Quiz: Bizarre Facts About Voting in the U.S.

2. False.

When Justin Levitt, a professor at the Loyola University Law School, looked into all allegations of fraud anywhere in the U.S. in 2000, he only found 31 credible cases out of 1 billion ballots cast. Some were prosecuted, but many haven’t been investigated. Levitt thinks that a number of the 31 cases can simply be blamed on data entry mistakes and a person filling out a form incorrectly. “The truth is, the kind of fraud strict photo ID laws target—in-person impersonation fraud—is very rare,” said Clark. “It’s important to stop fraud of all kinds. That includes laws that make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to participate in our democracy.”

(Photo: CSA/Getty Images)

3. True.

When 96-year-old Dorothy Cooper tried to get a voter ID in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 2011, she brought her birth certificate, her voter registration card, a copy of her lease, and a receipt of her rent. The clerk at the Cherokee Boulevard Driver Service Center denied her a voter ID—because her birth certificate had her maiden name, Dorothy Alexander. “But I didn’t have my marriage certificate,” Cooper told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She was eventually allowed to vote with an absentee ballot after Charline Kilpatrick, who was helping people get free IDs, called the state twice.

(Photo: Petrified Collection/Getty Images)

4. False.

This was true until 1966, when the federal government declared the poll tax—which required residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia to pay a fee to register to vote—unconstitutional. If it wasn’t paid, the tax added up every year. This made voting impossible for many sharecroppers in the South, who lived on credit and could go an entire year without

cash. People who supported the tax argued that removing it would “‘allow’ minorities to ‘flood’ the polls,’” according to a 1963 article in The Dallas Times Herald.

(Photo: Library of Congress)

5. True.

In 1845, Congress had to select a day to hold the vote. The U.S. was largely agrarian, and people got around by horse and buggy. To vote, farmers needed a day to travel to the county seat, a day to cast their ballot, and a day to return. Because religious obligations were observed during the weekend and Wednesday was market day, Congress selected Tuesday. It implemented the voting day for House elections in 1875 and Senate elections in 1914.

(Photo: English School/Getty Images)

The Genius of Sarah Silverman and 8 Other Pop Culture Crusaders for Equal Pay

Nationwide, women make about 78 cents to every dollar men do for salaried work. When you compare pay by hourly rates, which some feel is a more accurate measure, women still only make 86 cents to the dollar. Comedian Sarah Silverman and other hilarious allies, such as John Oliver and Aziz Ansari, are mobilizing support for equal pay in an entertaining way. It turns out there’s a long tradition of Hollywood players aiming to change hearts and minds on the issue. Here are some of our favorite pop culture moments that have tackled equal pay.

Ohio’s constitution prohibits “idiots” from voting. Casting your ballot in Alabama can’t take longer than five minutes. Texas will let you vote with a gun license but not a student ID.

Politicians like to push Americans to exercise their right to vote, but many laws make it difficult to actually do so.

“There are new restrictions in 22 states, meaning nearly half the country could have a harder time casting a ballot in November 2014 than four years ago,” said Jennifer Clark, a counsel in the democracy program at the NYU School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice. The nonprofit, nonpartisan policy institute works to advance voting rights through voter registration modernization proposals.

“North Carolina passed a far-reaching restrictive voter law,” said Clark. “It did everything from cutting back on early voting and same-day registration—which were used more by African Americans than whites—to ending the opportunity for 16- and 17-year olds to pre-register so they could be ready to vote immediately upon turning 18.”

More than 600,000 legally registered Texan voters may not be able to cast their ballots because of a state voter ID law that one federal judge said was “imposed with an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose.”

Can you distinguish a Jim Crow law of yesteryear from a modern-day rule? How much do you know about voting in the United States? Take this quiz to find out.

Enter Photo Gallery

Quiz: Bizarre Facts About Voting in the U.S.

Is voter fraud really a problem? Why do we cast our ballots on a Tuesday?

1. True or False?

1. False.

2. True or False?

2. False.

3. True or False?

3. True.

4. True or False?

4. False.

5. True or False?

5. True.

The Genius of Sarah Silverman and 8 Other Pop Culture Crusaders for Equal Pay