Even if you don’t follow politics closely, you’ve probably heard the word “polarization.” It refers to the growing divide between people on the left and right ends of the political spectrum and the dwindling interest in compromise. It’s why most people hope that no one brings up politics at Thanksgiving.

Polarization is not a new phenomenon, but it’s accelerating.

Here’s an example. In politics, defection rate refers to the percentage of people who vote for a candidate from the other party — Democrats voting for a Republican and vice versa. Between 1952 and 2000, the defection rate averaged 15.7%. Since 2000, the average has been 8.5%. Even when people are unsatisfied with their own party’s candidate, writes political science professor Alan I. Abramowitz, “the opposing party’s candidate is generally seen as far worse.”

Abramowitz attributes this to negative partisanship — feeling more strongly negative about the other party than positive about your own.

Pew Research Center found that negative partisanship is affecting people’s views of the voters in the opposing party too, not just the candidates.

“Growing shares in each party now describe those in the other party as more closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent than other Americans,” Pew reported in 2022.

But how much do voters in both parties really know about each other? The Ohio Democracy Project wants to find out.

The Ohio Democracy Project, which seeks to address threats to a peaceful, inclusive political system, partnered with software developer Goodbit Ideas to create Across America, an anonymous quiz about polarization — your feelings about those people.

The quiz takes about five minutes, and the results will help the Across America team develop more effective ways to combat polarization.

Take the survey. (Then make sure you are registered to vote.)