Will it be 2012 or 2034 for DeQuan Isom?

The U.S. Constitution requires presidential candidates to be born in the United States, be at least 35 years old and to have lived in the U.S. for 14 years.* But that is not stopping 12- year-old DeQuan Isom from North Carolina from announcing his bid for the Democratic nomination in 2012.

In June, 2011, DeQuan announced his plan to run against President Obama. He’s aware of the obstacles but explains that nothing in the Constitution prevents him from running. He has already raised $300 for his campaign. DeQuan knows he can’t be elected until he meets the requirements of the Constitution and he’ll have the next 23 years to work on his platform.

DeQuan will be 35 in 2034. We plan to check up on him then if his current bid for office fails. See here for additional information regarding the importance of voting.

With “New Leadership” as his slogan, DeQuan favors improving education, rebuilding the ecomony to create jobs and bringing the troops in Afghanistan home. His goal is to show “that education is not dead. There are still students who know American history. There are students who want their voices heard in Congress and the White House.”

“Adults are not getting it done,” DeQuan commented. “It is time for teenagers to run the country.”

What do you think? Are you interested in the future of this country and who our leaders should be? If you’re 18 or older, are you registered to vote? Have you voted before or is next year your first opportunity to cast a ballot in a presidential election?

*Article 2, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution reads: “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.”