With the increased ability to propagate campaign messaging over a multitude of media—television, newspapers, e-mail, snail mail and the Web—it’s no wonder campaign spending is at an all-time high, rising more than 40 percent between 2004 and 2006.

How does this avalanche of campaign advertising, media endorsements and candidate funding influence voters? What factors can shape voter perception—and determine an election’s outcome? Even with the best intentions, do voters base their decisions on the limited amount of candidate information that is placed in front of them?

Find out how a lack of information can often decide big elections—as seen in the Smith vs. Carnahan showdown at the center of the film CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE?

Take the poll

For each scenario of the following poll, what you see is what you get—it’s all the information you know about the candidates.

Picture this: It's the night before you head to the polls and you're trying to remember ads from TV, snippets from the news. You're looking through the campaign flyers you've received in the mail in the last week— anything to help you make an informed decision. Based on what you’ve read and heard, who would you vote for?