Many Americans are unaware of who currently controls the chambers in Congress. Can you name a government branch?

More than one-third of Americans cannot name a single branch of the United States government, according to a recent poll.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania released a poll on Wednesday that shows 35 percent of those polled could not name one branch of the U.S. government. This amount is almost equivalent to the 36 percent of Americans who could successfully name the legislative, executive and judicial branches.


In regard to how the three branches work, Americans seem to have little knowledge as well. Only 27 percent of those polled answered correctly that it takes two-thirds of the House and Senate members to vote in favor of overriding a veto. Twenty-one percent of Americans answered incorrectly when asked if a 5-4 decision from the Supreme Court means that the decision moves to congressional consideration.

While political parties are battling to see which will gain the majority in the House of Representative and the Senate, many Americans are unaware of who currently controls each. When asked, 38 percent of those polled answered correctly and identified the Republican Party as the House majority, while 17 percent said it was the Democratic party and a plurality, at 44 percent, did not know. In regard to the Senate, 38 percent correctly identified the Democrats as having control of the Senate, 20 percent said that Republicans held the Senate majority and most, 42 percent of those polled, did not know the answer.

“Although surveys reflect disapproval of the way Congress, the President and the Supreme Court are conducting their affairs, the Annenberg survey demonstrates that many know surprisingly little about these branches of government,” Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg, said in the release.

The poll was conducted from July 8 to July 14 among 1,416 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.06 percent.