Republican presidential hopefuls Ramaswamy and Haley support placing new tests on American Democracy

Soon after announcing his candidacy for the White House in late February 2023, Republican presidential hopeful?Vivek Ramaswamy?proposed changing the overall U.S. voting age from 18 to 25, unless younger Americans fulfil one of two conditions.

A citizen between the ages of 18 and 24 inclusive would be allowed to vote if they:

(i) serve at least six months in the military or as a first responder, or

(ii) pass the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization test (sometimes misleadingly called the ‘citizenship test’)—the test administered to those seeking to become naturalized citizens.

“There needs to be some civic experience you need to have gone through in order to actually vote,” Ramaswamy explained. “That experience could be living seven years as an adult and voting at age 25. That experience could be direct service to the country or some first responder service,” or, he added, passing a civics test.[1]

The naturalization test consists of 100 civics (history and government) questions, a selection of up to 10 of which a USCIS officer will ask the applicant for citizenship in an oral examination. An applicant must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass the civics portion of the naturalization test.

The 100 questions along with their answers for the naturalization test are published in advance.

An example of a civics question is: ?

1. What is the supreme law of the land?

Answer: the U.S. Constitution.

The 100 questions are not fixed and can be amended or discarded over time by the government agency.

It is not hard to imagine how an incumbent government, looking at the tendency of young voters to vote for one party over another, might attempt to manipulate the questions to affect access to voting rights.

In the U.S. 2020 midterm elections, voters 18 to 29 supported Democrats by almost 30 points, according to exit polls.[2]

The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, lowered the federal voting age from 21 to 18.

Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II, had supported lowering the voting age in the 1950s.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley opposes Ramaswamy’s proposal to raise the voting age to 25 on grounds similar to Eisenhower’s argument in favor of ?giving 18 year-olds the right to vote.

“If you are old enough to go fight in a war, you should be able to vote, period,” Haley has said.[3]

To put Ramaswamy’s proposal into effect would require rescinding the 26th Amendment and adopting a new amendment, with the approval by two-thirds of Congress, as well as three-fourths of state legislatures.

Like Haley's proposal that cognitive competency tests be administered to candidates for federal office older than 75, Ramaswamy's proposal to restrict 18 to 24 year-old's right to vote appear to be 'dead on arrival'.

Both proposals would limit existing civil rights ? to stand for public office, in one case, or to vote in an election, in the other ? based upon tests imposed on the individual by government appointed experts.

Such illiberal measures would restrict rather than expand democracy in America.

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[1] May Kinnard (May 12, 2023). Ramaswamy proposes raising voting age to 25, unless people serve in military or pass a test. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/vivek-ramaswamy-voting-age-2024-president-ea1429836e8f809fbf301b7b027f4ab9

[2] Sarah McKammon (August 24, 2023). Young voters tend to lean Democrat. Conservatives are trying to win them over. https://www.npr.org/2023/08/27/1196219597/young-voters-tend-to-lean-democrat-conservatives-are-trying-to-win-them-over

[3] Robin Opsahl (September 30, 2023). Nikki Haley rallies against 2024 rival Vivek Ramaswamy’s voting age proposal. Iowa Capital Dispatch. ?https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/09/30/nikki-haley-rallies-against-2024-rival-vivek-ramaswamys-voting-age-proposal/