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Senate votes down memorial asking Congress to consider new presidential qualifications
Summary
Delegates debated a memorial proposing that Congress consider requiring presidential candidates to have prior elected legislative or judicial experience; legal counsel said such requirements could not be enforced under Article II, and the chamber rejected the memorial by voice vote.
The youth senate rejected a memorial asking Congress to consider adding prior elected legislative or judicial service as a suggested qualification for presidential candidates.
Clerk reading identified Azul Munoz as author and Isabella Covarrubias as coauthor of Bill 8.14, which the proponent characterized as a request that Congress “take into consideration” additional qualifications rather than impose a federal bar. Azul Munoz, speaking for the bill, said the measure was intended to encourage experienced leadership: “To be our president, [one] must simply just has to be 35 years of age, a resident for 14 years, and be a natural born citizen of the US,” and the bill would ask Congress to consider requiring candidates to have served in legislative or judicial elected office.
Opponents pointed to contradictions introduced by a committee amendment and questioned the bill’s drafting. Delegate Gabby Donaldson said the amendment “defeats the entire purpose” because it exempts candidates from one of the qualifications. Several delegates asked whether the bill meant to reference the U.S. Constitution’s Twentieth Amendment; one delegate noted that the Equal Rights Amendment language cited in debate was not ratified and urged members to focus on the memorial’s intent rather than erroneous citations.
A representative from the attorney general’s office advised the senate that while the state cannot adopt a law enforcing new presidential eligibility requirements under Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, a nonbinding memorial that asks Congress to consider qualifications is constitutionally permissible. The governor’s cabinet urged a "no" vote, saying limiting eligibility to those with prior elected office would “mandate that the leader of our nation be a career politician rather than someone who simply represents and serves the needs of our people.”
After closing remarks from the proponent reiterating that the measure was only a suggestion to Congress, the presiding officer called the final vote and announced the memorial did not pass; the presiding officer characterized the result as being “in the obvious minority.” The chamber provided no roll-call tally in the transcript.
What’s next: The memorial will not move forward from this chamber; sponsors may revise language and seek reintroduction or pursue alternate advocacy outside the memorial format.
