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What Do You Know About Voting and the Election?

Take this quiz and test your knowledge

Dena Bunis

En español

Published August 24, 2020

8 Questions

What Do You Know About Voting and the Election?

[ {
  "question" : "Why do we vote on a Tuesday in early November?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "To ensure the election occurs before Thanksgiving",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "To ensure that voters can take their summer vacations",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "To ensure that farmers could vote",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "In 1845, Congress passed a federal law designating Election Day as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Early November was picked to generate a higher turnout. Back then, most Americans were farmers who often lived far from polling places, and it was thought they wouldn’t be willing to interrupt the busy harvest season to travel to the polls. Tuesday was selected so farmers wouldn't have to travel on the Sabbath or miss market day, which often was on Wednesday.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Can you vote before Election Day, Nov. 3?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "Yes",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "No",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "All states allow you to vote absentee, although as of the end of July, 17 states require you to provide a reason, such as that you’ll be out of town or you’re disabled. Forty states and the District of Columbia also have early voting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some states are adjusting their absentee and early voting rules. It’s best to check with your local board of elections to learn the rules for absentee and early voting in your state. Voters can also sign up with AARP to get election information and reminders.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "What was the first year women across the United States were allowed to vote?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "1918",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "1925",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "1920",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving all women in the country the right to vote, was ratified in 1920. That year more than 8 million women across the United States went to the polls for the first time.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Who votes the most?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "18- to 29-year-olds",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "30- to 44-year-olds",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "45- to 64-year-olds",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "65 years and older",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 66.1 percent of adults over 65 voted in the last midterm election, in 2018. That was the highest turnout percentage of any age group. In that same year, 35.6 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds voted.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Voters don’t need to register. They can just show up at the polls on Election Day.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "True",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "False",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "Maybe",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Twenty-one states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming) and the District of Columbia allow you to register at the polls on Election Day. Maryland and North Carolina allow same-day voter registration only during Early Voting. North Dakota does not require any voter registration. In all other states, you have to register before Election Day; deadlines vary in each state.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "When was the voting age lowered from 21 to 18?",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "1952",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "1971",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "1983",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Ratified in 1971, the 26th Amendment reduced the voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. The first 18-year-olds voted in the 1972 elections.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "I have to re-register to vote every year.",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "True",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  }, {
    "answer" : "False",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "Once you have registered to vote, you only have to re-register if you move, have changed your name, want to change political parties or register as an independent or unaffiliated voter, or if you haven’t voted in too many elections — the number varies by state.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
  "question" : "Women vote more than men",
  "answers" : [ {
    "answer" : "True",
    "correctAnswer" : true
  }, {
    "answer" : "False",
    "correctAnswer" : false
  } ],
  "multiSelect" : false,
  "explanation" : "According to U.S. Census Bureau data, voter turnout rates have been higher for women than men in every presidential election since 1980. In 2018, 55 percent of eligible women voted compared with 51.8 percent of eligible men.",
  "hint" : "",
  "hintLink" : "",
  "questionImgCaption" : "",
  "questionImgCredit" : ""
} ]

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What Do You Know About Voting and the Election?

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For more information on the election, visit aarp.org/election2020.

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Dena Bunis covers Medicare, health care, health policy and Congress. She also writes the “Medicare Made Easy” column for the AARP Bulletin. An award-winning journalist, Bunis spent decades working for metropolitan daily newspapers, including as Washington bureau chief for the Orange County Register and as a health policy and workplace writer for Newsday.