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Research shows that most citizens are shockingly uninformed about public affairs, liberal-conservative ideologies, and the issues of the day. This has led most scholars to condemn typical American voters as politically brainless and to conclude that policy voting lies beyond their reach. 'On Voter Competence' breaks sharply from this view. According to Paul Goren, people vote based on abstract policy principles, a practice that has escaped scholars because they have searched for evidence of policy voting in the wrong places

ObjectiveThis article evaluates the voting experience in the first election using cumulative voting for the Board of Trustees in Port Chester, New York. A growing number of local jurisdictions in the United States are using cumulative voting for multimember elections. While the Port Chester election included some other new features in addition to cumulative voting, the village implemented an extensive voter education program to prepare voters and candidates for the election.MethodsWe conducted an exit poll of 1,946 Port Chester voters in June 2010, more than half of the voters in the local election. We used a variety of survey questions to measure voting experience and voting behavior. We also examined election returns for Port Chester, including the 2010 and 2013 elections using cumulative voting.ResultsWe find that the voter education program helped inform residents about casting a ballot with cumulative voting. Port Chester voters, and Hispanic voters in particular, reported a positive experience in the 2010 election. A large majority of voters also indicated that they understood cumulative voting and cast all of the votes allotted to them. Finally, we find evidence of strategic use of cumulative voting in order to help elect a candidate of one's choice.ConclusionsOur results indicate that voters are capable of effectively participating in elections with cumulative voting. Communities that are weighing the adoption of cumulative voting for local elections should also be prepared to implement a parallel voter education effort.

A form of elitism undermines much writing on voter competence. The elitist move occurs when an author uses a self-serving worldview as the basis for evaluating voters. Such elitism is apparent in widely cited measures of "political knowledge" & in common claims about what voters should know. The elitist move typically limits the credibility & practical relevance of the analysis by leading writers to draw unreliable conclusions about voter competence. I propose a more constructive way of thinking about what voters know. Its chief virtue is its consistency with basic facts about the relationship between information & choice. Figures. Adapted from the source document.

The article discusses the issues of political competence, political activity and political communication in Lithuania. The concept of political competence is operationalized and measured in terms of threefold sub-levels: the level of political information, the congruence between the perception of left-right wing politics, and self-placement on the left-right wing political scale together with the actual voting preferences. Analysis revealed the dependence of the level of political competence upon demographic criteria and personal values. The main problem is incompatibility between the level of political competence and political activity. The most active citizens do not necessarily have substantial political knowledge while the most competent citizens often abstain from active civic and political involvement.

The article discusses the issues of political competence, political activity and political communication in Lithuania. The concept of political competence is operationalized and measured in terms of threefold sub-levels: the level of political information, the congruence between the perception of left-right wing politics, and self-placement on the left-right wing political scale together with the actual voting preferences. Analysis revealed the dependence of the level of political competence upon demographic criteria and personal values. The main problem is incompatibility between the level of political competence and political activity. The most active citizens do not necessarily have substantial political knowledge while the most competent citizens often abstain from active civic and political involvement.

The article discusses the issues of political competence, political activity and political communication in Lithuania. The concept of political competence is operationalized and measured in terms of threefold sub-levels: the level of political information, the congruence between the perception of left-right wing politics, and self-placement on the left-right wing political scale together with the actual voting preferences. Analysis revealed the dependence of the level of political competence upon demographic criteria and personal values. The main problem is incompatibility between the level of political competence and political activity. The most active citizens do not necessarily have substantial political knowledge while the most competent citizens often abstain from active civic and political involvement.