Requirements to Run for Georgia House of Representatives
Constitutional Qualifications
"No Person shall exist a Representative who shall not accept attained to the age of twenty 5 Years, and been seven Years a Denizen of the U.s.a., and who shall non, when elected, exist an Inhabitant of that Land in which he shall exist called."
— U.S. Constitution, Article I, department 2, clause ii
/tiles/non-collection/i/i_origins_constitutional_qualifications_aoc.xml Scene at the Signing of the Constitution, Howard Chandler Christy, 1940, image courtesy of the Builder of the Capitol
The Constitution placed notably few hurdles between ordinary citizens and becoming a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The founders wanted the House to exist the legislative chamber closest to the people—the to the lowest degree restrictive on age, citizenship, and the simply federal office at the time field of study to frequent popular election. The Constitution requires that Members of the House be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and live in the land they represent (though not necessarily the aforementioned district). And Article Half dozen, clause 3 requires that all Members take an oath to support the Constitution earlier they exercise the duties of their function. In Federalist 52, James Madison of Virginia wrote that, "Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this function of the federal government is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or erstwhile, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to any detail profession of religious religion."
Origins
The ramble qualifications for office originate in British law. Members of the House of Commons had to live in the shires or boroughs they represented, although that was rarely done in practice. The founders used that example to motivate the requirement that Members of the House live in the state they represent. This would increase the likelihood that they would exist familiar with the people's interests there, but there was no mention during the debates about living in the aforementioned commune. The commune system emerged later as states dealt with how to fairly organize their congressional delegations.
Citizenship
At the fourth dimension the U.South. Constitution was written, the British prevented anyone born outside England or its Empire from serving in the Eatables, even if the individual had subsequently become a citizen. Past mandating that an private exist a citizen for at to the lowest degree seven years, the founders attempted to strike a balance between preventing foreign interference in domestic politics and keeping the House of Representatives close to the people. The founders also did non want to discourage immigration to the new country by shutting off the regime to new arrivals.
Age
The founders initially set 21, the voting age, equally the minimum historic period to serve in the House. During the Federal Constitutional Convention, though, George Bricklayer of Virginia moved to make the age 25. Mason said that there should exist a catamenia between being gratuitous to manage i'due south own affairs and managing the "affairs of a dandy nation." Convention Delegate James Wilson of Pennsylvania objected to the suggestion that any further restrictions be placed on House membership, and cited the service of William Pitt as a counterexample. Pitt, who held office at the time of the Convention, was the youngest prime number government minister in British history at the age of 24. Still, Stonemason's amendment passed vii states to iii.
The House and Its Members
Article I, section five of the Constitution provides the Firm with the authority to determine whether Members-elect are qualified to be seated. For instance, William Claiborne of Tennessee became the youngest person to ever serve in the House when he was elected and seated in 1797 at the age of 22. The Business firm also seated Claiborne at the historic period of 24, when he won re-election. The House, however, has not ever been then lenient. Representative John Young Brown of Kentucky was start elected to the House in the 36th Congress (1859–1861) when he was 24, but the House refused to administer the oath of part to him until he was 25—after the first session of the Congress was over.
For Further Reading
Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Rev. ed. iv vols. New Haven and London: Yale University Printing, 1937.
Madison, James, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay. The Federalist Papers. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Story, Joseph. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. three vols. Boston, 1833.
Source: https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Constitutional-Qualifications/
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