The campaign Retire Congress North Dakota submitted 42,000 signatures for a ballot initiative on Feb. 9, 2024. The ballot initiative would be the first to propose age limits for congressional members. The campaign is targeting the ballot for June 11, 2024, which is the state’s primary election.
The ballot initiative would prohibit a person from being elected or appointed to the U.S. Senate or U.S. House of Representatives if the person would reach the age of 81 by December 31 of the year before their term ends. The initiative includes a provision that, if a court decision prevents the enforcement of the age limit, any candidate who would otherwise be disqualified due to the age restriction would not be allowed to appear on the ballot for nomination or election to the House or Senate. However, if a court decision mandates that such a candidate must be included on the ballot, the initiative requires that a note be added next to the candidate’s name indicating the age the person would be at the end of their term. Specifically, the notice would read, “Candidate would be [age] years old by end of term.”
To qualify for the ballot, 31,164 must be valid. The secretary of state’s office must verify signatures by March 15, 2024.
