this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2023
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When it comes to age on the ballot, Texas didn’t wait until 2024 to weigh in.

Asked to let judges stay on the bench until they’re 79 years old — a year younger than President Joe Biden — Texas voters soundly rejected the proposal in Tuesday’s elections, a defeat that drew new attention to issues of age and fitness for office in the U.S.

“Age is front of mind for American voters in a way that it has not traditionally been and they are nervous about it,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

Others cautioned against broader takeaways. At least four other states have rejected similar proposals over the last decade, according to the National Center for State Courts. And states that have passed the measures have mostly done so in close votes.

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[–] [email protected] 95 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

The media cracks me up.

"None of these really good election results have anything to do with Joe Biden in 2024. Except the results that we can spin into being bad for him, those matter."

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

I wouldn’t say the media under covered the Democratic wins. I also think there’s still real reason to worry about how Biden fares next year, because he is underperforming compared to the average dem. I’m worried young voters abandon him precisely because of his age. Without the unprecedented surge in youth voting in 2020, Trump wins.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 10 months ago

“Age is front of mind for American voters in a way that it has not traditionally been and they are nervous about it,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

Um, yeah, because never was normal to have so many 75+ year olds in power. They need to retire. And yes, that includes Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The Silent Generation and Boomers ran this country into the ground and never gave up that power.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 10 months ago (19 children)

It's long past time to get the generation of lead-induced dementia patients out of office. Slow Biden, Glitch McConnell, and all of their geriatric ilk need to go.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Glitch McConnell

lol I haven't heard that one before, that's a good one.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm quite a fan of Lich McConnell since he definitely has a philactery

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

Sounds like something antibiotics could clear up.

Maybe that's why he hates healthcare so much?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (4 children)

But Trump is young and spry, right?

[–] [email protected] 33 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Not in the slightest. Trump is a prime example of what happened to the brains of kids who ate lead paint chips.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, he's also a speed addict.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago (2 children)

The problem with these guys isn't that they are old, it is that their way of dealing with problems is outdated.

  • They thought that $400 was enough to cover people for months of lost Covid wages.

  • They still think oil is "the most perfect energy in the world"

  • They think college is still $1200 for the experience

  • They think $7.50 is more then enough to cover housing, car, essentials.

  • No reality on global warming. Because it isn't going to effect them.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago

Only one of those things is partially due to age. The rest of it is because they're beholden to corporations. A geriatric progressive / social democrat / actual leftie would have very different views.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (5 children)

If you think they're trying to do the right thing but just don't know any better, I've got a bridge to sell you.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

Healthwise, Trump appears to be older than Biden

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

An age limit on elderly judges is critical where they get appointed for life.

At least these other geriatric ilk have to get re-elected periodically. In previous years I would have said to trust the voters to eventually come to the right conclusion, but elections are really crazy these days

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Judicial elections are barely even elections. Independent voting guides never mention them and news media rarely profile or interview them (or if they do it's not prominently compared to other local races). Plus at least in my experience incumbent judges usually run unopposed. I also think they have very strong restrictions on what they can/can't say while campaigning so voters can't even do their own research properly (especially for new judges, who don't have much of a track record). Basically it's near impossible to be an educated voter when it comes to judges, so maybe they're better off being appointed.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

Judgeships are also rarely contested, making the elections a useless formality.

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[–] PrincessLeiasCat 39 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I think this is the only thing on that ballot that I voted for that went my way. It’s like the only reasonable thing that won.

Read how misleading some of this shit was written:

Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $0.9746 per $100 valuation in Creek School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of -19.87 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the District for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $-50,585,883.

It will “increase” by a negative amount! It’s so fucked up.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Yeah. It's very fucked up, but legally (and only for schools) it has to be written like that.

[–] PrincessLeiasCat 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

This was the first year I learned about is as well. Trying to explain it to family and others was a headache and a losing battle.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

It's almost like Texas is purposely fucking over their schools. Imagine that.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Why do all these articles make it a point to say Biden is 80, but fail to mention Trump is 77?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago

Biden is now 80 and former President Donald Trump is 77.

Literally in the article.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

FTA: "Biden is now 80 and former President Donald Trump is 77."

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Because Biden shows it more publicly and doesn't coat himself in more makeup than a mime. But your point is still valid.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Do you think Texas would be on board for this as a rule for the Supreme Court, where the two oldest justices are Thomas and Alito?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Imo age is a shitty metric to go by because it misses outward indications of maturity or debilitation. Just because someone is 70 doesn't mean they have dementia (or dementia could have started when they were 50), and just because someone is 17 doesn't mean they're not knowledgable enough to vote for a gov't.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (11 children)

The problem isn't dementia, the problem is that they won't live to see the consequences of their actions.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

Ideally, there'd be some sort of objective and widely accepted "mental fitness" test.

Unfortunately that ideal doesn't exist. Age is merely the best substitute for that we've got on hand.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The huge plus for using age as a metric is that it’s objective and straightforward. Birth certificates are public record, so ages are generally well known, and there can be a clear cutoff, without leaving room for potentially biased judgement calls, nor room for lengthy appeals.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I would, at the very least, have all judges and politicians retire once they reach the expected lifespan for their demographic. Men born in your birth year have a life expectancy of 68? You retire by 68. A life expectancy of 84? You retire by 84.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago

We have age limits that state how old you need to be to run for office, I see the logic in setting limits. It's just hard because a 75 year old can seem like they're about to curl over and die or they can be just as sharp as a 55 year old. On one hand, with age they have a ton of knowledge and experience, on the other, their cohort is rapidly dwindling and their ability to relate to the shared experience of younger cohorts is deminished. Ultimately for me, officials that have to run for reelection i think we should let the voters decide if that person is fit, but for judges with lifetime appointments we need to have some sort of cut off.

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