WHY VOTERS FAIL INFORMATION TESTS - CAN THE HURDLES BE OVERCOME

Renowned public opinion scholars have provided solid evidence that ave rage voters generally make rational political choices. If this is corr ect, why have most recent studies that measured voter knowledge and le arning of current information yielded appallingly low scores? The essa y sheds light on this intriguing puzzle by showing that current tests of voter knowledge, which focus on rote memorization of names and fact ual details, underrate voters' election IQ. Moreover, knowledge scores could rise sharply if the mass media information supply were better t ailored to the average voter's information needs. Major problems in th e election information supply are an overemphasis on isolated facts an d inappropriate message framing when it comes to the substance and for mat of news stories. Furthermore, many election stories are repetitive and uninteresting to voters. The general public's response to the ''n ew'' media presentations, which became popular during the 1992 preside ntial campaign, shows that it is possible to make election news more a ttractive and informative for today's audiences.