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Many people write about voter (in)competence. The topic is especially tempting after an author's favored side loses an election or public-policy battle, for they can attribute their losses to voter ignorance (e.g., Herbert 2004). Other evaluations of voter competence arise when elections approach. These occasions prompt claims about "what informed voters ought to think about" when making political choices. Some of these claims are ideological in nature: they assert that a set of ideas with which the writers and their peer group agree should be privileged in political decision making. One problem with such claims is that ideas in question need not be consistent with the self-interest of the voters who areMany people do not give correct answers to standard "political knowledge" questions. Some respondents provide incorrect answers. Some say they "don't know." Others just don't respond at all. Academic writers …