Younger North Carolinians would be able to run for office under a proposed constitutional amendment filed in the state House.

Rep. Justin Burr, R-Stanley, has proposed an amendment to the N.C. Constitution lowering the eligibility age for many elected offices from 21 to 18. House Bill 990, if passed by the General Assembly and approved by voters, would affect potential members of the N.C. House of Representatives, most local government boards, and other public offices.

“We’ve got a lot of young people who are interested in serving and running for office,” Burr said. “At the end of the day, the voters get to make the decision.”

Burr, now 30, was 23 when he first became a state representative in 2009. His first run for state House was in 2006, when he was 20. He lost his primary, but had he won that year, he would have been 21 by the time he took office.

Burr said that when the current state Constitution was written in 1970, the legal voting age was 21. One year later, the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, lowering the voting age to 18.

“At the time, that was the age you had to be in order to vote,” Burr said. “We need to catch up with the times.”

The N.C. Constitution already specifies a minimum age for some offices. The governor must be at least 30. A state senator must be at least 25. While the Constitution does not specify a minimum age for judges, it does require such officeholders to be authorized to practice law in North Carolina.

The proposed change would not apply to candidates for federal office, as those limits are set in the U.S. Constitution. Members of the U.S. House must be at least 25, senators must be at least 30, and the president must be at least 35.

Burr said he doesn’t know if his amendment will make any headway during the 2016 short session. “My goal is to put the idea out there and start the conversation,” he said.

If approved by the General Assembly, Burr’s proposed constitutional amendment would be placed on the Nov. 8 ballot for ratification.

Reps. Kyle Hall, R-Stokes, and Jonathan Jordan, R-Ashe, also sponsored the bill.