Another thought experiment: Civics exam for public office candidates

[TechBear_Seattle]

Think on this, if you will.

A national, non-partisan organization prepares a general civics exam geared towards candidates for federal office: US Senate, US House of Representatives, President and Vice-President. The exam includes questions on the Constitution, the role and powers of the three branches of the federal government, how the fourth and fifth branches of government (the states and the people) fit in, and American history. The exam would also have sections on domestic and international current events, geography and culture. State and local chapters of this organization prepare similar exams for candidates running for state and local offices, which would include questions on the state constitution or local government charter, history, geography, economics, etc. The level of the exam would be around what a high school senior is expected to know and understand.

Every January of an election year, the appropriate exam would be offered to any registered candidate willing to take it. It could be taken at any time through the end of September, to fit the candidate's schedule. The exam would be proctored and the candidate would have a limited time to complete the exam with no reference materials. Think College Boards here. Cost of preparing, administering and reporting the exam would be borne by contributions; there would be no cost to the candidate other than their time.

The national organization, and local affiliates, would maintain a list of all registered candidates, whether or not they have agreed to sit for the exam, and what was their score if they did sit the exam.

The idea is to encourage candidates to demonstrate to the voters that they have the knowledge that should be mandatory for all elected officials, in a manner that will help voters decide between candidates.

Thoughts?

[Sammy Pepys]

1. Rather than that...

I'd prefer that candidates be able to demonstrate their knowledge of such things on the fly, and that voters be able to tell the difference. They'll just get coaches and tutors to help them through such an exam, and pretty much every score will end up being close to, if not, 100%.

[blondeatlast]

2. True that, but it's much more difficult to accomplish.

Educating the voters, that is.

DU is a prefect example; how many DUers have no idea how the government works? Or a law is passed?