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Should Indiana Lower The Age To 18 To Serve In The State House And Senate?

Megan Stoner, left, and Rep. Chris Chyung (D-Dyer), at lectern, support lowering the age limits to serve in the Indiana General Assembly.
Megan Stoner, left, and Rep. Chris Chyung (D-Dyer), at lectern, support lowering the age limits to serve in the Indiana General Assembly.

A state representative wants to lower the age limit to serve in the Indiana House and Senate to 18 years old.

The state constitution sets the age limit to serve in the Indiana Senate at 25 years old, 21 years old for the House. A constitutional amendment proposed by Rep. Chris Chyung (D-Dyer) would change the limits to 18.

Megan Stoner is a Republican activist who’s been working on this issue for a few years.

“When we have more young Hoosiers as elected officials, we will have fresh ideas, a young Hoosier spirit embodied within the Statehouse,” Stoner says.

Chyung says the idea is one that should be appealing to both parties.

“Republicans and Democrats are looking to the future in order to build their majorities, in order to build their constituencies and lead the way of the future in making important change in this state and in this nation,” Chyung says.

Chyung says he hasn’t yet gotten a Republican co-sponsor for his amendment for the coming session. Without one, it’s unlikely to advance.

Contact Brandon at  bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at  @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon J. Smith has previously worked as a reporter and anchor for KBIA Radio in Columbia, MO. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, IL as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.