American Government › Section N · State and local government › Topic N.4
State legislative term limits
In sixteen states, voters cannot keep re-electing a popular legislator without a break: after a set number of years, the law shows the member the door. This topic traces how term limits spread, how they work, and what researchers have found about their effects.
In this topic
- What term limits are
- A movement of the 1990s
- Repeals and court rulings
- Consecutive and lifetime limits
- Worked example: a career under consecutive limits
- Adjusting the limits
- Worked example: Michigan before and after 2022
- The case for term limits
- What research has found
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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