OK, so you may have the “right” to vote, but are you really qualified to cast that vote? I’d suggest that at least two things must obtain before a citizen who has a right to vote is right to exercise that right. Those two things are
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1. A working knowledge of the basics of US history, geography and government functions.
2. A grounding in the facts of the issues and candidates of the day.
Given those two criteria, I doubt more than half (if that) the people who cast their votes on election day(s) throughout America are qualified to do so. Sure, they may have opinions, but opinions informed by ignorance are worth the information that is their basis.
Try these out on friends, acquaintances and associates:
Could you pass a US citizenship test?
and
The SHORT FORM of this Civics Literacy Test
Any of those three linked quizzes should afford an adequate look at one’s basic American civics literacy.
As for adequate knowledge of candidates and issues, the best test is simply this: is your primary source of information the Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind? Then, FAIL. *heh*
Just sayin’. (I hate sharing the polling place with people who are too lazy to do their homework before casting their vote. Really hate it.)
If you fail the simple tests of either basic criteria, please stay home the next time the polls are open. Really, it’s for your own good as well as that of society.
Note: the quiz found at Could you pass a US citizenship test? is the least well-framed of the three offerings above, but does accurately reflect the really poor framing of a current real citizenship exam. *sigh* Some of the question/answer combos are reflective of a “history” and “civics” view that is more propaganda than actual history and civics, such as, “What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?” (The real correct answer: Nothing but provide for disingenuous propaganda,” but the “correct” answer according to the test–which I dutifully rendered–was the lie, “Freed the slaves”.)
Still, on that “test” because I have for all my life had a semi-dyslexic recall of the geography of the “Left Coast”, I almost missed a question. (Yes, I said “A question” *heh* Don’t make me brag about my scores. Just let it be with “My eighth grade American Civics class would have been amused to be asked to take tests this simple.” No, seriously.)
OK, you asked for it (OK, so you haven’t–yet *heh*): the simplest quiz–based accurately on possible citizenship exam questions–fared no differently at my hands than either of the others, previously noted at twc:
