Deck 11: Political Participation: The Limits of Democracy

Question 1

Although voter turnout is considered low in the United States, it is higher than that of most European countries.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The age of direct democracy can be traced to California's Proposition 8.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Low-information rationality theory says that voters use little information and shortcuts to make decisions.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission limited the size of corporate campaign contributions.

Question 5

What kind of vote takes place most often in America for deciding the winner of a single-member district?

A) Majority vote
B) Simple majority vote
C) Supermajority vote
D) Objective vote
E) Plurality vote

Question 6

According to pluralists, the U. S. political system is centralized.

Question 7

Interest groups are formal or informal associations that recruit, nominate, and elect public officials.

Question 8

In politics, the initiative is used to

A) remove an official from elected office.
B) protest an existing and unjust piece of legislation.
C) write-in a candidate on an election ballot.
D) allow voters to petition to have a piece of legislation placed on the ballot.
E) challenge the outcome (vote totals) of an election.

Question 9

What is a major criticism of the winner-take-all electoral system?

A) It emphasizes political parties at the expense of individual candidates.
B) It limits voter choice and makes it impossible for minor parties to compete in elections.
C) It causes a pronounced tendency toward party decentralization.
D) It makes forming a national consensus more difficult.
E) It encourages the emergence of single-issue splinter parties.

Question 10

The most accurate public opinion polls utilize

A) multiple choice questions.
B) random sampling,
C) open ended questions.
D) stratified sampling.
E) random digit dialing.

Question 11

In politics, money talks.

Question 12

In a proportional representation system, the electorate is divided into multimember districts, with a formula awarding
each district's seats in proportion to the vote the various parties receive in that district.

Question 13

In Europe's parliamentary system, parties are generally more important than personalities, because winning a
majority of seats in parliament is the key to controlling the government.

Question 14

Soft money refers to contributions given to a political party rather than a specific candidate.

Question 15

Super PACs do not have to report the names of their donors to the Federal Election Commission.

Question 16

Polls not only measure public opinion; they also

A) allow public opinion to change.
B) influence public opinion.
C) make public opinion less arbitrary.
D) create legal precedents.
E) educate the respondents.

Question 17

In the 1936 presidential election, Literary Digest was the only poll to correctly pick the winner.

Question 18

Almost half of 2,500 American citizens who took a 33-question basic civics exam failed.

Question 19

In 2005, it is estimated that there were well over 34,000 lobbyists in Washington, D.C.

Question 20

To win a plurality election, a candidate must have at least 60% of the vote.

Question 21

What term is used to describe a question on the ballot asking citizens to give the state permission to repeal an existing law?

A) Recall
B) Primary
C) Legislative referendum
D) Run-off
E) Republic

Question 22

Which age group has been the most supportive of the Democratic Party in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 general elections?

A) Young adults aged 18-29
B) Middle­aged adults, 30-39
C) Older adults aged 40-49
D) Seniors in their golden years, aged 50-64
E) Retired seniors, aged 65 and older

Question 23

What makes anomic interest groups unique is that they

A) develop spontaneously, in response to a specific policy.
B) are tied to political parties and are often started by party officials.
C) require members to participate in civil disobedience.
D) are typically located within the government.
E) have a strong institutional base but an informal structure.

Question 24

What term is used to describe the system of voting where the seats of the legislature are assigned to parties based on the percentage of the popular vote that each party receives?

A) Plurality
B) Proportional
C) Mechanized
D) Subjective
E) Repetitional

Question 25

What makes it hard for governments to hide the truth or censor the news?

A) The vigilence of political parties
B) The McCain-Feingold Act
C) The Freedom of Information Act
D) The Internet
E) The case of Speechnow.org v. Federal Election Commission

Question 26

Which theory says that the necessities involved in managing an organization inevitably become concentrated in the hands of a few bureaucrats, who then wield true power in the organization?

A) Political apathy
B) Low-information rationality
C) Elitist theory of democracy
D) Iron law of oligarchy
E) Political efficacy

Question 27

What event ended -- albeit briefly -- the long-term trend of political apathy in the U.S.?

A) The 2008-2009 recession
B) The terrorist attacks of 9/11
C) The war in Iraq
D) The invasion of Afghanistan
E) The 2012 reelection of Barack Obama

Question 28

What made the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case so controversial?

A) It limited the size of donations made by corporations.
B) It required that all campaign donors' names be public.
C) It said corporations have the same First Amendment rights as individuals.
D) It required that citizens present a valid form of identification when voting.
E) It set specific limitations on the size of PACs.

Question 29

Which statement about political parties in the United States is true?

A) George Washington was the original advocate of the two-party system.
B) Political parties are included the U.S. Constitution.
C) Political parties in the states are identitical to their national chapters.
D) Opportunities to participate in political parties and their activities are at an all-time low.
E) Thomas Jefferson and other early thinkers thought parties fostered narrow self-interest over the common good.

Question 30

Unlike associational and non-associational interest groups, how are institutional interest groups different?

A) They exist within the government.
B) They develop spontaneously when many individuals feel strongly about particular policies.
C) They have a distinctive name, national headquarters, and professional staff.
D) They seek to promote causes that benefit society as a whole.
E) They exist within the private sector.

Question 31

What does the theory of "low­information rationality" refer to?

A) The notion that voters can and do use shortcuts to make political judgments
B) The way that political pollsters extrapolate broad trends from small samplings
C) The foolishness and ignorance of many voters' choices
D) The tendency of political parties to only offer as much information as the media demands, and no more
E) The high level of political apathy among Americans

Question 32

Which of the following would be considered a public interest group?

A) Italian-American Foundation
B) American Association of Retired Persons
C) Disabled American Veterans
D) National Association of Manufacturers
E) Sierra Club

Question 33

What does Alexis de Tocqueville argue is detrimental to a sense of social and civic duty and thus diminishes the life of the community?

A) Political efficacy
B) Popular referendum
C) Individualism
D) Coalition government
E) Low-information rationality

Question 34

What is a motor voter law?

A) It requires that states and cities offer rides for voters who could not otherwise get to the polls.
B) It prevents municipalities from closing the polls when voters are still in line.
C) It requires that voting places provide adequate parking facilities for voters.
D) It allows people in a given locality to register to vote at convenient places such as the registry of motor vehicles.
E) It banned poll taxes and other restrictions to voting.

Question 35

What is the most important tool for interest groups seeking to change or influence public policy?

A) An educated public
B) A large membership
C) A strong sense of how the political process works
D) Money
E) An elected official as an advocate