"No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."Comment: This section deals with the qualifications for becoming a member in the Senate. To that end, the Framers determined that the following three qualifications would apply: 1. one must be at least 30 years old (vs. 25 for the House), 2. one must be a United States citizen for 9 years (vs.7 for the House), 3. one must be an inhabitant of the state where he is chosen.
The Framers wanted the Senate to be calm and deliberate of thought and action. At first, some argued for a 14-year period of citizenship because it would take that long to learn the American system of laws. However, Madison, Franklin, and others opposed such a long requirement.
This provision has not been the subject of judicial review. However, as noted when we reviewed the House of Representatives qualifications, in Powell v. McCormack, the Court held that the Constitution specifies exactly three qualifications -- age, citizenship, and residency -- and that implies that there can be no more qualifications added by Congress.
In a subsequent holding, the Court ruled in United States Term Limits v. Thornton that the state may not impose its own qualifications either. Justice Stevens, writing for the majority, argued that the States can not impose additional qualifications because the Constitution was a creature of the People, and not of the States; and that the States did not retain any power under the 10th Amendment.
Primary Source. The Heritage Guide to the Constitution.
The Federalist No 62
The Federalist No 63
