Deck 3: Direct Democracy

Question 1

Californians may vote on initiatives in which types of elections?

A)primary elections only
B)primaries and general elections only
C)general elections and special elections only
D)special elections only

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Californians use the initiative process more often than residents in other states that have an initiative process.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What is a nonpartisan election?

A)When Democrats and Republicans both run for the seat.
B)When no incumbent is running in the election.
C)Party labels appear next to the candidates' names on the ballot.
D)No party labels appear next to the candidates' names on the ballot.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Direct democracy exists in all California counties and municipalities, meaning that citizens can write laws, and with enough signatures, their measure will be put to a vote of the people locally, either in cities or counties.

Question 5

What kinds of initiatives tend to attract the most spending by opponents and proponents?

A)immigration issues
B)economic reform
C)political reform
D)issues that affect industry/business

Question 6

A________ vote is needed to pass initiatives; a ________ vote is needed to pass bond measures.

A)supermajority; majority
B)majority; supermajority
C)supermajority; supermajority
D)majority; majority

Question 7

Which of these officials may be recalled in California?

A)only local officials
B)local officials and state officials
C)local, state, and federal officials
D)only federal officials

Question 8

How long do petitioners have to collect signatures in order to qualify initiatives for the ballot?

A)one month (30 days)
B)three months (90 days)
C)six months (180 days)
D)one year (365 days)

Question 9

What is the most appropriate way to characterize California's political system?

A)direct democracy
B)representative democracy
C)hybrid democracy
D)confederation

Question 10

The term "hybrid government" refers to:

A)a mixture of old laws with new initiatives
B)an efficient government
C)a blending of direct democracy with representative democracy
D)a group of elected officials who represent every manner of ethnicity and race, reflecting the state's hyper-diversity

Question 11

California law requires the legislature to approve all initiatives before they reach the ballot.

Question 12

In order to qualify an initiative for the ballot, usually the signature gatherers must collect about twice the number needed because so many are found to be invalid.

Question 13

The legislature can refer measures to the ballot for the people to approve or disapprove.

Question 14

Most recalls in California are against which group of elected officials?

A)governors
B)county supervisors
C)state legislators
D)school board members

Question 15

The most common form of the referendum in California is:

A)the petition referendum
B)statutory initiatives
C)the recall of local officials
D)a bond measure

Question 16

Citizens wishing to recall a governor must collect valid signatures equal to ________of the votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election, or about ________ signatures.

A)8 percent; 500,000
B)12 percent; 900,000
C)25 percent; 2 million
D)30 percent; 2.7 million

Question 17

The California constitution allows the legislature to correct any mistakes or make changes to all initiatives before they reach the ballot.

Question 18

Which governor, representing which political party, was able to get direct democracy embedded into California's constitution?

A)Leland Stanford; Progressive
B)Hiram Johnson; Progressive
C)Jess Unruh; Democratic
D)Artie Samish; nonpartisan

Question 19

The initiatives that are usually brought to voters at the local level most often pertain to

A)civil rights and civil liberties
B)public morality
C)health, welfare, housing, criminal justice, housing
D)the political process, taxes, and land use

Question 20

Once a title and summary have been assigned to a proposed law or ballot proposition, the text of law can be changed if mistakes are discovered.

Question 21

Citizens may propose laws for California cities, towns, or counties.

Question 22

California is the only state with the direct initiative; in all other initiative states, only the indirect process is allowed.

Question 23

Citizens wishing to recall a governor should collect over 1 million valid signatures, because many signatures might be invalidated later in the process.

Question 24

Only city council members or mayors may propose laws or ordinances for California cities, towns, or counties.

Question 25

Regular, general obligation bond measures require a supermajority of 2/3 to pass; however, there is a lower vote threshold for school bonds to pass (55 percent).

Question 26

More signatures are needed to qualify a Constitutional amendment for the ballot than are needed for regular, statutory initiatives.

Question 27

In the United States, most of the states that allow citizen initiatives are in the midwest or west.

Question 28

A two-thirds vote is required to pass any kind of bond in California.

Question 29

Californians may recall any elected official if they gather the requisite number of valid signatures.

Question 30

Since 1911 when the initiative process was instituted, California voters on average have tended to approve most (more than half)of the initiatives presented to them on the ballot.

Question 31

Petition referenda are rare in California.

Question 32

In the United States, no state on the east coast allows citizens to vote on laws without the legislature's prior involvement.

Question 33

Local initiatives are, on average, more successful than state initiatives.

Question 34

All states in the U.S.offer some form of the initiative process.

Question 35

Fewer signatures are needed to qualify a Constitutional amendment for the ballot than are needed for regular, statutory initiatives.

Question 36

In California, citizens can recall officials for any reason.

Question 37

All U.S.states allow their citizens to recall elected officials who commit crimes.

Question 38

Historically, Californians have rejected far more initiatives than they have approved.

Question 39

Initiatives and propositions are the same thing.

Question 40

The process for passing an initiative at the local level is similar to that at the state level, in that a certain number of signatures must be gathered and verified by a local elections official.

Question 41

Californians may register to vote by accessing the secretary of state's online registration system.

Question 42

Unless they opt out, Californians will be automatically registered to vote when they apply for or renew a driver's license.

Question 43

There are no limits on contributions to ballot initiative campaigns; contributions may be in any dollar amount, and the typical donation is in the $1 million range.

Question 44

Because of the interest that must be repaid, a bond typically can cost about twice the face amount that is borrowed.Thus, a $5 billion bond may actually cost taxpayers almost twice that amount by the time it is paid off.

Question 45

Contributions to ballot initiative campaigns are capped at $5,000; no person or entity may donate more than that amount to any one ballot measure in an election cycle.

Question 46

Although Californians may recall their state officials, they may not recall their U.S.House representative or U.S.Senators.