Americans’ knowledge of their government varies widely by topic. Majorities are aware of the length of Supreme Court appointments, how states’ representation in the House of Representatives is determined, which parties control the House and Senate, and one of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Fewer Americans correctly answer questions about the filibuster, the length of a Senate term and how a presidential election is decided in the event of a tie in the Electoral College.
Before reading further, take our U.S. civic and political knowledge quiz. For full question wording and correct answers, refer to the survey topline.
Three-quarters of Americans are familiar with the length of a Supreme Court appointment. This question got the highest share of correct answers on our quiz.
A clear majority (68%) also knows how the number of representatives each state gets in the House is determined.
The public also generally knows who’s in control in Congress: 66% correctly identify which party has a majority in the House and 63% know which controls the Senate.
A smaller majority (57%) correctly identifies one […]
This is wonderful news! The American people have a very accurate understanding of the fact that they can neither trust the government nor private corporations with their personal data. They also believe that there is little they can do about it. Given the current configuration of Congress and the rampant corruption that money plays in the political process they are correct. Why is this good news? Because it is important to have an accurate understanding of a problem in order to generate solutions. Sadly, the current structure of the system is designed to resist the very solutions the public would want.