Voters in North Dakota approved Measure 1, a ballot initiative establishing an age limit for congressional candidates, at the election on June 11. The vote was 60.88%-39.12%, and turnout was 20.11%.

Specifically, Measure 1 is designed to prohibit anyone from being elected or appointed to the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives if he or she would turn 81 years old by December 31 of the year before their term ends.

The initiative provides that, in the case of a court ruling blocking the enforcement of the age limit, any candidate who would be restricted from serving due to the age limit, would be barred from appearing on the ballot to be nominated or elected to serve in the House or Senate. If a court ruling requires such a candidate to appear on the ballot, the initiative would require a note on ballots next to the candidate’s name stating the candidate’s age at the end of their term. Specifically, the notice would read, “Candidate would be [candidate age on December 31st of the year immediately preceding the end of term] years old by end of term.”

Retire Congress North Dakota sponsored the initiative. The committee was led by Jared Hendrix (R), who also led the campaign that sponsored Measure 1 of 2022, which created term limits for governor and state legislators. Both campaigns received funding from the national group U.S. Term Limits.

North Dakota has one representative in the United States House—Kelly Armstrong (R)—who is 47 years old. North Dakota’s Senators—Kevin Cramer (R) and John Hoeven (R)—are 63 and 67 years old, respectively.

Hendrix said, “Serving in Congress has become a lifelong occupation for many members. Sadly, Congress has gone from the world’s greatest deliberative body to one of the nation’s best assisted living facilities.”

The measure would also require the Attorney General to zealously defend all portions of the measure in state and federal courts.

In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in U.S. Term Limits Inc. v. Thornton that states cannot impose qualifications for prospective members of Congress that are stricter than those specified in the United States Constitution. The U.S. Constitution sets a minimum age of 25 for Representatives and 35 for Senators.

A lawsuit concerning the initiative could prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its ruling in U.S. Term Limits Inc. v. Thornton. The state has estimated that defending the measure in court could cost $1 million.

State Sen. Janne Myrdal (R-19) said, “I think I see clear intent, whether it’s through media and their own spokesman, that the intent here is litigation, and they’re using the initiated measure process to push that litigation.”