ND Ballot Initiative Approved

North Dakota voters will decide this June whether to prevent people from running for Congress if they’re old enough to turn 81 during their House or Senate term.  Secretary of State Michael Howe’s office announced Friday that a signature drive has succeeded in adding the question to the ballot. And while some legal scholars say the state age limit for congressional seats would be unconstitutional, it could lead to a challenge of a Supreme Court precedent that has held for decades.

The ballot initiative wouldn’t prevent any current incumbents from running again. The oldest member of North Dakota’s three-person congressional delegation is Republican Sen. John Hoeven, at 67. North Dakota has had octogenarian senators in the past, including Democrat Quentin Burdick, who died in office in 1992 at age 84.