Deck 5: Campaigns and Elections

Question 1

What is the main purpose of a primary election?

A) to select a party's candidate for the general election
B) to select a party's delegates for the state convention
C) to select precinct chairs throughout the state
D) to select a party's delegates for the precinct convention

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the most basic and fundamental duty citizens have in a democracy?

A) signing a petition
B) attending a rally
C) financial contributions
D) voting

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The general election is held the first

A) Monday in November of even-numbered years.
B) Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.
C) Tuesday following the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years.
D) Monday in November of odd-numbered years.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Why should it matter who is mayor?

A) Mayors often have important national stature.
B) They sometimes become cabinet secretaries.
C) They sometimes move to statewide offices.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 5

A ________ was a state-imposed tax on voters as a prerequisite for voting.

A) registration tax
B) voter tax
C) registration fee
D) poll tax

Question 6

In Texas,special elections are used to

A) determine election dates.
B) ratify amendments to the Texas Constitution.
C) approve a vote of no confidence.
D) impeach a corrupt politician.

Question 7

Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn ran for governor as ________ in 2006.

A) Republicans
B) Democrats
C) Tea Party candidates
D) independents

Question 8

For an independent candidate to get on the ballot in Texas,which requirement must he or she meet?

A) He or she must obtain signatures on a petition from registered voters. The signatures must equal 30 percent of the total votes in the last governor's race.
B) He or she must gain petition signatures from registered voters who did not previously participate in any political party primary election.
C) He or she must begin collecting signatures before the major party primaries are held.
D) He or she must convince voters who have signed other candidates' petitions to switch to his or her petition.

Question 9

A closed primary allows only those individuals who________ to participate.

A) are registered voters
B) possess a voter registration
C) are first-time voters
D) are party members

Question 10

The poll tax was made illegal in federal elections in ________ but remained legal in state elections in Texas until ________.

A) 1966; 1964
B) 1902; 1966
C) 1902; 1964
D) 1964; 1966

Question 11

Major state officials are elected in nonpresidential years because

A) it is possible that independent and minor party candidates will also appear on general election ballots.
B) it prevents popular presidential candidates from influencing the outcome of Texas races.
C) it allows popular Republican presidential candidates to draw more than the usual number of Republican votes.
D) it increases voter turnout.

Question 12

Elections are the mechanism people use to

A) select leaders.
B) authorize actions by government.
C) borrow money on behalf of government.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 13

Texas was the first state in the South to

A) impose a poll tax.
B) ratify the women's suffrage amendment.
C) elect a black governor.
D) elect a Latino governor.

Question 14

The poll tax was made illegal in federal elections with the passage of the

A) Voting Rights Act of 1965.
B) Nineteenth Amendment.
C) Twenty-Fourth Amendment.
D) Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Question 15

What type of primary allows a voter to choose on Election Day which party they will vote for?

A) closed primary
B) semiclosed primary
C) open primary
D) crossover voting primary

Question 16

In Texas,primary elections are usually held in

A) March.
B) April.
C) May.
D) August.

Question 17

The poll tax disenfranchised

A) farmers.
B) poor people.
C) black people.
D) Hispanic people.

Question 18

Which statement concerning women's suffrage is correct?

A) Women were given the right to vote in the original Constitution of 1876.
B) The Texas Constitution was amended in 1899 to permit women to vote.
C) Women were permitted to vote in all elections in Texas with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
D) Women were given full suffrage rights in Texas in 1932.

Question 19

Which U.S.Supreme Court case argued that the primary election was "in no real sense part of the manner of holding the election"? It cleared the way for southern states to discriminate against African Americans.

A) Nixon v. Herndon
B) Newberry v. United States
C) Dunn v. Blumstein
D) United States v. Texas

Question 20

Women were given the right to vote in the United States with the passage of the

A) Voting Rights Act of 1965.
B) Fifteenth Amendment.
C) Nineteenth Amendment.
D) U.S. Supreme Court decision Newberry v. United States.

Question 21

In what case did the Supreme Court rule that a key section of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional,which affected a key provision requiring Texas to have its new districts approved by the U.S.Department of Justice?

A) Shelby County v. Holder
B) Shelby County v. Obama
C) Smith v. Allwright
D) Texas v. Holder

Question 22

Early voting increases the polling period from 12 hours to

A) 2 weeks.
B) 2 days.
C) 4 weeks.
D) 30 days.

Question 23

In 2011,the Texas legislature passed a voter identification law that requires a photo identification in order to vote.Which form of photo identification is acceptable?

A) photo ID card issued by colleges and universities
B) Department of Public Safety-issued concealed handgun license
C) a hunting and fishing photo ID
D) an occupational photo ID

Question 24

The Motor Voter Act of 1993

A) allows states to offer voters "drive-through" voting booths.
B) allows citizens to register to vote while applying for a driver's license.
C) restricts one's right to vote because of unpaid traffic tickets.
D) was declared unconstitutional by the Texas Supreme Court.

Question 25

In Texas,the ________ Party usually experiences higher voter turnout than the ________ Party.

A) Republican; Democratic
B) Democratic; Republican
C) Reform; Democratic
D) Reform; Republican

Question 26

The two most important factors that determine whether someone votes are

A) age and income level.
B) income level and education.
C) education and ethnicity.
D) ethnicity and age.

Question 27

Which of the following is a deterrent to higher voter turnout in Texas?

A) at-large races
B) the presence of broken voting machines
C) misleading information provided to voters
D) All of these are correct.

Question 28

Which of the following allowed the federal government to oversee the operation of elections at the state level until a Supreme Court ruling in 2013?

A) the Voting Rights Act
B) Article 10 of the U.S. Constitution
C) the ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas
D) the ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court case Nixon v. Condon

Question 29

Which individuals are legally disqualified from voting?

A) individuals who have been legally declared mentally incompetent
B) a convicted felon who has received a pardon
C) individuals who have been incarcerated in the past
D) individuals who have lost their voter registration card

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a requirement to vote in Texas?

A) U.S. citizenship
B) being at least 18 years of age
C) being a resident of Texas
D) property ownership

Question 31

Which U.S.Supreme Court decision held that confining party membership to white citizens within the Democratic Party in Texas was constitutional?

A) Nixon v. Condon
B) Grovey v. Townsend
C) Smith v. Allwright
D) United States v. Texas

Question 32

Texas ranks ________ in the nation in voter participation.

A) 50th
B) 49th
C) 45th
D) 25th

Question 33

In which of the following elections is voter turnout the highest?

A) presidential elections
B) gubernatorial general elections
C) off-year congressional elections
D) runoff elections

Question 34

Which offshoot of the Democratic Party preselected candidates for the Democratic primary and prohibited African Americans from participating?

A) the La Raza Unida
B) the Ku Klux Klan
C) the Jaybird Party
D) the Shivercrats

Question 35

Early voting in Texas has been shown to produce ________ in voter turnout.

A) a modest increase
B) a significant increase
C) a modest drop
D) a drastic drop

Question 36

In ________ the U.S.Supreme court held that the state executive committees were acting as agents of the state and were discriminating in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

A) Nixon v. Condon
B) Grovey v. Townsend
C) Newberry v. United States
D) Smith v. Allwright

Question 37

The Voting Rights Act has been renewed several times since 1965,and new provisions have been added since then.For example,

A) bilingual ballots are now required in certain areas where more than 5 percent of voters speak another language.
B) a current form of photo identification is now required to vote.
C) proof of residency is now required to vote.
D) proof of American citizenship is now required to vote.

Question 38

Approximately what percentage of the state's voting-age population is registered to vote?

A) 40 percent
B) 55 percent
C) 60 percent
D) 70 percent

Question 39

The most important federal law involved in the expansion of the franchise in Texas was the

A) Civil Rights Act of 1964.
B) passage of the Fifteenth Amendment.
C) One-Person, One-Vote Act of 1972.
D) Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Question 40

What is the significance of the Supreme Court case Smith v.Allwright?

A) The court declared the use of literacy tests a violation of the equal protection clause.
B) The case compelled Texas to integrate Hispanic students into "whites only" public schools.
C) It announced that in primary elections states could not restrict voters on account of race.
D) It restricted the use of closed primaries.

Question 41

Name recognition often gives ________ a distinct advantage in Texas elections.

A) Republicans
B) Democrats
C) incumbents
D) wealthy challengers

Question 42

Dates for special elections are specified by the Texas governor.

Question 43

________ was the first Republican to hold the office of Texas governor since the end of Reconstruction.

A) Ann Richards
B) George W. Bush
C) Rick Perry
D) William R. Clements

Question 44

Some blame the relatively low voter turnout for Texas elections on the frequency of elections and the large number of candidates.

Question 45

Certain states,such as Texas,are required to obtain approval through which procedure
Every time they make changes to districts?

A) redistricting
B) reapportionment
C) preclearance
D) external validation

Question 46

The primary elections are the second elections held in an electoral cycle.

Question 47

One possible solution to reforming redistricting in Texas is to

A) allow the courts to redraw the districts.
B) allow the governor to appoint a commission to redraw the districts.
C) take the process away from the legislature.
D) take the process away from the precinct captains.

Question 48

Redistricting in Texas occurs

A) every 10 years.
B) every 4 years.
C) after every general election.
D) after a new governor is elected.

Question 49

The process of ________ involves recalculating how many congressional districts each state will receive based on the state's population.

A) redistricting
B) reapportionment
C) preclearance
D) census taking

Question 50

Primary elections in Texas are generally held in March.

Question 51

Campaigns attempt to reach voters through all of the following EXCEPT

A) print and electronic media.
B) door-to-door campaigning.
C) involvement in high-profile litigation.
D) telephone solicitation.

Question 52

General elections for all national,state,and local offices must be held in November.

Question 53

In Texas,________ is/are responsible for redistricting.

A) the governor
B) the legislature
C) the courts
D) county courts at law

Question 54

In Texas,special elections are used to fill vacancies in office and to give approval to borrow money.

Question 55

The Texas Constitution and election laws call the Texas primary system an open primary.

Question 56

There is no question that ________ is/are important for candidate success in Texas.

A) the media
B) money
C) face-to-face encounters
D) negative campaigning

Question 57

The most costly item for most political campaigns is

A) travel.
B) security.
C) fund-raising.
D) media advertising.

Question 58

In Texas elections,the ________ play(s)the largest role in running campaigns.

A) national party
B) state party
C) candidates
D) media

Question 59

The primary enforcement of regulations of state campaign laws is the responsibility of the

A) secretary of state.
B) governor.
C) political parties.
D) Texas Ethics Commission.

Question 60

The Texas Constitution and election laws call the Texas system a closed primary,because one must declare one's party affiliation before voting.

Question 61

Each state decides its own requirements for getting on the ballot.

Question 62

When do general elections occur in Texas,and which offices are up for election? Why are they held in November? What do you think about moving other state and municipal elections to the general election in November in the future?

Question 63

Discuss and explain at least four reasons why Texas voter turnout is so low.What can be done to increase voter participation?

Question 64

The Republican Party was the dominant force in Texas politics throughout most of the twentieth century.

Question 65

List and discuss the reasons why campaigns in Texas are so expensive.

Question 66

Define in detail the following terms and what the relationship is to elections and voting in Texas: primary election,runoff primary,open primary,closed primary,general election,and early voting.

Question 67

One reason for low levels of voter turnout in Texas is the low level of educational attainment in the state.

Question 68

Republicans have won every statewide election in Texas since 1994.

Question 69

Explain why it is difficult to be elected as an independent candidate in Texas.

Question 70

One way to reform redistricting is to take the process away from the legislature.

Question 71

Reapportionment involves the determination of how district lines will be drawn in each state for the state legislature and Congress.

Question 72

Anglo Texan voter turnout levels are higher than Latino turnout levels.

Question 73

Texans tend to vote less than the national average.

Question 74

Photo ID cards issued by colleges and universities are acceptable forms of identification to cast a vote.

Question 75

Texas instituted early voting in order to expand participation.

Question 76

The Motor Voter law requires a voter to have a driver's license.

Question 77

It is relatively easy for an independent candidate to get on the Texas ballot.

Question 78

Poll taxes,such as those used in Texas,disenfranchised poor voters.

Question 79

To register to vote in Texas,a person must have been a resident of Texas for at least 30 days.

Question 80

In 2011,the Republican majority in the Texas legislature passed a voter identification law that requires photo identification in order to vote.