<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, sets three qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 30 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the United States for the past nine years or longer; and (3) they must be inhabitants of the states they seek to represent at the time of their election . The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives . In Federalist No. 62, James Madison justified this arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character ." </P> <P> The Senate (not the judiciary) is the sole judge of a senator's qualifications . During its early years, however, the Senate did not closely scrutinize the qualifications of its members . As a result, three senators who failed to meet the age requirement were nevertheless admitted to the Senate: Henry Clay (aged 29 in 1806), Armistead Thomson Mason (aged 28 in 1816), and John Eaton (aged 28 in 1818). Such an occurrence, however, has not been repeated since . In 1934, Rush D. Holt Sr. was elected to the Senate at the age of 29; he waited until he turned 30 (on the next June 19) to take the oath of office . In November 1972, Joe Biden was elected to the Senate at the age of 29, but he reached his 30th birthday before the swearing - in ceremony for incoming senators in January 1973 . </P>

Are senate members required to live in the state