KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Before You Vote is an ongoing project by 10News to promote and inspire your participation in the democratic process. Be a good citizen! Take time to vote!
In more than six months, voters will cast their ballots across the U.S. in a presidential election — a process that ultimately decides who will become the leader of one of the world's superpower countries.
Three qualifications to lead the country were written into the U.S. Constitution when it was first penned in 1787. They are under Article 2, Section 1 and the first requirement is for candidates to be natural-born U.S. citizens.
People looking to become the president need to have been born in one of the 50 states, on a military base or in a U.S. territory like Puerto Rico or Guam. Qualified candidates can also be born to U.S. citizens who were living outside of the country.
Presidential candidates also need to be at least 35 years old, but no president has ever been that young. The youngest president was Theodore Roosevelt, who took office in 1901 at 42 years old. The age requirement was put in place as a way to make sure candidates had time to get experience of being in office, such as a Senator or a Representative, and were wise enough to lead the nation.
"Considering the nature of the duties, the extent of the information, and the solid wisdom and experience required in the executive department, no one can reasonably doubt the propriety of some qualification of age," wrote Justice Joseph Story in his treatise, the Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States.
Finally, presidents need to have been residents of the U.S. for at least 14 years. The Constitution Annotated, a federal resource examining the Constitution, said this requirement was likely put in place to make sure people had opportunities to understand candidates' merits and character — getting a sense for who a person is before they start running for office.
After meeting those three Constitutional requirements, candidates then need to register with the Federal Election Commission after raising or spending at least $5,000 for their campaign. That step can include naming a principal campaign committee to oversee campaign funds.