Deck 3: Participation,elections,and Representation

Question 1

Which segment of the population tends to be overrepresented in political participation?

A)The wealthy
B)The middle class
C)The poor
D)The young

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which form of political participation is probably more representative of the general citizenry?

A)Making a campaign contribution
B)Voting
C)Joining an interest group
D)Writing a letter to a member of Congress

Answer 2

B

Question 3

State and local governments

A)have been given less and less jurisdiction over policy issues by the U.S.Supreme Court.
B)spend about 17 cents of every dollar generated by the American economy.
C)hold less than 5 percent of all elected positions in America.
D)administer a minority of civil and criminal cases each year.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The incentives to vote that come with homeownership are MOST likely to

A)impact voting in national elections but not in local elections.
B)impact voting in local elections but not in national elections.
C)impact voting in both local and national elections.
D)not impact voting at any level.

Question 5

What percentage of all elected officials in the United States are elected at the local level?

A)25 percent
B)50 percent
C)75 percent
D)95 percent

Question 6

Which tactic have citizens in Oregon and Washington used to slow down the approval of the planned transport of millions of tons of coal per year across their states to a deep water shipping terminal?

A)Acts of civil disobedience to disrupt the implementation of the plan
B)Providing testimony during local hearings on the plan
C)Hiring lobbyists to convince federal and state lawmakers to alter the plan
D)Directly lobbying members of Congress to alter the plan

Question 7

The sense that political involvement can actually make a difference is known as

A)efficacy.
B)ideology.
C)collective action.
D)the participation gap.

Question 8

Political engagement at the local level

A)is relatively impressive when compared to engagement in national political campaigns and presidential elections.
B)has dropped to an extremely low rate in recent years.
C)is not as attractive as engagement in national political campaigns and presidential elections because the stakes are lower at the local level.
D)has been shown to give little,if any,benefits to participants.

Question 9

The average citizen is far more likely to vote in a

A)national election.
B)local election.
C)city election.
D)state election.

Question 10

Generally,wealthier and more educated individuals

A)have less of an obligation to participate in politics.
B)are more likely to attend local political meetings or to contact public officials.
C)are less likely than others to become involved in politics.
D)have nearly identical levels of political participation than poorer and less educated individuals.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT true regarding politics and local government?

A)Americans are fairly cynical about politics.
B)Americans are more trusting of their local governments.
C)Americans are less likely to believe they have "no say" at the local level compared to the national level.
D)Many Americans trust government at any level.

Question 12

Which of the following does NOT qualify as a legitimate form of political participation?

A)Voting
B)Lobbying
C)Protesting
D)Rioting

Question 13

Citizens who participate in politics exhibit clear differences when compared to those who do not participate.Political scientists call this

A)targeted political enhancement.
B)classism.
C)differential participation.
D)participation bias.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT true about elections?

A)Elections are the most visible form of political participation.
B)Elections are often given disproportionate attention because of their capacity to alter who controls government.
C)Low turnout is to be expected and is not a cause for concern.
D)Elections have the ability to grant legitimacy to those who serve as elected officials.

Question 15

In states and communities the most visible,but certainly not the only,way citizens interact with their government is by

A)lobbying public officials.
B)electing their representatives.
C)making campaign contributions.
D)being active in a political party.

Question 16

The tends to be even greater in state and local elections than in national elections.

A)role of campaign money
B)number of TV ads
C)participation gap
D)gender gap

Question 17

Both Thomas Jefferson and Alexis de Tocqueville suggested that a healthy democracy depends on

A)a strong federal government.
B)strong political parties.
C)citizen engagement at the local level.
D)high voter turnout.

Question 18

People who donate their time and money to candidates and who contact government officials tend to

A)be more gullible.
B)have greater political ideology.
C)be less partisan.
D)have greater political efficacy.

Question 19

Research studies show that people living in communities are more likely to say they have a voice in politics.

A)larger
B)smaller
C)metropolitan
D)suburban

Question 20

Collective action theory predicts

A)that groups seeking economic benefits from governments are more likely to remain organized and well funded than groups seeking public benefits.
B)that the efforts of a group are more political than the individual actions of many.
C)that political parties will serve as the main driving force in politics because of their joint efforts.
D)that people working together can legitimately override an opposing political party.

Question 21

Which of the following institutions generally leads to higher voter turnout?

A)Shorter polling hours
B)Mandatory absentee ballots
C)Free "I Voted" stickers at the polls
D)Election day voter registration

Question 22

Which two states lead the nation in the percentage of adults over 18 who voted in the 2012 presidential election?

A)Maine and California
B)Minnesota and Texas
C)Texas and Hawaii
D)Minnesota and Wisconsin

Question 23

The main reason the U.S.Congress,state legislatures,and nearly every local partisan council is dominated by representatives from just one or two political parties is

A)interest groups.
B)big money.
C)winner-take-all elections.
D)barriers to participation.

Question 24

According to a recent study,which state has the most barriers to political participation?

A)Kansas
B)Vermont
C)Mississippi
D)Florida

Question 25

The proportion of citizens who may vote and who are not disenfranchised by a state's prohibition due to a felony conviction is called

A)voting-age population.
B)voting-eligible population.
C)voting-enabled population.
D)voting-entitled population.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

A)Prior to its adoption,local election officials had the discretion to apply racial barriers to participation in order to selectively disenfranchise blacks.
B)It ended literacy tests in six southern states with low registration levels.
C)It gave federal authorities the power to review and preclear any changes to voter registration and election rules.
D)Due to its success,Congress has refused to amend the legislation.

Question 27

Many local elections feature candidates who run for "at­large" seats,which is the same as

A)statewide.
B)countywide.
C)districtwide.
D)citywide.

Question 28

What has been found to be one of the largest factors behind low turnout in the United States?

A)The drop in party mobilization
B)The increase of one-sided local elections
C)Registration offices having shorter hours of operation
D)The increase of nonpartisan elections

Question 29

All of the following regarding redistricting are true EXCEPT

A)district boundaries must be redrawn on occasion to account for shifts in population.
B)critics think incumbents have too much influence over how district lines are drawn.
C)some states avoid partisan dominance by having bipartisan commissions draw new districts,or have the courts settle the issues.
D)redistricting is done by specialized districting teams who draw new boundaries by hand each decade.

Question 30

In nearly every state,citizens

A)must remember to register to vote well before the election.
B)can register to vote on Election Day.
C)do not need to register to vote until they decide to a ballot.
D)must register to vote at least three months prior to an election.

Question 31

What personal barrier is most often cited as being a serious impediment to participating in local politics?

A)Lack of information
B)Registration and voting times
C)Work conditions
D)Not caring

Question 32

Especially in low-information local elections,party labels can help

A)inform voters about relatively unknown candidates seeking office.
B)mislead otherwise informed voters.
C)help inform voters,but rarely do so.
D)enable loyal party workers to mobilize their supporters to the polls.

Question 33

Poll taxes,literacy tests,and the all white primary are examples of

A)mobilization of bias.
B)race-based barriers to participation.
C)enhancing voter turnout.
D)disturbance theory.

Question 34

Until the 1920s,several states permitted the right to vote in nonfederal elections.

A)noncitizens
B)children under the age of 18
C)the mentally insane
D)nonresident aliens

Question 35

Which act required states to accept mail-in registrations for federal elections and required public agencies to provide registration forms?

A)Voting Rights Act
B)Voter Mail and Forms Act
C)Voter Enfranchisement
D)National Voter Registration Act

Question 36

Which factor more than any other drives voter choice in local partisan contests?

A)Health of the local economy
B)Party affiliation
C)Local tax policies
D)Interest group endorsements

Question 37

Which of the following does NOT appear to be a barrier to participation?

A)Gender
B)Districting
C)Race
D)Registration

Question 38

One direct effect of having one-sided elections is

A)more campaign activity.
B)higher turnout.
C)unnoticed elections.
D)a loss of congressional seats.

Question 39

Today,roughly 75 percent of all local elections

A)are highly contested between Democrats and Republicans.
B)result in "no­contest" elections due to gerrymandered districts.
C)yield higher turnout when held in "off­years."
D)are nonpartisan.

Question 40

As an alternative method to at-large elections,the cumulative voting system

A)is a semi-proportional system,allowing voters to give their votes to more than one candidate.
B)utilizes the first-past-the-post rules.
C)has been shown to decrease voter turnout by about 5 percent.
D)offers minority candidates less opportunities to win.

Question 41

According to a recent study,state economic and social policies

A)reflect the opinions of wealthy and middle-class people more than the opinions of the less affluent.
B)that reduce spending on education are the result of political apathy among students.
C)reflect the fact that Republicans tend to tax and spend more than Democrats.
D)lead to greater participation bias among older and younger citizens.

Question 42

Legislative districts where district lines are drawn so that people from a specific minority group comprise a majority of voters in the district are called

A)minority districts.
B)majority districts.
C)majority-minority districts.
D)racial-representational districts.

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT true regarding "clean money"?

A)One major idea behind clean money laws is to make sure candidates are not beholden to their donors.
B)Nearly all states began enacting clean money policies at the start of 2000.
C)Legislative candidates have been found to spend less time raising money in states with public financing of campaigns.
D)Jesse Ventura was elected Governor of Minnesota with the help of public campaign funds.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT an example of how state legislatures could increase participation?

A)Allowing registration on Election Day
B)Drawing highly competitive districts
C)Holding elections in synch with presidential elections
D)Utilizing partisan gerrymandering

Question 45

Which demographic groups are most likely to participate in local political activities? What effect does this have on policy making?

Question 46

How has the selection process for district representatives changed over the years? Provide specific examples.

Question 47

Discuss the terms and effects of voting rights legislation,including the 1965 Voting Rights Act.What barriers have been overcome and what barriers remain? Provide examples from your own state.

Question 48

In 2011,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that part of the public campaign finance law of was unconstitutional because it forced privately funded candidates to restrain their spending or risk triggering additional public funds for their opponent.

A)California
B)New York
C)Ohio
D)Arizona

Question 49

One influential theory predicts that in single-member districts

A)all candidates seeking that office will have to take policy positions near the "center" of the political spectrum.
B)interest groups and political activists will fight hard to make the district a multimember district.
C)more ideological extremism will occur.
D)candidates will fail to appeal to the median voter.

Question 50

As of 2014,roughly what percentage of state legislators are women?

A)10 percent
B)25 percent
C)40 percent
D)55 percent

Question 51

Why are minorities more likely to be better represented in some legislatives districts than others? What effect does this have on their influence in legislature? Provide examples from your own state.

Question 52

If two or more candidates are elected to represent a single district,the term is

A)multimember districts.
B)plurality districts.
C)cumulative districts.
D)highly competitive districts.

Question 53

One problem with multimember districts utilized in the past that caused the U.S.Supreme Court to step in is

A)more than one person was elected to represent one district.
B)they never gained popularity throughout the nation.
C)many of them overrepresented rural areas.
D)candidates can win a seat with less than a majority.

Question 54

How do levels of citizen participation and political efficacy in local elections compare to those in national elections? What are some of the reasons for the discrepancy?

Question 55

The number of representatives for a specific geographic area is referred to as

A)district capability.
B)district magnitude.
C)district scale.
D)district level.