As Democrats nationally grapple with calls for a newer and younger generation of leaders, state-level Democrats are having a very different, and much quieter, age discussion: allowing judges to serve longer.
Democrats in Maryland and New York are pushing to increase the age of retirement for state judges from 70 to 75 and 76, respectively, via a ballot amendment. And in Louisiana voters will decide in the state’s April elections whether to increase the judicial retirement age from 70 to 75.
At least 31 states and the District of Columbia have mandatory judicial retirement ages, with most setting 70 as the maximum age (Vermont in 2003 established the highest retirement age at 90 years old).