Poll Finds 8 in 10 Americans Support Age Limits for Congress

A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released on May 7 found that 8 in 10 Americans support setting age caps for members of Congress as well as term limits. The poll reported that support for both measures cuts across party lines and generational groups. Eighty-three percent of Republicans backed maximum age limits while 78 percent of Democrats supported both age caps and term limits.

Nearly 9 in 10 Republicans favored term limits. Support for the proposals showed minimal differences across generations, with older voters about as likely as younger ones to back age caps and term limits. The survey of 1,322 respondents was conducted from April 27 to April 30 by live caller, text and online methods and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University who studies generational differences, said the results reflect changing views on how long people should remain in office. She noted that as life expectancy has increased in recent decades, Americans are retiring later but many question whether the same should apply to elected officials.

"There seems to be a consensus that people think if you're going to be an effective leader, you should not be 80 years old," Twenge said. The median age of a worker in the United States is 42 years old. In Congress, the median age is 58 for members of the House and 65 for senators.

The current Congress ranks as the third oldest in U.S. history and has seen five members die since March of last year, each at age 65 or older.

Some voters cited a perceived disconnect between older members of Congress and the issues facing younger generations. Michael Hatch, an 18-year-old from Eudora, Kansas, said lawmakers in their 70s and 80s may be out of touch with younger Americans. A separate survey of people ages 18 to 29 shared with NPR found that more than six in 10 believe politicians do not represent the interests of people their age.