OK, America: You say you are on pins and needles (or is that a ballot-punching stylus?) about this presidential election business. But just how closely have you been following things? Take the following quiz to gauge whether you've really been paying attention. (You can find the answers on Page 2f.)
1) Define the following terms:
a. hanging chad
b. Volusia
FOR THE RECORD - A post-presidential election quiz in the Today section Tuesday incorrectly identified the person first in line to become president if no winner has been chosen by Inauguration Day. The correct answer is Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
The Sun regrets the error.
c. faithless elector
2) Name the dogs owned by the two presidential candidates. (Extra credit: How many cats does George W. Bush own?)
3) Why did Gov. Bush show up with a bandage on his cheek in the days after the election?
4) Identify Theresa LePore.
5) Name the agency that the TV news networks relied on for the exit poll information that led them to mistakenly call Florida for Gore. (Extra credit: In what small town were all the exit polling numbers crunched on Election Day?)
6) In the wake of the election, John and Marcia Diamond of Glenburn, Maine, have had to take time off from their regular jobs to handle extra demand for what products they sell?
7) Under the Presidential Succession Act, if President Clinton has to leave office Jan. 20without a successor having been elected by the Electoral College, the House or the Senate, who becomes president of the United States?
8) Does every vote count?
Answers
Answers to the Post-Presidential Election quiz on Page 1f:
1) a. The small tab of cardboard that fails to detach from a hole on a punched ballot like those used in Palm Beach County, Fla. b. The name of a Florida county involved in recounting ballots. c. A member of the Electoral College who votes for a candidate other than the one he supposedly represents. Throughout U.S. history, only nine electors out of some 18,000 have violated their pledges.
2) Bush's dog is named Spot; Gore's dogs are Shiloh and Daisy. Gov. Bush also has two cats.
3) He had a boil on his cheek caused by an ingrown hair.
4) LePore is the elections supervisor for Palm Beach County who designed the controversial butterfly ballot that reportedly confused some voters.
5) Voter News Service; its Election Day operations center was in Covington, Ky.
6) Collegiate-style sweatshirts, T-shirts and caps bearing the logo "Electoral College."
7) Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.
8) Of course - unless yours is among the estimated 2 to 5 percent of ballots ordinarily miscounted or invalidated by outdated voting technology used in this country.
Scoring: The eight questions had a total of 12 answers. If you had:
1-3 correct - You probably shouldn't try to vote in Palm Beach County.
4-6 - You're spending a little too much time with MSNBC and NPR.
7-9 - You should be applying for a job on a transition team.
10-12 - We demand a recount!
