Marylanders were quizzed about state politics in the latest poll by the UMBC Institute of Politics — and the results might surprise you.
Pollsters asked five multipe-choice, close-ended, factual questions about Maryland politics.
Before seeing how others did, put your own knowledge of government to the test. (Click the triangle next to each question to reveal the answer — but no peeking until you’ve locked in!)
1. How many years does a Maryland governor serve in one term?
A. 2 years
B. 4 years
C. 6 years
Answer: 4 years (62% of UMBC poll respondents answered this question correctly)
2. The Maryland General Assembly, the state legislature in Annapolis, meets once a year. How many days is their legislative session?
A. 30 days
B. 60 days
C. 90 days
D. 120 days
Answer: 90 days (29% of UMBC poll respondents answered this question correctly)
3. The Democratic Party has long held the majority in the Maryland General Assembly, the state legislature in Annapolis. About what percent of seats do Democrats currently hold?
A. 51 to 60%
B. 61 to 70%
C. 71 to 80%
D. 80% or more
Answer: 71 to 80% (21% of UMBC poll respondents answered this question correctly)
4. Maryland has 8 seats in the United States House of Representatives. How many are held by Republicans?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4
F. 5
G. 6
H. 7
I. 8
Answer: 1 (30% of UMBC poll respondents answered this question correctly)
5. Does the Maryland state government currently have a budget surplus or a budget deficit?
A. Budget surplus
B. Budget deficit
C. Balanced budget
Answer: Budget deficit (61% of UMBC poll respondents answered this question correctly)
How’d you do? Well, that’s for you to divulge if you choose.
What we can tell you is that just 19% of the UMBC poll’s respondents were able to provide correct answers to four or five of the questions.
Meanwhile, 42% answered two or three questions correctly, and 40% got one or no questions right.
Of course, how well somebody did on these five questions isn’t necessarily an indication of their ability to make political decisions, according to Mileah Kromer, director of the UMBC Institute of Politics.
“There are clear benefits to a politically informed citizenry: higher participation rates, greater accountability, and more responsive government,” Kromer said in a statement. “But political knowledge is uneven across topics and levels of government, and research suggests that people can make reasonable political judgments without deep factual knowledge. Cues from daily life and personal experience help residents assess how their government is performing and how policies affect their lives.”
The poll also asked residents about how attentive they are to our state’s political news and where they go for their news on the subject.
About two-thirds of residents (64%) said they pay “a great deal” or “some” attention to news about Maryland state politics and government during a typical week. More than one-third (35%) said they pay “a little” or “no attention at all.”
Those who pay at least “a little” attention to state political news were asked about their news consumption habits. Respondents could select more than one source.
Local television stations were a political news source for the greatest percentage of Marylanders at 67%. Social media was also a popular source for 56% of residents.
Other sources included friends, family, or neighbors (48% of respondents identified this as a common source for Maryland political news); print or online newspapers (47%); local radio (41%); elected officials or government websites (25%); and podcasts (19%).
If you want to learn more about Maryland state politics, tune into the Maryland Now podcast that Baltimore Fishbowl executive editor David Nitkin co-hosts with Josh Kurtz, founder of Maryland Matters, and Dori Henry, senior vice president of Blended Public Affairs.
This week’s episode is all about Maryland state symbols, from the state cat to the state dessert.
Pollsters surveyed 804 Maryland adults, including 731 Maryland registered voters, by phone from March 17 to March 22. There is a 95% probability that the sample of 804 Maryland adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%, and that the sample of 731 Maryland registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%.
5 out of 5. I’m paying attention. I am the right’s worst nightmare. A straight, white, progressive, liberal Democrat “of a certain age” that has been paying attention for my whole life.