Editing Vote Smart (section)

== Political Courage Test ==

The Political Courage Test<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Political Courage Test|url=https://votesmart.org/about/political-courage-test|website=VoteSmart|access-date=2016-07-20}}   This includes links to other VoteSmart pages, e.g., to "View the current Political Courage Test forms."</ref> (formerly the National Political Awareness Test, NPAT) is an American initiative intended to increase transparency in [[Politics of the United States|American politics]].

It is part of the voter education organization Vote Smart's candidate information program. With a view towards elections, the test seeks to obtain answers from election candidates, describing their respective stances on a variety of popular issues in American politics. This information is then made available to voters in a selection-driven, standardized format.

In 2008, Project Vote Smart kicked [[John McCain]] off of the organization's board due to his refusal to fill out the Political Courage Test.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Jonathan|title=McCain Gets the Boot From Project Vote Smart|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/04/senator-straight-talk-wont-go-record-project-vote-smart|access-date=16 November 2015|publisher=Mother Jones|date=April 10, 2008}}</ref>

The response to the Political Courage Test has dropped, from 72% in 1996 to 48% in 2008<ref name=":0" /> and even further to 20% by 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/11/04/why-its-so-hard-to-find-out-where-the-candidates-stand/|title=Why It's So Hard to Find Out Where the Candidates Stand|last=Potash|first=Eric|date=November 4, 2016|website=Washington Monthly|access-date=April 13, 2019}}</ref> because politicians from both parties are afraid that challengers will use their responses out of context in attack ads, according to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.  Rep. Anne Gannon, Democratic leader pro tempore of the [[Florida House of Representatives]], stated: "We tell our candidates not to do it. It sets them up for a hit piece." In response, Vote Smart has tried to shame politicians into it, and lets them leave up to 30% of answers blank.<ref name="waryofsurveys">{{cite news 
  | last =Grant
  | first =Peter
  | title =Politicians Grow Wary Of Survey as Internet Spreads Attack Ads
  | publisher =Wall Street Journal
  | date =2006-10-25
  | url =https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116173744805102790
  }}</ref>