Powell v. McCormack

Strictly speaking, there is no constitutionally guaranteed right to run for public office. The Constitution sets guidelines for presidential and congressional candidates concerning age, citizenship, and residency. It would be hard to make a case for the idea that the Constitution forbids that right to any duly qualified citizen, particularly inasmuch as the Tenth Amendment reserves all unenumerated rights for the states or the people. States and local districts may set their own qualifications, but unless these are closely aligned with those in the Constitution governing candidacies for high national office, such laws would be ripe for a Fourteenth Amendment challenge. The right to run for public office is common to constitutional democracies such as the United States and Britain. The two fundamental features of free elections are a secret ballot and the right of individuals to run for public office.