Colorado voters decided not to lower the age limit to serve as a representative or senator from 25 to 21 years old.

With 57 percent reporting, over 912,000 votes were cast against lowering the age requirements for state office.

Opponents of lowering the age felt that the current requirement strikes a balance between youth and experience. They argued that younger candidates may lack the expertise and maturity to be effective legislators.

However, proponents of Amendment V argued that a 21-year-old is legally an adult and excluding 21- to 24-year-olds serves no purpose since voters can determine for themselves whether a candidate is mature, able and competent enough to serve.

Proponents also said lowering the age would encourage civic engagement from younger residents of the state.

Colorado’s current age requirement, along with Arizona and Utah, is the highest minimum age to serve in the house in the country. Three states have no minimum age requirement and 10 states have a minimum age requirement of 18 years, according to Ballotpedia.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average age of Colorado legislators in 2015 was 55 years.

In 2008, a similar measure to lower the required age to 21, Referendum L, was on the ballot and failed with 53.5 percent of voters against the measure.