Voters in This State Just Overwhelmingly Approved a Congressional Age Limit 

AP Photo/Jack Dura, File

Voters in North Dakota on Tuesday handily approved a measure that will bar from the ballot those candidates who would turn 81 or older by the end of the year before their term expires.

With 87% of the vote in, “Yes,” had a lead of more than 20 points.

The New York Times reported that experts believe North Dakota is the first state to enact such a requirement, which will likely be challenged in court.

As an issue, politicians’ ages have taken center stage considering that President Joe Biden is 81 and is running for a second term. His opponent Donald Trump will turn 78 in three days.

The North Dakota ballot measure exempts current members of Congress, all of whom are Republicans. Rep. Kelly Armstrong is 47, while Sens. Kevin Kramer is 63 and John Hoeven is 67.

“I think it’s very possible that if we pull this off here, other states will follow,” Jared Hendrix, a Republican politician who led the ballot effort, told the Times.

The new law is likely on a collision course with a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down congressional term limits that 23 states had imposed. In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, the court said states cannot impose qualifications for members of Congress that are stricter than those outlined in the Constitution. The ruling was 6-3.

The Constitution says nothing about term limits, but it does have age requirements. One must be at least 25 years old to be a representative and at least 30 to be a senator. It does not impose a maximum age.