Can’t be bothered

 In July we mentioned the dearth of enthusiasm among Oklahoma political candidates for questionnaires asking them to state their positions of a range of issues. This week, Project Vote Smart said the state was in third to last place in providing answers to questions posed by the group’s “Political Courage Test.” Only 10 percent of legislative candidates bothered to complete the questionnaire, compared to 21 percent nationally. Among candidates for federal offices, the figure was 20 percent, compared to 41 percent nationally. Perhaps the problem is that there’s too many issue-oriented questionnaires sent out during election season. More likely, candidates just don’t want to bother completing a survey that they think few voters will ever see. Gov. Brad Henry has “repeatedly refused” to cooperate with Project Vote Smart; it doesn’t seem to have cost him many votes. These questionnaires will get more response only when candidates believe they translate to actual votes.

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