It’s no surprise that many Americans lack political knowledge. In most cases it would be fine for citizens to blunder around without knowing precisely what their leaders were up to. This year it’s not. This year there is an election.

The formula is simple, one American, one vote. Ideally, all of these tiny voices meld together into a sound decision. If people don’t know their health care from their Iraq agenda, though, their votes don’t weed out the better candidate.

Recent surveys on current events have been discouraging. Average citizens tend to answer between forty and sixty percent of basic questions correctly. What are the two main branches of Islam? Who is Vladimir Putin? What is Robert Gates secretary of? Get specific and ask about any particular candidate’s leanings, policies, or proposals, and the numbers are far lower..

Apparently knowledge is no prerequisite to voting. Uninformed but still deeply passionate citizens flock to voting booths each year to cheer their favorite charmer all the way to the White House. As many as two-thirds of them are doing this based solely on party lines, and maybe a few scraps of what they heard around the office or saw in sound bites on the news. The all-out media extravaganza that presidential elections generate attracts even more ignorant voters than usual. Expect droves in 2008.

If only the damage extended no further than insignificant votes. A funny thing happens when a large mass of the electorate doesn’t care about issues. The news sources that cater to them change their coverage. Suddenly lapel pins and catch phrases gobble up the space in discussions. Turn on the news, and all you get is stories about Mitt Romney’s Mormon undergarments.

What this creates is a setting in which candidates’ superficialities reign over their ideas. We’re not there just yet, but the road is paved, and the wheels are waiting. If the Democratic primaries are any indication, all the earnest proposal and careful planning in the world can be wiped out by a few commercials, catchy slogans, or fixations on minutiae.

It’s too bad we can’t just make it all go away.

But wait…

What if you did have to know something to vote? What if a basic level of care was a prerequisite to the ballot box?

I propose a simple system.

On voting day, five to ten questions could be added to the decision bubbles. These would be basic tests of policy. Is your candidate for or against universal healthcare? If president, what would your man/woman do with emissions standards? If you don’t know the answers, step away from the voting booth.

Putting at least minimal effort into picking a president should be considered a civic duty. Many greater things are already demanded of voters. They pay taxes, serve on juries, and don’t go around robbing and pillaging. If we can be expected to cough up ten percent of an annual income, is it really much to ask for ten minutes of research before elections?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that the future rested in hands that cared about it, at least enough to check out the candidates’ platforms online, in a newspaper, or on TV? Do we really want to throw the presidency to those who don’t feel obligated to spend a second deliberating their choice?

It can’t happen today, and it probably won’t happen tomorrow. In fact, it’s unlikely that we will ever see it at all. There’s just not enough will to make changes‘.

You can do one thing though. In the near future, when it’s your turn to scribble, punch, mail, or whatever, take a second aside. Consider why you are voting and who you are really voting for. If you don’t have an answer, don’t vote. Picking our next great leader is too important not to give a damn.