Republican contender Vivek Ramaswamy plans to raise the voting age from 18 to 25 for Americans who have not served in the military or taken a citizenship test
- The move could deny millions of voters a fundamental democratic right
- Naturalization tests in the US contain brainteasers that can stump the average American
- Allies of the 37-year-old say he will not serve in a new Trump administration
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wants to raise the voting age to 25, a move that could deny millions of Americans a basic democratic right.
But the 37-year-old tech entrepreneur’s latest high-profile policy announcement would require an amendment to the US Constitution.
The 26th Amendment gives adults age 18 and older the right to vote in national elections.
The U.S. Constitution can only be amended by a two-thirds majority in Congress, or by congressional convention at the request of two-thirds of the state legislature.
The self-made entrepreneur says his policies will boost civic engagement among young Americans
Still, Ramaswamy seems unperturbed by this seemingly high bar he has to set, or that the idea could hurt him in the upcoming Republican primaries.
“We want to restore civic duty to the mindset of the next generation of Americans,” he said. “If you want to vote as an 18-year-old, between the ages of 18 and 25, you must either fulfill your civic duty by serving the country.”
The former CEO said those under the age of 25 could serve six months in the military or as first responders with the police or fire department.
“Or else you have to take the same citizenship test that an immigrant has to take to become a naturalized citizen who can vote in this country,” he added.
“At 25, that drops off,” said the businessman, who is 5 percent ahead of former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
The U.S. citizenship test constitutes a series of brainteasers not for the faint-hearted that most Americans would struggle to answer convincingly.
Candidates are asked to name one Native American tribe in the United States, or explain why there are 13 stripes on the American flag.
Ramaswamy said he hopes the amendment will help younger Americans vote more by “making voting a true privilege by making it a real civic duty.”
Last week, Ramaswamy said he had already put “eight figures” of his own money into his 2024 campaign.
Ramaswamy is pictured with his wife Apoorva Tewari Ramaswamy and their two sons Karthik, 3, (left) and Arjun, 7 months, (right). The candidate said the two lived apart for three months at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic when their eldest son was only three weeks old because his wife worked in a hospital
He has stressed that there is “no limit” to what he will continue to invest in his White House run.
The entrepreneur recently gained notoriety for smashing “woke” policies such as critical race theory.
But a close ally told DailyMail.com that the Harvard and Yale graduate would not serve in a future administration led by the current GOP frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.
Ramaswamy, who is also a best-selling author, is worth around $600 million according to Forbes.
And he has not disputed previous estimates that he has a net worth of half a billion dollars.