A 14-year-old secondary school student, Dean Roy of Stowe High School, has made history by appearing on the ballot in the race for governor of Vermont in the United States.
Roy’s candidacy is possible because Vermont’s constitution does not set a minimum age for gubernatorial candidates.
The only requirement is that candidates must have lived in the state for at least four years.
With this, Roy is set to become the first gubernatorial candidate under the age of 18 to appear on the state’s general election ballot scheduled for November.
Last year, Roy served as a legislative page at the Vermont State House, gaining early exposure to government and lawmaking.
Despite acknowledging that his chances of winning are slim, he said his campaign is aimed at inspiring more young people to get involved in politics and push for change.
“I don’t expect necessarily to win, what I do expect is to start the movement and get more young people to come in behind me and say, ‘Yeah, we also want to make change", Roy said.
To qualify for the ballot, Roy created his own political party, known as the Freedom and Unity Party.
His candidacy stands in contrast to most other U.S. states, where minimum age requirements for governors are typically around 30 years.
In Kansas, for example, lawmakers introduced a 25-year minimum age requirement in 2018 after several teenage candidates attempted to run for office.
However, some legal experts are skeptical about the interpretation of Vermont’s constitution.
Peter Teachout, a professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School, noted that while the constitution does not specify a minimum age for governor, it defines voter eligibility at 18 years old, raising questions about whether a minor can legally hold the office.
Teachout downplayed the situation, saying that while technically even a very young child could run for governor under the current interpretation, voters are unlikely to elect someone so young.
Roy, however, remains undeterred, saying his campaign is about challenging the status quo and encouraging political participation among young people.
