According to this US Senate article, it can be enforced by the Senate. Could the Senate just not remove them? Or would that go to the courts? I remember something-or-other about the sovereign right of the legislature to judge on the qualifications of its own members.
1 Answer
Under Article I, each House is the judge of the qualifications of its members. The Supreme Court has held that they can’t modify the qualifications laid out in the Constitution (Powell v. McCormack), but the Constitution is explicit that deciding whether a Senator meets those qualifications is ultimately the Senate’s decision. That doesn’t mean the normal judicial process is irrelevant. Opposing candidates could challenge the underage person’s candidacy or victory at the state level. Most, possibly all, states are supposed to refuse to let you on the ballot if you don’t meet the qualifications for office. But the Senate can also judge the election of its members, and it ultimately has the right to overrule a state’s decision that the winning candidate must be disqualified.
If the Senate simply ignores constitutional requirements to hold office, you have at least the start of a constitutional crisis. That’s not especially weird, though —- you also have a constitutional crisis if the President decides to have the army lock up his critics without trial, or if the courts rule that the First Amendment can be ignored. Any constitution is ultimately based on the idea that most officials will at least try to do the right thing.