In Oregon, 18-year-olds can vote, pay taxes and enter into a binding legal contract. They can run for secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, and any number of local and municipal offices.
If students want to run for the state Legislature, however, they have to wait until they’re 21.
Ballot Measure 17 seeks to change that. If the measure is passed, the Oregon Constitution will be amended to lower the minimum age of a state senator or representative from 21 to 18.
Supporters of the measure say that a candidate’s age should not be the sole indicator of their qualifications, and that the decision should be left to voters.
Measure 17 enjoys unusually widespread and bipartisan support, but at least one group opposes the measure.
“Voting — and being voted for — are two distinct things,” said Dennis Tuuri of the Parents’ Education Association. “It’s not logical to equate voting with holding office.”
The PEA, based in Canby, is a Christian political action committee. According to a statement on the group’s Web site, “The Bible places tremendous emphasis on age, maturity and wisdom for those given responsibility to rule in society.”
Tuuri said that society would not consider letting an 18-year-old run for governor or president, and that the Legislature should be held to an equally high standard. A candidate must be 30 to run for governor of Oregon and 35 to run for president.
“The people that make the laws are just as important as the people that carry them out,” he said.
While supporters acknowledge many 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds may not be qualified to serve in the Legislature, there have been some notable exceptions.
Derrick Seaver, an 18-year-old high school senior, was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in November 2000.
Seaver, now 20, has earned a reputation as a dedicated public servant and is highly regarded by his colleagues, according to an article in The Columbus Dispatch.
That same year, 19-year-old Jesse Laslovich won a House seat in Montana.
According to the Montana Kaimin, Laslovich, who was a University of Montana sophomore political science major at the time, took 65 percent of the vote in a three-way primary, then cruised to victory unopposed in the general election.
Jake Oken-Berg, another young political hopeful and chair of the Yes on 17 Committee, was student body president of Pomona College in California before running unsuccessfully in this state for mayor of Portland at age 20. Oken-Berg said that at least 20 candidates between the ages of 18 and 21 have been elected to state legislatures nationwide.
Oken-Berg said Measure 17 does not guarantee 18-year-olds will be elected, it merely gives them the right to run for office.
“If a candidate is not qualified, vote against them,” he said.