Do ignorant Americans cancel out a well-informed citizen’s vote?

Constitution Day celebrates the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. A shocking new Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey revealed a civic blind spot persisting for in three years. Many American are ignorant of Constitutional protections.

- 88% failed to name the right to petition the government as a First Amendment right.

- 44% believed people illegally in the US do not have any rights under the Constitution.

- 40% didn’t know the Supreme Court is the final authority to determine whether an action by the president is constitutional.

- 37% can’t identify the 10th Amendment power-sharing between states and the federal government.

- 35% failed to name all three branches of government.

- 27% can’t identify that when a president vetoes legislation, a two-thirds of each house of Congress can vote to override the veto.

- 25% wrongly named the right to bear arms as a First Amendment right.

- 24% can’t name a single First Amendment right.

- 24% didn’t know children born in the US are citizens even if neither parent is a citizen.

- 18% believed a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling is sent back to Congress instead of becoming the law of the land.

Americans who do know their Constitutional rights are less likely to keep them. Ignorant citizens who vote can unknowingly relinquish or dilute these cherished individual protections.

The 2026 Annenberg survey was conducted August 6 to 9, 2026. This survey of 1,034 US adults was a nationally representative sample. Its margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5% with a 95% confidence level.

Sources:

https://studyfinds.com/americans-cant...

https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events...