A national project that seeks to educate the public about the policies favored by political candidates gives Iowa politicos poor grades. It’s called Project Vote Smart, and there’s a website that lists all sorts of information about political candidates’ views on key issues. Organizers say most Iowa candidates refused to answer a simple survey. None of the candidates for governor and only half of the Iowans running for the U-S Congress filled out the “National Political Awareness Test.” Only 8% of the Iowans running for the state legislature responded to the group’s survey — the lowest response rate for any state. Project Vote Smart’s president says voters need to expect no less of political candidates than they do of someone applying for a job. He says many of those who didn’t respond say they fear opponents will use their survey responses against them. Neither Tom Harkin nor Greg Ganske — the candidates for Iowa’s U-S Senate seat — filled out the issue survey, but all four of the Congressmen in Iowa who are seeking re-election did. None of their challengers however, responded. For more information, visitwww.vote-smart.org on the Internet.
