Who Can Vote, Run for Federal Office, and Serve on a Jury? Civics Question 64

The answer is citizens.

Question 64 asks who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury. Say “citizens,” “citizens of the United States,” or “U.S. citizens.” All three are accepted, and any one of them is enough on its own.

What Citizens Can Do That Others Cannot

Millions of people live in the United States legally without being citizens. They work, pay taxes, own homes, and raise children here. Three things stay closed to them.

Voting in a federal election is the first. Only citizens help choose the President and the members of Congress. Running for federal office is the second. Serving on a jury is the third, so the people who decide a court case are citizens.

Most rights in this country belong to everyone living here. These three belong to citizens alone.

Why the Officer Asks This

You are applying to cross that line. The officer wants to see that you know what changes on the day you take the Oath of Allegiance.

The question also pairs with two neighbors. Question 63 covers the amendments that opened voting to more people, and question 65 covers rights that everyone living here has. Officers often ask two of the three in one sitting, so the set is worth learning together.

How to Remember the Answer

Count it on three fingers: vote, run, judge. Voting, running for office, sitting on a jury. Then ask yourself who is allowed to do all three.

Another way to hold it: these three jobs are the work of running the country. You get that work when the country is yours.

Common Ways People Get This Wrong

Some applicants answer “everyone” or “all people.” That is the answer to a different question. Question 65 asks about rights everyone living here has, and this one asks about the three things saved for citizens.

Others answer “adults” or “anyone over 18.” Age does matter for voting, but the question is about status, not birthdays. The word the officer needs is citizens.

What to Say on Test Day

Say “citizens.” One word, then stop.

You do not need to explain federal elections, list the offices, or describe how juries work. The officer is listening for one word.