Six Kansas teens are running for governor, following the lead of Jack Bergeson (center). Some of the candidates are seen here participating in a forum at a high school in Lawrence, Kan., in October.
Christopher Smith/AFP/Getty Images
Laurel Wamsley reports in NPR,
There are a lot of requirements if you want to vote in Kansas. You must be 18 years old. You need to show a photo ID at your polling place and show proof of U.S. citizenship when you register to vote. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights says the state's voter ID laws are among the strictest in the nation.Read more here.
But when it comes to the rules about who can run for state office? There are no rules.
"Under Kansas law, there is no law governing the qualifications for governor, not one," Bryan Caskey, director of elections at the Kansas secretary of state's office, told The Kansas City Star last year. "So there's seriously nothing on the books that lays out anything, no age, no residency, no experience. Nothing."
So into the race jumped 16-year-old Jack Bergeson. Calling himself an anti-establishment candidate, Bergeson is pursuing the Democratic nomination, advocating for a $12 minimum wage, legalization of medical marijuana, and high-speed rail for major cities in the region.
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