Is It Difficult to Become a Candidate for U.S. President?

Are you fed up with your choices in the 2016 U.S. presidential election? It turns out that in addition to the two famous candidates you already know about, there are 207 other people running for the nation's highest office. They each filed a short, one-page form called FEC Form 2 -- an official “statement of candidacy” -- and their campaigns were off and running.

There are, however, three other requirements: A president must be a natural-born citizen (if you were born abroad, you qualify if your parents were citizens of the U.S.), you must be at least 35 years old, and you have to have lived in America for at least 14 years, though this time does not have to be consecutive.

Uncle Sam wants you:

• Another hurdle for potential commanders-in-chief: You need to get on the ballot. In many states, you’ll have to gather signatures from registered voters. In caucus states, you just need to show up with enough ardent supporters.
• According to NPR, the field for 2016 includes 56 Republicans, 31 Democrats, 56 Independents, 35 candidates without a party affiliation, and 31 classified as “other.”
• The youngest president was elected at age 43 -- John F. Kennedy. However, Theodore Roosevelt was younger when he became U.S. president. He was 42 when he replaced William McKinley, who had been assassinated.