Term limit

A term limit is a provision of a constitution, statute or bylaw which limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. An example would be the 22nd Amendment of the United States Constitution which says that no person can be elected President more than twice. Term limits are a particularly important issue in the United States.

Arguments in favor

The primary argument in favor of term limits is that democratic governance requires responsive and accountable elected officials, and that when elected officials become entrenched in office they stop being responsive and accountable. Incumbency provides elected officials an important electoral advantage over their challengers, which is attributable to name recognition by voters, superior campaign fundraising, constituent casework, and patronage and pork barreling. For example, incumbent Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are almost unbeatable. According to this argument, only term limits ensure that legislative seats such as these remain effectively subject to popular democracy. The power of incumbency is far greater in the United States than in most other countries, encouraging the discussion of term limits there.

Related Topics:
Patronage - Pork barreling - U.S. House of Representatives

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