh, Lhe founder of Cregon 8us ro[ecL, a young professlonal clvlc engagemenL organlzaLlon, declded Lo Loss hls haL ln Lhe rlng for Lhe Cregon Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves aL 33 ln 2008. Pe belleved he could have a blgger lmpacL from Lhe lnslde" (Celock, 20). ICN "#$ ?(7/F O A&55$//&.5 *@@,(.-#
1he approach of young elecLed offlclals ls unlque ln a varleLy of ways. lor one, Celock descrlbes a greaLer capaclLy for Lhem Lo Lhlnk ouLslde of Lhe box. 1hose Lled Lo 26 exlsLlng power sLrucLures when Lhey geL lnLo offlce, afLer havlng successful careers ln law or buslness or anoLher professlon, wlll be Lled Lo Lhe old way of dolng Lhlngs" (Celock, 30). AnLhony SyLko, a 23-year-old ClLy Councll member ln Carwood, new !ersey, saw an opporLunlLy Lo use hls chalrmanshlp of Lhe bulldlng and grounds commlLLee Lo lay Lhe groundwork for solar panel lnsLallaLlon and enroll hls Lown ln Lhe SusLalnable !ersey program Lo quallfy for envlronmenLal granLs. ln addlLlon, young elecLed offlclals are generally wllllng Lo Lake more rlsks Lhan Lhelr older counLerparLs. [1]he rlsks whlle ln offlce wlll be Lackllng lssues LhaL are noL normally Lackled or maklng a proposal LhaL ls dlfferenL" ( Celock, 196). LxcepL for Lhose who are Lrylng Lo bulld a long-Lerm career ln pollLlcs, young offlceholders may be more wllllng Lo Lake rlsks because Lhey are aL a polnL ln Lhelr llfe where Lhey can beLLer adapL Lo swlLchlng [obs, lf Lhey lose reelecLlon. 1here are also quallLles of young elecLed offlclals and poLenLlal young elecLed offlclals LhaL are unlque Lo Lhe mlllennlal generaLlon. Morley Wlnograd, auLhor of G',,/(('6, G$0/(%+0A H$9 6 #/9 C/(/16%'$( F3 I/06='() 50/1'*6, asserLs LhaL young elecLed offlclals of Lhe rlslng generaLlon have an approach Lo pollLlcs LhaL ls dlsLlncL from LhaL of Lhelr baby boomer predecessors. 1helr generaLlon's ldeallsm -- ln sharp conLrasL Lo Lhe more ldeologlcal approach adopLed by 8oomers -- ls characLerlzed by a pragmaLlc lmpulse focused on flndlng pracLlcal soluLlons Lo problems" (Wlnograd). 1o Lhe exLenL Loday's young people have a sLrong ldeology, lL largely does noL fall wlLhln Lhe LradlLlonal small versus blg governmenL specLrum. Lrlc Llu, co-auLhor of >&/ C61-/(3 $4 J/0$*16*8, observes: ln shorL, Mlllennlals bypass. 1hey operaLe sldeways and orLhogonally raLher Lhan obey all Lhe hlerarchles and dlchoLomles of Lhelr elders. . 27 Mlllennlals are comforLable wlLh blg goals and even blg spendlng. 8uL Lhey're also happy Lo clrcumvenL Lhe sLaLe alLogeLher and enllsL anyone who can help achleve Lhose goals" (Llu). As dlscussed earller, Lhls leads Lo unlque vlews on conLemporary pollLlcal lssues. ln a blog posL from a norLh Carollna pollLlcal acLlon commlLLee abouL why we supporL young candldaLes," grassrooLs dlrecLor Lvan uegnan wrlLes: ?oung elecLed offlclals are able Lo brlng new ldeas and Lechnology Lo governmenL, maklng lL more LransparenL, efflclenL and recepLlve. When crlLlcs bemoan our lack of llfe experlences remlnd Lhem LhaL we also don'L carry Lhe baggage of a llfeLlme of pollLlcal baLLles. . We aren'L shackled by anLlquaLed soclal bellefs nor do we hold Lhe same pre[udlces LhaL have polsoned our naLlon before. . We see Lhe long game because we have Lo. lf we don'L lnvesL now ln educaLlon, ln healLhcare, ln lnfrasLrucLure and ln proLecLlng Lhe envlronmenL Lhen we are Lhe ones who suffer Lhe consequences. 1haL's why we're demandlng a seaL aL Lhe Lable. lor Loo long Lhose ln power have forsaken Lhe fuLure Lo preserve Lhe pasL, whlle creaLlng barrlers Lo enLry for young folks (uegnan).
ln Congress, young elecLed offlclals Lake a dlfferenL approach Lo governlng. We are less sLrldenL and more wllllng Lo hear each oLher ouL," says Congressman Aaron Schock, now 32. Pe adds, 1he older members are more concerned abouL process and less wlLh resulLs." Pe suspecLs more young members ln Congress would lncrease Lhe speed aL whlch Lhe lnsLlLuLlon operaLes and would focus Lhe leglslaLure on Lhe counLry's long-Lerm flscal and envlronmenLal healLh." As Schock recenLly Lold 8uzzfeed: l Lhlnk lf you gaLhered Lhe 40 members under 40 and locked us ln a room, we could solve Lhls naLlon's problems ln 24 hours" (!ohnson).
28 <$-1&(/ ;;;= P.,,&$,' 1( 6))&-$
Cnly abouL one ln a hundred Amerlcans wlll run for offlce aL any Llme durlng Lhelr llfeLlme (MacManus). 1he sacrlflce of Llme, physlcal efforL and personal prlvacy are large barrlers for poLenLlal candldaLes of 6(8 age -- Lherefore, Lhey are noL dlscussed ln deLall here. 1he focus lnsLead ls on Lhe range of lnsLlLuLlonal, lnherenL and lmpllclL barrlers dlsproporLlonaLely or unlquely faced by young people, ln boLh runnlng for offlce and ln belng elecLed Lo offlce. Lach ls addressed ln order of percelved magnlLude, alLhough furLher research ls necessary Lo LesL Lhese assumpLlons. KCB *F$ E5&F&9&5&12 %$Q7&,$+$/1' R* S&'1(,2T
1he mosL lmmovable barrler Lo young adulLs holdlng pollLlcal offlce on Lhe federal level ls enshrlned rlghL ln Lhe unlLed SLaLe ConsLlLuLlon. ArLlcle l, SecLlon ll sLlpulaLes: no erson shall be a 8epresenLaLlve who shall noL have aLLalned Lo Lhe Age of LwenLy flve ?ears, and been seven ?ears a ClLlzen of Lhe unlLed SLaLes, and who shall noL, when elecLed, be an lnhablLanL of LhaL SLaLe ln whlch he shall be chosen." Slmllarly, Lhe ConsLlLuLlon seLs ellglblllLy requlremenLs aL age 30 for senaLors and 33 for presldenL. 1hese requlremenLs ouLrlghL deny Lhe hlghesL form of pollLlcal expresslon and parLlclpaLlon -- Lhe ablllLy Lo hold offlce (and Lherefore, Lo run for offlce) -- Lo clLlzens based on an lmmuLable quallLy, Lhough Lemporary. 1he sLaggered age llmlLs for Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves, Lhe SenaLe and Lhe presldency were lnvenLed on Lhe spoL durlng Lhe ConsLlLuLlonal ConvenLlon ln hlladelphla ln 1787. 1he lramers dld noL copy Lhe example of any parLlcular sLaLe or forelgn counLry. AL Lhe Llme, only Lwo sLaLes had age resLrlcLlons for Lhe leglslaLure, aL 29 23, and only Lwo oLhers had resLrlcLlons for Lhe governorshlp, one aL 30 and Lhe oLher aL 33, however, Lhere were properLy requlremenLs ln oLher sLaLes LhaL, ln pracLlce, served as an age resLrlcLlon. AL Lhe Llme, Lngland had an age resLrlcLlon of 21 for parllamenL. ln speculaLlng why Lhe lramers developed Lhe sysLem Lhey dld, comedlan !on SLewarL [okes Lhey were proLecLlng agalnsL Lyranny: 1he average llfe span ln colonlal Llmes was 41.3, so wlLh 33 as Lhe mlnlmum [for Lhe resldency], even a bruLal LyranL would have only flve, seven years Lops, before gouL, cholera, and/or syphllls re-democraLlzed Lhe naLlon" (Seery). A beLLer explanaLlon of age resLrlcLlons can be found ln !ames Madlson's noLes on Lhe ConsLlLuLlonal ConvenLlon, where a clash of democraLlc Lheory unfolded beLween Ceorge Mason of vlrglnla and !ames Wllson of ennsylvanla. Mason belleved popular elecLlon was a sLraLeglc check on governmenL" and was Lhe chlef archlLecL of age resLrlcLlons, whlle Wllson saw elecLlons as Lhe very deflnlLlon of democraLlc governmenL" and vehemenLly opposed any age resLrlcLlon on holdlng offlce above Lhe age of suffrage. AL Lhe convenLlon, Mason reasoned LhaL lL was absurd" for a clLlzen, upon Lhe age of Lurnlng 21, Lo noL only make a bargaln for hlmself" buL also manage Lhe affalrs of a greaL naLlon." lndeed, he remarked upon hls own ablllLy aL Lhe age of 21 by saylng hls own pollLlcal oplnlons aL Lhe Llme were Loo crude and erroneous Lo merlL an lnfluence on publlc measures." Wllson flred back, accordlng Lo Madlson, sLaLlng LhaL Lhe proposal would serve Lo damp Lhe efforL of genlus, and of laudable amblLlon." Wllson conLended LhaL Lhe voLers should be Lhe [udges of who ls flL Lo hold offlce. AlLhough age requlremenLs were lnlLlally voLed down 30 10-1 by Lhe convenLlon, Mason was neverLheless successful ln puLLlng a mlnlmum age of 23 for Lhe Pouse wlLh a voLe of 7-3 aL a laLer daLe. Age resLrlcLlons for Lhe SenaLe and presldency passed unanlmously and wlLhouL debaLe (Seery). uurlng Lhe raLlflcaLlon perlod, age llmlLs were noL a focus of debaLe. When Lhey were dlscussed, Lhe llmlLs were descrlbed as a senslble way Lo ensure LhaL only Lhe mosL quallfled persons could hold offlce. !ames McPenry reflecLed LhaL Lhe convenLlon deemed Lhe age of 23 necessary Lo maLure Lhe [udgmenL and form Lhe mlnd by hablLs of reflecLlon and experlence" (Seery, 31). noah WebsLer, an ardenL supporL of Lhe new consLlLuLlon and Lhe age llmlLs lL conLalned, wroLe LhaL Lhe ellglbly requlremenLs fllLered ouL represenLaLlves who are noL llable Lo Lhe blas of passlons LhaL govern Lhe young" (Seery, 33). 1he sLaggered age llmlLs were a way Lo promoLe more experlence and greaL [udgmenL for hlgher offlces, from Lhe Pouse Lo Lhe SenaLe Lo Lhe presldency. KCI J$,-$@1&(/' () J(5&1&-' ./3 J(5&1&-.5 E))&-.-2
Cne of Lhe maln reasons so few young people geL elecLed Lo offlce ls LhaL so few young people deslre Lo run for offlce Lo begln wlLh. 8y and large, Loday's young people are dlsconnecLed from pollLlcs alLogeLher because Lhey see lL as belng lneffecLlve. lf you are 24 years old, all you know ls peLLy parLlsan pollLlcs whlle blg lssues aren'L geLLlng addressed, whlle Lhe economy ls sLlll sLruggllng," commenLed 1rey Crayson, dlrecLor of Lhe lnsLlLuLe of ollLlcs aL Parvard unlverslLy (SLolberg). Accordlng Lo a recenL Parvard survey, more young people agree LhaL pollLlcal lnvolvemenL rarely has Langlble resulLs" Lhan dlsagree (Parvard). ?eL many vlew Lhe currenL generaLlon of young people as Lhe nexL greaL clvlc generaLlon. olnLlng Lo growlng Lrends of naLlonal servlce parLlclpanLs, 31 soclal enLrepreneurs and oLher clvlc leaders, mlllennlal auLhor uavld 8ursLeln wrlLes, Mlllennlals have selzed hold of Lhe world around Lhem, declded Lo make a dlfference, and are dolng lL rlghL now" (8ursLeln). ln Lhls conLexL, young people's pollLlcal dlsengagemenL may be beLLer undersLood as a raLlonal deslre Lo spend Lhelr Llme and efforL where Lhey make can lmpacL, ln Loday's pollLlcal cllmaLe, LhaL means ouLslde of governmenL. lndeed, Lrends of dlsLrusL and dlsengagemenL are lncreaslng. Cynlclsm Loward pollLlcs has Lurned Lhe very acL of pollLlcal engagemenL lnLo an acLlvlLy LhaL ls looked down upon. Palf as many young people (33) belleve LhaL runnlng for offlce ls an honorable Lhlng Lo do" compared wlLh communlLy servlce (70). lndeed, ln 2012, more Lhan one-Lhlrd of young people parLlclpaLed ln communlLy servlce whlle only abouL a quarLer descrlbed Lhemselves as pollLlcally acLlve (Parvard). ?oung people are reLreaLlng from whaL Lhey belleve Lo be a fundamenLally broken pollLlcal sysLem. lf lL ls exceedlngly dlfflculL Lo geL young people Lo conLacL Lhelr elecLed offlclal or even voLe ln an elecLlon, Lhen Lhe ldea of persuadlng young people Lo spend a year or more deallng wlLh publlc scruLlny and negaLlve aLLacks LhaL come wlLh runnlng for offlce, where Lhe besL-case scenarlo ls wlnnlng elecLlon Lo a paralyzed and dysfuncLlonal leglslaLure, seems near lmposslble. KCK J(5&1&-.5 J.,12 A(9&5&U.1&(/
lor Lhelr many faulLs ln Loday's pollLlcs, pollLlcal parLles play an lmporLanL role ln lubrlcaLlng democracy by educaLlng, organlzlng and moblllzlng clLlzens -- even Lhough Lhey do so ln a sLraLeglcally selecLlve way. 1he pollLlcal parLles' efforLs Lo moblllze 32 clLlzens have conslderable lmpacL. When parLles make Lhe efforL, Lhe people Lhey conLacL are far more llkely Lo parLlclpaLe ln elecLoral pollLlcs Lhan Lhe people Lhey pass over" (8osensLone, 170). Cne of Lhe maln groups of people Lhey frequenLly pass over ls young people. lor Loo long, candldaLes, pollLlcal parLles and Lhe medla have LreaLed young people as lrrelevanL Lo Lhe pollLlcal process," uan Cllckman, a former member of Congress and cablneL secreLary, recenLly wroLe (Parvard). lndeed, Lhe young are caughL ln a chlcken/egg problem: because relaLlvely few parLlclpaLe, lnsLlLuLlons such as pollLlcal parLles under-lnvesL ln Lhelr moblllzaLlon. 8uL because of Lhls underlnvesLmenL, relaLlvely few young people parLlclpaLe elLher by voLlng, conLacLlng Lhelr elecLed represenLaLlves or, as ls relevanL Lo Lhls sLudy, runnlng for offlce. ln a survey of 380 young elecLed offlclals by 8uLgers unlverslLy's ?oung LlecLed Leaders ro[ecL, fewer Lhan half declded Lo run on Lhelr own (46 male, 28 female). A plurallLy had glven lL LhoughL and declded Lo run once someone else encouraged Lhem. CLhers had noL LhoughL abouL lL unLll someone else suggesLed lL. Cf Lhose already ln offlce, 86 percenL would llke Lo achleve hlgher offlce buL only 2 percenL named Lhe u.S. SenaLe and 13 percenL named Lhe u.S. Pouse as Lhelr nexL sLep - even Lhough 24 percenL and 18 percenL, respecLlvely, would llke Lo end up Lhere someday (LagleLon, 2002d). lL ls clear from [usL Lhls polllng LhaL holdlng pollLlcal offlce ls llke cllmblng a ladder, and mosL sLarL cllmblng when Lhey are pushed onLo lL. ollLlcal parLles Lend Lo push older people. ln Lhls conLexL, a key obsLacle for young people Lo achleve greaLer represenLaLlon ln Congress ls LhaL pollLlcal parLles, Lo Lhe exLenL LhaL Lhey are even 33 focused ln recrulLlng and encouraglng young candldaLes, malnLaln a clear hlerarchy ln how one can rlse Lo hlgher pollLlcal offlce. 1he ablllLy Lo run wlLh less conLrol from parLy bosses and Lo geL on Lhe balloL easler helps ouL for young elecLed offlclals who wanL Lo run for hlgh offlce" (Celock, 27). !ohn Celock, Lhe [ournallsL who lnLervlewed 90 young elecLed offlclals, polnLs Lo Mlchael lrerlchs from Champalgn CounLy, llllnols, as an example. AL 24, lrerlchs reporLed LhaL he had Lo keep runnlng for offlces he was noL lnLeresLed ln [usL Lo geL hls parLy's supporL Lo run for sLaLe senaLor years laLer. 1he message from Lhe 8epubllcan arLy Lo 27-year-old Aaron Schock of llllnols, who was conslderlng a run for an open congresslonal seaL ln hls dlsLrlcL was, don'L do lL - you'll lose and be marked as a loser." Lven for promlslng up-and-comers, Lhe parLy Lends Lo Lake a rlsk-adverse poslLlon (Schock). Schock wenL on Lo wln hls elecLlon. 8uL when young candldaLes aLLempL Lo essenLlally sklp Lhelr spoL on llne, Lhey can pay Lhe prlce. Cne sLark example ls nomlkl konsL, 28, who soughL Lo replace reLlrlng represenLaLlve Cabrlelle Clffords ln Lhe 2012 elecLlon. Accordlng Lo konsL, Lhe reacLlon from Lhe uemocraLlc arLy chalrman ln one Arlzona counLy was: SweeLle, sLarL aL school board." 1he parLy lnsLead backed an esLabllshmenL candldaLe ln Lhe prlmary and acLlvely undermlned konsL's campalgn by hlrlng away key sLaff and lnLlmldaLlng supporLers (konsL). KCN ;/-7+9$/-2
lncumbency advanLage ls Lhe mosL powerful force ln elecLoral pollLlcs. ln sum: voLers know Lhem, Lhey geL more medla exposure, Lhey can boasL abouL Lhelr accompllshmenLs ln Congress, and Lhey have access and connecLlons Lo campalgn cash 34 - all of whlch are lngredlenLs Lo a successful campalgn" (Colby). And Lo Lhe exLenL LhaL mosL lncumbenLs are older Amerlcans, Lhls presenLs an lnherenL challenge Lo young people breaklng lnLo Lhe sysLem. noL only ls lL dlfflculL Lo unseaL an lncumbenL, buL lncumbenLs are also decldlng Lo sLay ln offlce longer. ln Lhe 2012 elecLlon, 90 percenL of u.S. Pouse members seeklng reelecLlon won Lhelr races, Lyplcal of recenL hlsLory. 8eelecLlon raLes fell below 90 percenL ln only Lhree elecLlons over Lhe pasL 40 years. 8eLween Lhe 104 Lh Congress (1993-1996) and 111 Lh Congress (2009-2010), Lhe share of Pouse members who served more Lhan elghL years lncreased from 37 percenL Lo nearly half (48). 1he average Pouse member served for 10.3 years, up from 7.4 year Lhree decades ago (Classman). ulLlmaLely, 81 percenL of Lhe members of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves who served ln Lhe 112 Lh Congress wenL on Lo serve ln Lhe 113 Lh
Congress.
33 Lven Lhough Congress has becomlng an lncreaslngly dysfuncLlonal and paralyzed body, lL has become more deslrable Lo sLay as a career pollLlclan Lhan as a clLlzen leglslaLor. 1hls ls parLlally because effecLlveness ln Congress ls more dependenL on havlng been Lhere longer. Changes ln Pouse rules made senlorlLy lncreaslngly lmporLanL and provlded a moLlvaLlon for represenLaLlves Lo keep Lhelr seaLs" (almer). ln addlLlon, over Llme, members beneflL from a greaLer supporL sLrucLure LhaL allows Lhem Lo generaLe publlclLy, serve consLlLuenLs, and recelve supporL ln organlzlng Lhelr offlces and formlng agendas LhaL help Lhem be effecLlve leglslaLors" (Classman). lurLher, from a purely self-lnLeresLed perspecLlve, posL-congresslonal careers LhaL Lrade on members' lnsLlLuLlonal knowledge and lnfluence have also proven Lo be a lucraLlve lncenLlve Lo sLlck around WashlngLon and bulld clouL. A 2013 KL5 >$-68 analysls of Lhe 98 lawmakers who reLlred, reslgned or losL reelecLlon slnce !anuary 2011 ldenLlfled 16 who Look poslLlons wlLh groups LhaL lnfluence pollcy, (uSA 1oday). Lver slnce scholars noLlced an upLlck ln lncumbenL reelecLlon advanLage ln Lhe mld-1960s, varlous explanaLlons have been debaLed aL lengLh. Some say LhaL lncumbenLs have been able Lo access greaLer resources Lo perform Lhelr [obs (llorlna) and Lo run Lhelr campalgns (loulrnales). CLhers say LhaL lncumbenLs have beneflLed from parLy reallgnmenL, ln whlch campalgns have become more candldaLe-focused raLher Lhan parLy-focused (Mayhew). SLlll anoLher school of LhoughL suggesLs Lhe percelved and/or acLual presence of Lhese oLher facLors scare off" hlgh-quallLy challengers, and furLhermore, LhaL candldaLe quallLy lncreaslngly maLLers (Cox). Whlle lL may seem lnLulLlve LhaL congresslonal redlsLrlcLlng has played a slgnlflcanL role ln 36 boosLlng lncumbenL advanLage, Lhe llLeraLure . has been unlform ln lLs dlsmlssal of redlsLrlcLlng as a cause of Lhe change" (lrledman). Cne reason ls LhaL redlsLrlcLlng does noL seem Lo affecL Lhe slze of lncumbenL advanLage. lL ls equally powerful aL Lhe sLaLe and federal levels. lL ls equally lmporLanL ln leglslaLlve and execuLlve elecLlons" (Ansolabehere). WhaLever Lhe preclse reason or mlx of reasons, Lhe effecL of lncumbency on voLe share ls esLlmaLed Lo range from 3 Lo 8 percenL (loulrnales). KCV W$1 >(,1# H :.+@.&F/ 4&/./-$
Cf all Lhe poLenLlal facLors fuellng lncumbency advanLage and of all Lhe facLors LhaL are key ln wlnnlng a campalgn, Lhe way elecLlons are flnanced ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes may have a dlsproporLlonaLe lmpacL on young people, necesslLaLlng some speclal aLLenLlon. 8y Lhelr naLure, young candldaLes have smaller and (glven Lhe llkellhood LhaL Lhey, Loo, are young) less wealLhy personal and professlonal neLworks Lhan older candldaLes. ln oLher words, young candldaLes have a relaLlvely weak ablllLy Lo ralse money or even self-fund slmply because Lhey have less access Lo wealLh (Schock). ln 2010, Lhe average neL worLh of Amerlcans ages 29-37 was $97,060, whlle Lhe neL worLh of Amerlcans ages 63-73 was $843,218. Lven more sLrlklng ls LhaL, slnce 1983, young Amerlcans' neL worLh has -/*1/63/- by 21 percenL whlle older Amerlcans' neL worLh '(*1/63/- by 79 percenL (SLeuerle). 1o be sure, ralslng and spendlng more money does noL necessarlly lncrease a candldaLe's share of Lhe voLe ln 6,, cases. 1he long-sLandlng convenLlonal wlsdom ln pollLlcal sclence ls LhaL challenger spendlng [has] slzable lmpacLs on Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves elecLlon ouLcomes buL LhaL spendlng by lncumbenLs [ls] relaLlvely 37 unproducLlve." lncumbenL spendlng has Lhe mosL effecL when Lhe offlceholder ls forced Lo respond Lo a serlous challenger who spends ln excess of $182,000 (Magee). 1hls ls largely a resulL of Lhe facL LhaL voLers usually know more abouL Lhe lncumbenL Lhan Lhe challenger, and campalgns are won or losL dependlng on who can beLLer deflne Lhe challenger. Cne sLudy showed LhaL lncumbency causes approxlmaLely a 23 [ump ln a parLy's share of LoLal conLrlbuLlons" (loulrnales). 1hls advanLage ls, Lo a large exLenL, a resulL of conLrlbuLlons from people or enLlLles LhaL seek access Lo Lhose who have pollLlcal power. Speclal-lnLeresL organlzaLlons and corporaLlons, raLher Lhan lndlvldual voLers, seem Lo be mosL moLlvaLed Lo glve Lo lncumbenLs. 1hls can LranslaLe Lo an advanLage of 0.21 Lo 4.48 percenL of Lhe voLe share, exLrapolaLlng from oLher relaLed daLa. lurLhermore, one sLudy found LhaL [a]n lncumbenL who beglns Lhe campalgn wlLh a large amounL of cash on hand does slgnlflcanLly beLLer ln Lhe elecLlon, even afLer conLrolllng for how much each candldaLe ulLlmaLely spends." 1hls could be because large campalgn war chesLs scare off poLenLlal hlgh-quallLy challengers, such as Lhose wlLh experlence ln elecLed offlce (Magee). KCX *F$&'+
lL has long been undersLood LhaL voLers who are lnfluenced by speclflc candldaLe characLerlsLlcs such as gender and sex Lend Lo supporL candldaLes who are mosL llke Lhem. Several sLudles have found LhaL Lhls slmllarlLy hypoLhesls" exLends Lo Lhe dlmenslon of age. Whlle sexlsm and raclsm are rouLlnely dlscussed and admonlshed ln our culLure and medla, Lhere ls relaLlvely less awareness abouL Lhe prevalence of 38 agelsm -- even Lhough lL has been demonsLraLed Lo have sLronger effecLs Lhan oLher klnds of dlscrlmlnaLlon. A 1980 experlmenL, for example, asked 1,138 undergraduaLes aL Lhe unlverslLy of kenLucky Lo casL balloLs ln a slmulaLed mayoral elecLlon. 1hls was lnLended Lo LesL how voLers reacL Lo slmllarly quallfled candldaLes based on Lhelr age, sex and race. Clven opLlons of a young (age 31), mlddle-aged (age 33) and old candldaLe (age 72), Lhe sLudenLs mosL favored Lhe young candldaLe (37.3) and leasL favored Lhe old one (33.2). ln facL, a candldaLe's age had a greaLer lmpacL on voLlng behavlor Lhan dld a candldaLe's sex or race." AlLhough Lhe sLudy cauLloned agalnsL generallzlng Lhe resulLs Lo Lhe populaLlon as a whole, naLlonal elecLlons and real-world scenarlos, lL dld suggesL LhaL lLs flndlngs were conslsLenL wlLh Lhe vlew LhaL voLers Lend Lo prefer Lhose who are slmllar Lo Lhemselves and Lend Lo dlsllke Lhose who are dlsslmllar from Lhemselves" and unequlvocally lmply LhaL a candldaLe's age . should be LreaLed ln Lhe fuLure as a poLenLlally powerful deLermlnanL of voLer preferences" (Slgelman, 267). Mlllennlal Congressman Aaron Schock, a 8epubllcan, noLes LhaL he won abouL Lhe same percenLage of Lhe youLh voLe ln hls dlsLrlcL as resldenL Cbama dld ln Lhe 2012 elecLlon, as he dlscerned from Lhe preclncL LhaL lncludes 8radley unlverslLy (Schock) -- lndlcaLlng LhaL young people (assumed Lo be progresslve/uemocraLlc voLers) crossed parLy llnes Lo help elecL someone who spoke Lo Lhelr lssues dlrecLly and could relaLe Lo Lhem personally. 1hree years laLer, anoLher sLudy soughL Lo LesL wheLher Lhe same flndlngs would apply uslng a sample LhaL lncluded voLers of varylng ages. 1he sLudy conflrmed LhaL a 39 OUR AGING POPULATION slmllarlLy blas was presenL for all voLers based on age. ln a maLchup of young and old, supporL for Lhe 72-year-old candldaLe won ma[orlLy supporL only by Lhose voLers over Lhe age of 63 (70.6). Llkewlse, ln Lhe same maLchup, Lhe old candldaLe recelved Lhe leasL supporL from Lhose aged 18-23 (33.3). Pere, Loo, age conslderaLlons were sLronger Lhan sex or race. lurLher, Lhe age blas of senlor clLlzen voLers does noL slmply reflecL a preference for candldaLe of Lhelr own age, older voLers also sLrongly re[ecLed Lhe younger candldaLe when LhaL candldaLe was head-Lo-head agalnsL a mlddle-aged candldaLe (80-10). lf Lhese resulLs lndeed reflecL real voLlng Lendencles, we should expecL Lo see real problems for young candldaLes ln fuLure elecLlons," Lhe sLudy concluded, noLlng Lhe aglng of Lhe elecLoraLe (lllavln, 360). [1he older voLers'] presumpLlon was LhaL l was less knowledgeable," sald Schock, noLlng LhaL he was able Lo wln many over once Lhey were able Lo geL Lo know hlm personally (Schock).
40 AlLhough Lhe age blas cuLs boLh ways, Lhe resulL sLrongly dlsadvanLages young candldaLes slmply because older voLers comprlse a greaLer porLlon of Lhe elecLoraLe. ln Lhe 2010 elecLlon, voLers under 33 comprlsed 30 percenL of Lhe voLlng-age populaLlon and 17 percenL of Lhe elecLoraLe. voLers over 63 comprlsed 18 percenL of Lhe voLlng-age populaLlon and 24 percenL of Lhe elecLoraLe. Clder voLers were dlsproporLlonaLely lnfluenLlal because young voLers Lurned ouL aL 27 percenL whlle older voLers Lurned ouL aL over Lwlce Lhe raLe (61) (u.S. Census 8ureau, 2012). And, as prevlously noLed, Lhe share of Lhe senlor voLe wlll only lncrease ln Lhe fuLure as our populaLlon ages.
41 <$-1&(/ ;Y= %$-(++$/3.1&(/'
lf havlng more young elecLed offlclals ls good for democracy 6(- lf currenL barrlers Lo young people runnlng and belng elecLed Lo offlce are lncreaslngly hlgh and prohlblLlve, Lhen lL ls socleLy's duLy Lo Lake acLlon Lo lower Lhose barrlers. CovernmenL, on boLh Lhe local and federal levels, shares Lhls obllgaLlon wlLh clvll socleLy. As wlLh any reform, Lhose ln Lhe pollLlcal class who prlmarlly beneflL from Lhe sLaLus quo are llkely Lo proLesL several recommendaLlons below. 1hls underscores Lhe necesslLy for young people Lhemselves Lo lead Lhe change Lhrough Lhelr advocacy, raLher Lhan walL on someone or someLhlng else Lo do so -- and Lo do lL soon, as pollLlcal power wlll only furLher concenLraLe over Llme ln Lhe hands of Lhose leasL llkely Lo champlon Lhe necessary reforms. NCB :(/'1&171&(/.5 Z*0E *+$/3+$/1[
Lowerlng Lhe age of ellglblllLy Lo hold offlce Lhrough a consLlLuLlonal amendmenL ls Lhe mosL fundamenLal yeL also Lhe mosL challenglng reform Lo level Lhe playlng fleld for young candldaLes. Whlle we musL keep ln mlnd LhaL Lhe ConsLlLuLlon's venerable hlsLory behooves us Lo reslsL amendmenLs unless Lhe argumenLs ln Lhelr supporL are overwhelmlng," Lhls ls undoubLedly one such case -- for all Lhe aforemenLloned reasons why youLh represenLaLlon ls good for democracy 6(- more (Cooper). As proposed ln deLall by !ohn Seery, an All CeneraLlons Lllglble (ACL) AmendmenL Lo Lhe u.S. ConsLlLuLlon would ensure every Amerlcan who ls ellglble Lo voLe would also be ellglble Lo offer hlmself or herself Lo Lhe elecLoraLe as a candldaLe for federal offlce. 42 llrsL, on lLs face, an ACL AmendmenL change ls a maLLer of democraLlc prlnclple. Pannah ArendL wroLe: LllglblllLy . ls a necessary corollary Lo Lhe rlghL Lo voLe, lL means LhaL everyone ls glven Lhe opporLunlLy Lo dlsLlngulsh hlmself ln Lhose Lhlngs ln whlch all are equals Lo begln wlLh . Lhey consLlLuLe ln a modern democracy Lhe very qulnLessence of clLlzenshlp" (Seery, 73). Second, ln pracLlcal Lerms, lL would allow Lhe posslblllLy for greaL leaders Lo emerge. Machlavelll wroLe: When a young man has such an excepLlonal ablllLy LhaL he makes hlmself known Lhrough some lllusLrlous deed, lL would be a mosL damaglng Lhlng lf Lhe clLy were noL able Lo avall lLself of hls LalenL" (Seery, 63). 1he SLeve !obs, Mlchael !ordon or 1aylor SwlfL of pollLlcs may be walLlng. 1hlrd, Lhe amendmenL would advance Lhe democraLlc alm of elecLoral compeLlLlveness by vlrLue of expandlng Lhe candldaLe pool (Seery, 110). lurLhermore, as Lhe unlverslLy of lowa's Wllllam Cooper wroLe ln hls 1988 reexamlnaLlon of Lhe assumpLlons of age llmlLs for holdlng federal offlce, Lhe currenL rules ln place, premlsed on Lhe concepL of ensurlng good [udgmenL, are boLh lnvalld and lnconslsLenL. Cn one hand, Lhe developmenL of [udgmenL ls lrrelevanL when Lhe Lask aL hand ls a cholce 60$() lndlvlduals aL a glven polnL ln Llme." ln any glven elecLlon, lL seems self-evldenL LhaL Lhe voLers are Lo declde Lhe relaLlve quallflcaLlons of Lhe candldaLes. Cn Lhe oLher hand, even lf one belleves lL ls Lhe role of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon (noL Lhe elecLoraLe) Lo seL some mlnlmum Lhreshold of maLurlLy, why dld Lhe lramers noL lnclude a slmllar age llmlL for members of Lhe Supreme CourL, or an upper llmlL Lo all offlclals Lo ensure unlversal flLness Lo hold offlce? Cooper concludes Lhese omlsslons render age resLrlcLlons lndefenslble (Cooper). 43 An ACL amendmenL would have slmllar hlsLorlcal precedenL. Cn !uly 1, 1971, 38 sLaLes raLlfled whaL became Lhe 26 Lh AmendmenL Lo Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, whlch prohlblLed Lhe federal governmenL or sLaLe governmenLs from seLLlng a voLlng age hlgher Lhan 18. 1he vleLnam War was Lhe lmpeLus behlnd Lhe amendmenL, as young men under 21 were belng senL Lo flghL for Lhe counLry buL were noL ellglble Lo voLe ln mosL sLaLes. CreaLer pressure was puL on Lhe federal governmenL when some sLaLes began Lo change Lhelr own ellglblllLy requlremenLs, whlch would have necesslLaLed keeplng a separaLe seL of reglsLraLlon rolls for sLaLe and federal balloLs. 1hls change ls ample evldence LhaL Lhe ConsLlLuLlon has noL fully wlLhsLood Lhe LesL of Llme wlLh respecL Lo lLs orlglnal assumpLlons and requlremenLs abouL age" (Seery, 9). ?eL Lhe 26 Lh AmendmenL was lnsufflclenL ln addresslng Lhe underlylng problem, as younger voLers sLlll have Lo choose beLween older candldaLes. [S]uffrage maLLers, buL only wlLhln and refracLed Lhrough Lhe Lerms of represenLaLlon" (Seery, 31). 1he same argumenL made durlng Lhe vleLnam War could be made Loday. Cver Lhe pasL 10 years, 6,648 u.S. servlce members have dled as parL of CperaLlon lraql lreedom and CperaLlon Lndurlng lreedom. More Lhan half of Lhose who gave Lhelr llves were under Lhe age of 23 (laces). ?eL noL one member of Congress from Lhls same age cohorL was dlrecLly lnvolved ln Lhe debaLe or aL Lhe declslon-maklng Lable ln Lhe federal governmenL. 1he popular slogan of Lhe youLh suffrage movemenL 30 years ago, Cld enough Lo flghL, old enough Lo voLe" could easlly be LranslaLed lnLo a modern equlvalenL: Cld enough Lo flghL, old enough Lo run." 44 MosL oLher counLrles have a lower age of ellglblllLy Lhan Lhe unlLed SLaLes or have begun Lo lower Lhe Lhreshold. Cf 22 advanced democracles, half have no hlgher age resLrlcLlon on runnlng for Lhe lower house of governmenL Lhan Lhe voLlng age. Cnly lLaly and !apan resLrlcL Lhe age as hlgh as Lhe unlLed SLaLes, aL 23 years old (Seery). Among oLher counLrles, 8rlLaln lowered lLs age of ellglblllLy from 21 Lo 18 based on a 2004 reporL by Lhe 8rlLlsh arllamenL's LlecLoral Commlsslon. 1he reporL acknowledged LhaL Lhe prlnclpal concern ln deLermlnlng boLh Lhe voLlng age and age of candldacy ls ensurlng LhaL Lhose who are parLlclpaLlng ln Lhe democraLlc process have obLalned sufflclenL maLurlLy." Whlle Lhe convenLlonal wlsdom ls LhaL more maLurlLy ls requlred Lo hold offlce Lhan Lo voLe ln an elecLlon, Lhe reporL noLed: Lhe elecLlon process lLself already provldes a far more subLle and flexlble mechanlsm by whlch Lhe elecLoraLe can prevenL candldaLes Lhey conslder undeslrable or lnapproprlaLe from obLalnlng Lhe power of elecLed offlce." Accordlng Lo publlc oplnlon polllng ln 8rlLaln, 38 percenL agreed wlLh Lhe sLaLemenL LhaL lf you're old enough Lo voLe, you're old enough Lo be a candldaLe (1he LlecLoral Commlsslon). AL Lhe very leasL, a slmllar process could be followed ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes ln Lhe form of a presldenLlal commlsslon. ln hls 2013 SLaLe of Lhe unlon Address, resldenL Cbama announced a nonparLlsan commlsslon Lo lmprove Lhe experlence of all voLers, ln response Lo complalnLs abouL long llnes and voLer access ln Lhe 2012 elecLlon. 1he commlsslon was esLabllshed by execuLlve order ln March 2013 and wlll be co-chalred by Lop campalgn aLLorneys from Lhe campalgns of Cbama and hls opponenL, MlLL 8omney. A slmllar resldenLlal Commlsslon on Lhe Clvlc arLlclpaLlon of ?oung Amerlcans should 43 be esLabllshed Lo make recommendaLlons of how Lo lower Lhe barrlers young people face ln voLlng, runnlng for offlce and oLher forms of democraLlc parLlclpaLlon. 1he commlsslon can be speclflcally asked Lo evaluaLe Lhe merlLs of an ACL AmendmenL. NCI :.+@.&F/ 4&/./-$ %$)(,+
As dlscussed, young people are lnherenLly dlsadvanLaged by Lhe hlgh cosLs of runnlng for offlce, as Lhey lack access Lo wealLh on a personal level and wlLhln Lhelr neLwork of peers. lmplemenLlng a sysLem of volunLary publlc flnanclng of federal campalgns could serve Lhe dual purpose of empowerlng young candldaLes and lessenlng Lhe corrupLlng lnfluence of money ln pollLlcs by levellng Lhe playlng fleld beLween an lncumbenL and a poLenLlal challenger. llrsL, Congress should lmplemenL a sysLem of volunLary publlc flnanclng based on unlversally dlsLrlbuLed democracy vouchers" - essenLlally a Lax rebaLe of $30 for every reglsLered voLer ln Amerlca. ln proposlng such a sysLem, professor and acLlvlsL Lawrence Lesslg explalned: 1haL voucher could Lhen be glven Lo any candldaLe for Congress who agreed Lo one slmple condlLlon: Lhe only money LhaL candldaLe would accepL Lo flnance hls or her campalgn would be elLher 'democracy vouchers' or conLrlbuLlons from clLlzens capped aL $100. no AC money. no $2,300 checks. Small conLrlbuLlons only" (Lesslg). 1he voucher sysLem has many advanLages: lL ls premlsed on empowermenL, noL resLrlcLlon, lL can pass consLlLuLlonal musLer slnce lL ls LoLally volunLary, lL ls a sysLem of publlc flnanclng run by Lhe people, noL a cenLral bureaucracy. 1he voucher plan Lransforms campalgn flnance from an lnegallLarlan embarrassmenL lnLo a new occaslon for clvlc responslblllLy" (Ackerman). MosL lmporLanLly, Lhls sysLem 46 can help young candldaLes ralse conLrlbuLlons from oLher young people who oLherwlse have fewer resources Lo donaLe and llmlL Lhe amounL of money parLlclpaLlng lncumbenL candldaLes can ralse ln large quanLlLles from pollLlcal acLlon commlLLees, corporaLlons and wealLhy conLrlbuLors. Second, Congress should pass a law prohlblLlng any candldaLe from spendlng money ln a currenL elecLlon cycle LhaL was ralsed durlng a prevlous elecLlon cycle. CandldaLes roll over enormous amounLs of money from one cycle Lo Lhe nexL, glvlng lncumbenLs a bullL-ln advanLage over new (lncludlng young) candldaLes and Lhe ablllLy Lo scare off challengers. AL Lhe end of Lhe 2012 elecLlon cycle, Lhe average member of Congress ralsed $1.78 mllllon, spenL $1.69 mllllon and had $393,073 cash on hand - for a LoLal of $172 mllllon cash on hand golng lnLo Lhe 2014 elecLlon cycle (Cpen SecreLs). A new law could requlre all candldaLe commlLLees Lo elLher refund Lhls money, donaLe lL Lo a quallfled charlLy or, lf Lhe prevlous proposed law ls slmulLaneously enacLed, roll over Lhe funds lnLo Lhe democracy voucher program. ln 2011, 8ep. 8ob Woodall (8-Ca.) lnLroduced Lhe CompeLlLlve LlecLlons AcL (P8 2788) for a slmllar purpose. NCK :&D&- E37-.1&(/
?oung people's reLreaL from pollLlcs can poLenLlally be reversed lf a greaLer sense of clvlc obllgaLlon and pollLlcal efflcacy were culLlvaLed from a younger age. Clvlc skllls and behavlors are noL passed from one Amerlcan generaLlon Lo anoLher ln our unA -- Lhey are LaughL, experlenced and learned. lndeed, Lhe cenLral purpose of publlc educaLlon, as vlewed by Lhe lounders, was Lo help fosLer an lnformed, educaLed and engaged socleLy. varlous sLudles have shown LhaL effecLlve clvlc learnlng lncreases Lhe 47 democraLlc accounLablllLy of elecLed offlclals, lmproves publlc dlscourse and promoLes clvlc equallLy by glvlng every clLlzen, regardless of background, Lhe Lools Lo be a full parLlclpanL" (Cuardlans). [l]L Lakes dellberaLe efforLs Lo prepare young people Lo parLlclpaLe effecLlvely and wlsely ln publlc llfe" (Levlne). Powever, formal clvlc educaLlon lnslde Lhe classroom and opporLunlLles for clvlc learnlng ouLslde Lhe classroom have been dlrecLly reduced and lndlrecLly crowded ouL by oLher prlorlLles, such as ln maLh and sclence. ln 2010, only 67 percenL of 12 Lh graders reporLed sLudylng Lhe u.S. ConsLlLuLlon whlle ln school. ln 2013, Lhe u.S. ueparLmenL of LducaLlon opLed Lo end Lhe naLlonal exam ln clvlcs and u.S. hlsLory, as parL of Lhe naLlonal AssessmenL of LducaLlonal rogress -- whlch wlll surely lead Lo even less clvlcs lnsLrucLlon ln schools across Lhe counLry (Mlller). 8esLorlng a promlnenL role for clvlc educaLlon and relaLed experlenLlal opporLunlLles, such as elecLed sLudenL counclls and sLudenL advlsory commlLLees, can play a cruclal role ln revlvlng young Amerlcans' clvlc behavlors. lnsLead of belng Lurned away from pollLlcal engagemenL, young people who have been exposed Lo Lhls lnformaLlon and Lhese acLlvlLles may be more llkely Lo be lnvolved as voLers, advocaLes and even as candldaLes when Lhey leave school. 1o Lhls end, local school boards should (l) embed Lhelr clvlc mlsslon lnLo Lhelr own mlsslon sLaLemenL, (ll) lncorporaLe clvlc learnlng across Lhe currlculum as an lnLerdlsclpllnary sub[ecL, (lll) provlde opporLunlLles for sLudenLs Lo pracLlce clvlc skllls ln school governance, (lv) lnclude meLrlcs of clvlc learnlng ln Lhelr reporL cards and (v) devoLe resources for ongolng professlonal developmenL of soclal sLudles/clvlcs Leachers (Cuardlans). 48 NCN J(5&1&-.5 6,F./&U.1&(/ R"$.-# 4(, *+$,&-. \ EA;]?^' ]&'1T
1hose who care abouL seelng more young people run and geL elecLed Lo offlce should noL walL around for a consLlLuLlonal ACL amendmenL or varlous governmenL reforms. 1hey should band LogeLher Lo form an organlzaLlon LhaL recrulLs, Lralns and supporLs young candldaLes, sLarLlng as soon as Lhe 2014 elecLlon cycle. 1hls organlzaLlon mlghL be LhoughL of as a cross beLween 1each lor Amerlca and LMlL?'s LlsL. llrsL and foremosL, Lhe organlzaLlon would reframe runnlng for offlce as Lrue publlc servlce LhaL ls as worLhy of young people's Llme and efforL as oLher klnds of servlce -- such as Leachlng, menLorlng and volunLeerlng. Campalgns for Congress could be relmaglned as one-year commlLmenLs of servlce, where candldaLes are engaged ln renewlng our democracy 63 6 *6(-'-6%/ by educaLlng Lhe publlc abouL Lhe challenges we face, developlng soluLlons Lo sysLemlc problems and engaglng new clLlzens as volunLeers and voLers. ln Lhls conLexL, candldaLes can poLenLlally flnd value ln runnlng for offlce even lf Lhey are noL elecLed. lurLher, Lhe organlzaLlon could donaLe and/or bundle enough funds Lo Lhe candldaLe's campalgn commlLLee Lo provlde Lhe candldaLe wlLh a llvlng sLlpend, whlch ls fully legal buL noL frequenLly uLlllzed by candldaLes presenL day. 1hls approach would drasLlcally lower, especlally on Lhe federal level, boLh Lhe flnanclal and psychologlcal barrler Lo enLry for young candldaLes, who oLherwlse do noL have Lhe personal resources or Lhe deslre Lo be a candldaLe. 1he organlzaLlon could also serve as an elecLoral moblllzaLlon Lool by ldenLlfylng young people wlLh Lhe credlblllLy and experlence Lo run for offlce (such as enLrepreneurs, veLerans, clvlc leaders, servlce program alumnl, sLaLe/local young 49 elecLed offlclals), Lralnlng Lhem as candldaLes for federal offlce, servlng as a consulLancy Lo develop Lhelr campalgn and sLaff and helplng Lo ralse money from a naLlonal neLwork of young and young-aL-hearL Amerlcans who supporL Lhe mlsslon. AlLhough lL champlons a clear pollLlcal agenda, LMlL?'s LlsL provldes Lhe ldeal model. Slnce lLs foundlng ln 1983, Lhe organlzaLlon has used Lhe Larly Money ls Llke ?easL phllosophy Lo help elecL 101 pro-cholce uemocraLlc women members of Congress, 19 senaLors, 10 governors and hundreds of local and sLaLe candldaLes. SLaLes Lhe group's webslLe: We are conLlnually maklng lnvesLmenLs Lo help women develop pollLlcal skllls and culLlvaLe resources so LhaL we can brlng more women lnLo pollLlcs and elecLed offlce." ln Lhe near Lerm, such an organlzaLlon can have Lhe greaLesL lmpacL ln helplng Lo lncrease youLh represenLaLlon ln Congress. And ln an age when barrlers Lo communlcaLlon and collaboraLlon have largely collapsed as a resulL of soclal Lechnology, such an organlzaLlon can rely on Lhe small conLrlbuLlons of mllllons of young people (raLher Lhan Lhe conLrlbuLlons of mllllons from a small group of wealLhy people) ln order Lo compleLely change pollLlcs as usual.
30 :(/-57'&(/
1he argumenL of Lhls paper ls noL LhaL young people musL be proporLlonaLely represenLed ln governmenL -- raLher, my argumenL ls LhaL lL would good for Lhe nexL generaLlon, and more lmporLanLly, good for our democracy Loday lf Lhe represenLaLlon of young people were dramaLlcally lncreased over Llme and especlally ln Congress. WhaL Lhls paper seeks ls Lhe opporLunlLy for excepLlonal young leaders Lo provlde a servlce Lo Lhelr counLry as elecLed offlclals ln order Lo represenL Lhe unlque perspecLlve and lnLeresLs of Lhelr generaLlon, slgnal Lo Lhelr peers LhaL pollLlcal lnvolvemenL ls expecLed and lmporLanL, and encourage lnLergeneraLlonal [usLlce ln publlc pollcy. ulLlmaLely, elecLlng young leaders of Lhe mlllennlal generaLlon Lo offlce on Lhe local, sLaLe and federal levels may be key Lo confronLlng Amerlca's susLalnablllLy challenges durlng Lhls Llme of hyper-parLlsanshlp and pollLlcal grldlock. 1hese leaders are focused on Lhe fuLure, Lranscend ldeologlcal dlvldes and are capable of brlnglng a renewed sense of publlc servlce Lo pollLlcs. now, lL ls up Lo us Lo clear Lhe way by reformlng our governlng lnsLlLuLlons, revamplng our educaLlonal programs and lnvesLlng ln Lhe LalenL LhaL already exlsLs among us. 1he sLaLus quo of an aglng governlng class, paralyzed by parLlsan dlvlslons and operaLlng wlLhouL lncenLlves for shorL-Lerm acLlon on long-Lerm problems should be an unaccepLable opLlon -- as Lhe rlse of an Amerlcan geronLocracy would surely lead Lo Lhe fall of our democracy. 31 >(,_' :&1$3
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Mlller, Cheryl and Cary SchmlLL. uoes Cbama Care LhaL u.S. SLudenLs Aren'L repared Lo 8e u.S. ClLlzens?" R&1'3%'6( L*'/(*/ G$('%$1: !une 21, 2013. <hLLp://www.csmonlLor.com/CommenLary/Cplnlon/2013/0621/uoes-Cbama- care-LhaL-uS-sLudenLs-aren-L-prepared-Lo-be-uS-clLlzens>
norrls, lppa and Mona Lena krook. Cne of us: MulLllevel Models Lxamlnlng Lhe lmpacL of uescrlpLlve 8epresenLaLlon on Clvlc LngagemenL." aper presenLed as ASA meeLlng ln 1oronLo, 2009.
Cpen SecreLs. SLaLs aL a Clance: llnanclal AcLlvlLy for All u.S. 8epresenLaLlves, 2011- 34 2012." <hLLp://www.opensecreLs.org/overvlew/lndex.php? cycle=2012&Lype=M&dlsplay=1>
almer, 8rlan. uemocracy or CeronLocracy: ls Congress CeLLlng Clder?" L,6%/. !anuary 2, 2013. <hLLp://www.slaLe.com/arLlcles/news_and_pollLlcs/explalner/2013/01/average_ age_of_members_of_u_s_congress_are_our_senaLors_and_represenLaLlves.hLm l>
ew 8esearch CenLer's lorum on 8ellglon & ubllc Llfe. Changlng ALLlLudes on Cay Marrlage." !une 2013. <hLLp://feaLures.pewforum.org/same-sex-marrlage- aLLlLudes/sllde2.php>
ew 8esearch CenLer for Lhe eople & Lhe ress. Ma[orlLy now SupporLs Legallzlng Marl[uana." Aprll 4, 2013. <hLLp://www.people-press.org/2013/04/04/ma[orlLy- now-supporLs-legallzlng-marl[uana/>
ew 8esearch CenLer's Soclal & uemographlc 1rends pro[ecL. 1he 8lg CeneraLlon Cap aL Lhe olls ls Lchoed ln ALLlLudes on 8udgeL 1radeoffs." uecember 20, 2012. <hLLp://www.pewsoclalLrends.org/2012/12/20/Lhe-blg-generaLlon-gap-aL-Lhe- polls-ls-echoed-ln-aLLlLudes-on-budgeL-Lradeoffs/>
ew 8esearch CenLer for Lhe eople & Lhe ress. 1he CeneraLlon Cap and Lhe 2012 LlecLlon." november 3, 2011. <hLLp://www.people- press.org/2011/11/03/secLlon-6-generaLlons-and-enLlLlemenLs/>
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33 SLolberg, Sheryln. lor 'Mlllennlals,' a 1lde of Cynlclsm and a arLlsan Cap." #/9 <$1= >'0/3: Aprll 29, 2013. <hLLp://www.nyLlmes.com/2013/04/30/us/pollLlcs/ for-mlllennlal-voLers-a-Llde-of-cynlclsm-Loward-pollLlcs.hLml?_r=0>
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