Should Candidates’ Ages Affect Votes?

With the incoming 2020 presidential election,  the candidates are all attempting to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack. The different approaches to domestic and foreign policy overpower the concerns for the ages of the candidates. The values and positions that many candidates take are often placed under scrutiny, however, their health should also be looked at. The electorate should consider the physical health and age of candidates to ensure that a president will live through their term and not be distracted by health struggles.

Currently, two out of the five major candidates for president , former Vice President Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump, are both over the age of 70. This places  these potential winners only a few years away from the average life expectancy in the United States, which is 79 years old. As these possible leaders age, their mental and physical health decays. The chances of cancer, heart attacks and other impediments increases greatly, which can negatively affect their ability to lead the nation. Should the president face health struggles, they may be changed or distracted from completing the tasks that they planned to accomplish. Therefore, the candidates that one could have voted for is no longer that same person.

When the voters elect a candidate the country is choosing their leader for the next four years (or possibly eight), they should consider whether  the candidate is in a condition that does not allow them to fulfill their term, then the vice president will elevate to president of the United States. This places a person who was not elected for the position of president in a role that voter might not have wanted, failing to accurately reflect the wishes of the nation.. This can also cause some turmoil and many uncomfortable shifts in the world of politics. Thus, the age of candidates, being that it involves their mental and physical health, needs to be considered when choosing a candidate to support.