Deck 7: Political Participation: Activating the Popular Will

Question 1

The "motor voter" law

A)was passed in 1993.
B)made it easier for citizens to register to vote.
C)linked voter registration to the vehicle registration process.
D)linked voter registration to the public assistance application process.
E)All these answers are correct.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Most candidates for office in the United States aim their appeals at the voters that hold the balance of power in U.S.elections

A)those with high incomes.
B)those of the middle class.
C)labor unions and interest groups.
D)corporate lobbying groups.
E)those with low incomes.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following countries has had the

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In the United States,

A)the federal government prevents states from restricting registration based on the amount of time a person has resided in that state.
B)voter registration requirements have usually been set by the states.
C)voter registration periods and locations tend to be highly publicized,but registration requirements prevent many from taking advantage of them.
D)most states automatically register a person to vote when he or she acquires a driver's license.
E)states with easier registration laws have shown no higher turnout rates than states with restrictive registration requirements.

Question 5

Which of the following countries has had the HIGHEST estimated voter turnout in major national elections in recent decades?

A)Denmark
B)Germany
C)United States
D)Belgium
E)France

Question 6

States with the most restrictive voter registration laws also have

A)the lowest rates of verified voter fraud.
B)turnout rates comparable to the national average.
C)the highest rates of verified voter fraud.
D)turnout rates well below the national average.
E)the highest percentage of eligible voters registered.

Question 7

Scholars estimate that turnout would be roughly ________ percentage points higher in the United States if the U.S.had European-style registration.

A)2
B)5
C)7
D)10
E)15

Question 8

Which of the following states has relatively low turnout in elections?

A)Idaho
B)Maine
C)Minnesota
D)Indiana
E)These four states have similar turnout rates compared to the national average.

Question 9

The adoption of voter identification cards by several states

A)will likely cause a decline in voter turnout.
B)is a policy intended to further the gains of the motor voter law.
C)was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
D)will increase the voting power of poorer citizens.
E)was a response to well-documented accounts of widespread electoral fraud.

Question 10

Eighteen-,nineteen-,and twenty-year-old Americans were granted the right to vote by the passage of the ________ Amendment.

A)Fifteenth
B)Nineteenth
C)Twenty-First
D)Twenty-Third
E)Twenty-Sixth

Question 11

African American men technically gained suffrage with the passage of the ________ Amendment.

A)Fifteenth
B)Nineteenth
C)Twenty-First
D)Twenty-Third
E)Twenty-Sixth

Question 12

Literacy tests were used to

A)disenfranchise African Americans in the South.
B)finance election campaigns.
C)ensure that women voted with their husbands,who legally controlled the money in a marriage.
D)ensure that the people who voted would take the vote seriously.
E)help subsidize public education in the North.

Question 13

Since the 1960s,the level of turnout in presidential elections has averaged about ________ percent.

A)75
B)65
C)60
D)45
E)35

Question 14

Women gained the right to vote

A)with passage of the Bill of Rights.
B)shortly after the Civil War.
C)early in the twentieth century.
D)with passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
E)during the era of Jacksonian democracy.

Question 15

In the twenty-first century,voting rates in the United States have

A)shown little difference from those of the late twentieth century.
B)remained lower than in nearly every other democracy.
C)demonstrated that the apathy of young citizens has worsened considerably since the early 1990s.
D)increased in all elections.
E)declined in all elections.

Question 16

When the nation was founded,who was eligible to vote?

A)everyone-there was universal suffrage
B)all males and females who were at least 21 years of age
C)only males who owned property
D)only citizens who had lived in the nation for at least ten years
E)all native-born citizens

Question 17

Voter registration in the United States

A)was introduced as a means of keeping white males without property from voting.
B)began as a way of preventing voters from casting more than one ballot on election day.
C)is the responsibility of the government,which adds legally qualified individuals automatically to the registration rolls.
D)applies to voting in general elections but not in primary elections.
E)has vastly increased voter turnout.

Question 18

In the United States,the primary responsibility for registration of the individual voter rests with the

A)state and local governments.
B)local courts.
C)employer.
D)individual.
E)federal government.

Question 19

One of the reasons voter turnout is lower in the United States than in Western European countries is that

A)Americans pay less attention to politics.
B)U.S.registration laws place a greater burden on the individual.
C)the U.S.population is not as well educated.
D)Europeans must pay a huge fine if they fail to vote.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 20

________ elections tend to draw the largest percentage of voters in the U.S.

A)Primary
B)Mayoral
C)Congressional
D)Gubernatorial
E)Presidential

Question 21

The frequency of elections in the United States reduces voter turnout by

A)discouraging local politicians from playing an active role in presidential elections.
B)creating more complex registration requirements.
C)focusing too much attention on state and local elections.
D)increasing the personal effort needed to participate in all elections.
E)increasing the amount of taxes paid at the polls.

Question 22

The chief obstacle to Americans' participation in community activities is the

A)lack of opportunity,because there are few groups active at this level.
B)lack of personal motivation to get involved.
C)low potential for success,since key decisions are made at the national level.
D)low potential for success,since key decisions are made at the state level.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 23

Which of the following states has a voter identification card law?

A)Maine
B)New Hampshire
C)Minnesota
D)Hawaii
E)Wisconsin

Question 24

Citizens in which of the following countries are MOST likely to talk to people about politics?

A)Germany
B)France
C)Great Britain
D)United States
E)There is no difference among the four nations.

Question 25

One's sense of civic duty and sense of apathy are attitudes that are usually acquired from one's

A)economic status.
B)community.
C)education.
D)parents.
E)experience with voting.

Question 26

If Americans vote less than Europeans,why are they more likely to work for a political campaign than are citizens in Europe?

A)America's federal system provides more campaign opportunities.
B)European candidates seldom need campaign workers.
C)Americans have more leisure time than Europeans.
D)U.S.candidates pay campaign workers,whereas European candidates do not.
E)Laws in some U.S.communities require citizens to participate in campaigns.

Question 27

Voting

A)is a limited form of political participation.
B)provides citizens with a regular way to express themselves.
C)is the most widespread form of political participation.
D)is both a means by which government controls the people and a means by which the people control government.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 28

All of the following tend to decrease voter turnout EXCEPT

A)sharp policy differences between major parties.
B)alienation.
C)frequent elections.
D)an individualistic culture.
E)lack of interest in politics.

Question 29

Citizens in which of the following countries are MOST likely to engage in political activities,such as volunteering for political campaigns?

A)Germany
B)France
C)Great Britain
D)United States
E)There is no difference among the four nations.

Question 30

Regular voters tend to be characterized by a

A)strong sense of alienation,which motivates them to try to change government.
B)strong sense of civic duty.
C)desire to use government as a vehicle to help other Americans rather than themselves.
D)strong sense of independence,which motivates them to try to defeat incumbents.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 31

Voter identification cards find the most support among

A)Democrats.
B)Republicans.
C)libertarians.
D)liberals.
E)poorer citizens.

Question 32

What percentage of states hold their gubernatorial elections in nonpresidential years?

A)25 percent
B)33 percent
C)50 percent
D)66 percent
E)75 percent

Question 33

Compared with U.S.citizens of higher incomes,those of lower incomes are

A)much less likely to vote in elections.
B)about equally likely to vote in elections.
C)much more likely to vote in elections.
D)much less likely to vote in elections-a pattern that is also true in European democracies.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 34

In comparison with citizens in Western European democracies,Americans are LESS likely to

A)vote in national elections.
B)actively work in an election campaign.
C)participate in community activities.
D)join an interest group.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 35

Voter turnout is

Question 36

Which of the following groups of people is MOST adversely affected by our country's voter registration system?

A)senior citizens
B)those with less income
C)young adults
D)women
E)people with college degrees

Question 37

The citizens of ________ are MOST likely to participate as campaign volunteers during an election.

A)the Netherlands
B)Great Britain
C)the United States
D)Germany
E)France

Question 38

As distinct from alienation,apathy is

A)associated with a high rate of voter turnout.
B)a feeling of powerlessness.
C)a general lack of interest in politics.
D)a sign that the political system is working properly.
E)widespread among affluent Americans.

Question 39

Education and income affect voter turnout

A)more in the United States than in Europe.
B)more in Europe than in the United States.
C)only in national elections in the United States.
D)only in national elections in Europe.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 40

Many white,working-class citizens failed to vote in the 1968 and 1972 elections because they felt alienated by the centrality of which political issue?

A)civil rights
B)the Vietnam War
C)the economy
D)immigration
E)youth protest

Question 41

The Tea Party's key initial issue was

A)support for American military involvement in Iraq.
B)support for American military involvement in Afghanistan.
C)opposition to President Obama's climate change policies.
D)opposition to high taxes.
E)opposition to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Question 42

Describe three systemic reasons Americans vote at a lower rate than Western Europeans.

Question 43

Political protests

A)have recently seen success primarily with liberal or leftist protest groups.
B)are seen by most Americans as something to be accepted but not admired.
C)are more common in the United States today than in most European democracies.
D)have become more spontaneous and unlawful in recent years.
E)are today mostly aimed at local laws and local political targets.

Question 44

Occupy Wall Street's main issue has been

A)the power and wealth of the wealthiest Americans.
B)the undue influence of the Tea Party in national politics.
C)the high taxes paid by America's poor.
D)the need to have better regulation of stock trading.
E)the necessity of overthrowing capitalism and replacing it with socialism.

Question 45

A sustained action taken by citizens disenchanted with government in order to express their opposition and work to bring about the change they seek is a

A)social movement.
B)voter upsurge.
C)citizen lobby.
D)popular resistance.
E)regular election.

Question 46

What did political scientist Larry Bartels demonstrate in his book Unequal Democracy?

A)Elected officials are substantially more responsive to the concerns of their more affluent constituents than to those of their poorer constituents.
B)Elected officials are substantially more responsive to the efforts of lobbyists than to the concerns of their constituents.
C)Elected officials do not tend to respond to the efforts of social movements or protests when casting votes or forming policy.
D)Elected officials tend to ignore the interests of their constituents when they make policy or cast votes,until just before they are up for reelection.
E)Incumbents hold so much power in the United States and are so difficult to unseat that they have disenfranchised much of the voting population of the U.S.

Question 47

Why are people of higher income and education levels more likely to be politically active?

Question 48

Give at least three reasons why some Americans vote regularly while others do not.

Question 49

The Tea Party

A)is aligned with the moderate wing of the Republican Party.
B)has been backed by wealthy conservative donors.
C)has urged compromise with Democrats on tax and spending issues.
D)has yet to have any of its supporters elected to Congress.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 50

What does the author mean by unconventional activism? Provide examples,and describe Americans' attitudes toward unconventional activism.

Question 51

When it comes to protest activities,a majority of Americans are

A)actively involved in protests at one time or another in their lives.
B)willing to contribute through financial support but not through active participation.
C)not highly supportive of such activities,despite America's tradition of free expression.
D)actively involved only later in their lives,when they feel more secure that a protest is justified.
E)supportive of violent activities if the cause warrants such an approach.

Question 52

In which of the following countries are rates of protest the

Question 53

When democratic governments came into existence,tax and food riots and other forms of protest greatly diminished.Why?

A)Citizens had less-disruptive ways to express themselves.
B)A government safety net ensured basic needs were met.
C)Social scientists have been studying this phenomenon but do not have a conclusive answer.
D)The wealth of citizens increased dramatically with democratic freedoms and liberty.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 54

Volunteer activity is