(TheConservativeTimes.org) – On Tuesday, voters in Texas rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have extended the judicial retirement age in their state.
If passed, the Proposition 13 proposal would have raised the minimum retirement age of judges from 70 to 75 and the maximum age from 75 to 79. By comparison, President Joe Biden was sworn into office when he was 78, and he is now 80 years old. Former President Donald Trump will be 81 years old during the presidential election in 2024. In future elections, voters will likely consider the age of a candidate before voting for them. Texas voters did approve a separate proposal to raise the age at which teachers retire.
The rejection of the limited age proposal has motivated a discussion of the age and fitness level of those who wish to be on future ballots.
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said Americans now consider the age of candidates in ways they never had before. Jillson said voters are “nervous” and that the age of a nominee is now a primary concern for them.
Others warned not to make large, sweeping conclusions, including The National Center for State Courts. The Center, which offers resources and is an “information hub for the state court community,” helps state courts find and solve problems in their administrations. The Center for State Courts reported that, in the last ten years, only four states have rejected proposals that attempted to change retirement ages.
Starting in 2011, voters in Pennsylvania and Florida voted to raise the age at which judges retire. Voters in New York, Hawaii, Ohio, and Arizona did not agree to increase the age limit.
Bill Raftery, an employee at the National Center on State Courts and a senior knowledge management analyst, admitted that voters probably consider the age of nominees before casting their ballots. Raftery continued by saying voters also think about what term limits a candidate will have after being elected.
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