With the elections almost upon us, I've begun to wonder how much voters really know about our government. With so much at stake, I think it's important that voters have at least a basic knowledge of the framework of our country. I thought it might be fun and informative to take a little quiz to see just how much you know about the United States of America. See how many of these questions you can answer without looking them up. The answers are below - no cheating!

1) What is the maximum number of years a President may serve?

2) How many electoral votes are needed to win the Presidency?

3) What is the minimum age requirement to be President?

4) How many voting Congressmen/women are in the House of Representatives?

5) What is the name of your Representative?

6) What Congressional District do you reside in?

7) How many Senators does each state have?

8) Name one Senator representing your state.

9) How many justices are currently seated on the Supreme Court?

10) Name three of them.

11) Who is third in the line of succession after the Vice President?

12) Who currently holds this position?

13) Which of the following is not guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution: a) Freedom of religion b) Freedom of speech c) Right to privacy d) Right to bear arms

14) The phrase "of the people, by the people, for the people" is found in what document a) The U.S. Constitution b) The Gettysburg Address c) The Declaration of Independence d) The Federalist Papers

15) True or False: The U.S. Constitution was signed by representatives of the colonies on July 4, 1776.

16) The United States form of government is a) a democracy b) a republic c) a monarchy d) socialist

Answers - No Cheating!

1) The maximum is ten years. Amendment XXII: Section 1 states " No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once." This amendment was ratified by the states on February 27, 1951.

2) 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency. This represents a majority of the electoral votes of the states (535), plus three for Washington D.C., as determined by Amendment XXIII, ratified March 29, 1961. The states each get one electoral vote for each Senator and Representative, hence the minimum any state can have is three.

3) The minimum age to assume the presidency is 35, as written in Article II: Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.

4) There are 435 voting Congressmen/women. The number of representatives is determined by the population of the states, one representative for every 30,000 citizens in the state. There are also five non-voting members of the House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

5) & 6) It depends where you live. You'll have to look this up yourself at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ by typing in your zip code in the upper left box.

7) Two, for a total of 100 currently, per Article I: Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution.

8) See answer 5) & 6) above.

9) There are currently nine Supreme Court Justices serving. There is no mandatory minimum or maximum. The Supreme Court originally had six members.

10) The nine current Supreme Court Justices are: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justice John Paul Stevens, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice David H. Souter,Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Stephen G. Breyer, and Justice Samuel Alito

11) The Speaker of the House of Representatives is third in line. Article II: Section 1 states "Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected." Congress decided with the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 that the order of succession shall be 1. Vice President, 2. Speaker of the House, 3. President pro tempore of the Senate (usually the majority leader), 4. Secretary of State, 5. Secretary of the Treasury, and on down. See http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/government/national/succession.html for more info.

12) Nancy Pelosi (D) California

13) While the right to privacy is accepted as common decency, there is no Constitutional protection.

14) Lincoln's Gettysburg address, November 19, 1863.

15) False. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. The U.S. Constitution was not signed until September 17, 1787.

16) b) Many people are under the mistaken impression that the United States is a democracy, including many of our elected officials. Our form of government is a republic. If you don't believe me, recite the Pledge of Allegiance - "and to the republic, for which it stands..."

Score Yourself

15-16 correct - you're a scholar!, 12-14 correct - above average, 9-11 correct - do some homework, less than 9 correct - please stay home on election day