Deck 13: Elections and Political Parties in America

Question 1

Which Supreme Court decision ruled that primaries were part of the electoral system and that it was therefore unconstitutional to exclude anyone from voting in a primary?

A) Brown v. Board of Education
B) Roe v. Wade.
C) Smith v. Allwright
D) Citizens United

Answer 1

Smith v. Allwright

Question 2

Which constitutional amendment gave women the right to vote?

A) Fourteenth
B) Sixteenth
C) Nineteenth
D) Twenty-Second

Answer 2

Nineteenth

Question 3

Pundits often assume that opponents of voter IDs for elections are predominantly Democrats because __________.

A) they are more concerned about voter fraud
B) they are more concerned with individuals than with the system as a whole
C) citizens who do not already have legal ID cards are likely to vote Democratic
D) the concept of voter ID is a plank of the Democratic platform

Answer 3

citizens who do not already have legal ID cards are likely to vote Democratic

Question 4

Electoral behavior is __________.

A) pretending to be an elected official
B) any action that is broadly linked to the conduct or outcome of an election
C) telling your friends to vote but not voting yourself
D) saying you voted when you did not

Question 5

In the United States, the highest percentage of individuals participate in the electoral process by ___________.

A) donating money to their favorite candidate
B) attending political rallies
C) reading the newspaper
D) watching the campaigns on television

Question 6

Citizen involvement in public matters, such as joining clubs, voting, or attending governmental meetings, is usually referred to as __________.

A) cultural engagement
B) political participation
C) civil law
D) constructive engagement

Question 7

Which of the following is one reason that people did not fully participate in elections in the early twentieth century?

A) Even though Constitutionally guaranteed, many state laws kept citizens from participating.
B) Residency requirements resulted in many people moving to different areas.
C) Higher-income citizens were indifferent to the candidates in this time period.
D) The First World War resulted in fewer voters going to the polls

Question 8

In recent decades, voter participation in all elections can best be described as __________ compared to previous elections.

A) greater than expected
B) stellar
C) beginning to level off
D) lackluster

Question 9

Surveys reveal that Americans are ___________ confident about government and politics today than they were thirty years ago.

A) becoming more
B) neither more nor less
C) less
D) overly

Question 10

If you were managing a campaign debating issuing a series of negative ads attacking your candidate's opponent, which of the following study results would cause you to think negative ads would be a good strategy?

A) Many voters are turned off by negative ads.
B) Negative ads are less expensive than issue ads.
C) Negative campaigning may actually activate the most partisan voters.
D) Positive ads allow a candidate to take the "high road."

Question 11

What did the midterm elections of 2010 suggest about the rise of the "youth vote" witnessed during the 2008 general election?

A) The youth vote had continued to grow in influence.
B) The youth vote may have been an illusion.
C) The youth vote is highly volatile from election to election.
D) The youth vote foreshadowed the election of 2012.

Question 12

__________ is the number of citizens who actually vote in an election divided by the total number of citizens who are legally qualified to vote in that election.

A) Rally 'round the flag
B) Electoral participation
C) Voter turnout
D) Mobilization

Question 13

The number of Americans identifying as __________ rose over the first decade of this century.

A) conservative
B) Democrats
C) independents
D) Republicans

Question 14

The __________, which includes the voters who identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans and who tend to vote for the candidates of their respective party, has shifted in recent decades.

A) party activity
B) party in the government
C) party in the electorate
D) party as apparatus

Question 15

__________ resulted outside of party politics, when the presidential election was sent to the House of Representatives and the Speaker, Henry Clay, manipulated the vote to advance his own career.

A) The War of 1812
B) The Corrupt Bargain of 1824
C) The Tammany Hall Scandal
D) The Whig Act of 1828

Question 16

What is an Australian ballot?

A) computerized voting
B) rank-and-file voting
C) an orally announced vote
D) a secret ballot

Question 17

Attitudinal barriers, such as fear of wasting a vote or electoral preference for policy moderation, have thwarted __________.

A) the rise of minority parties
B) the number of people interested in running for office
C) the effectiveness of the electoral college
D) an effective two-party system

Question 18

Which of the following is considered a benefit of minor parties in the democratic process?

A) Their most effective role is to act as spoiler.
B) They tend to move individuals into either the Democratic or Republican parties.
C) They may have some effect on the main parties by changing the focus of policy discussions.
D) In some cases, they may circumvent the election of a potentially more popular candidate.

Question 19

Which of the following candidates, backed by party leaders, won the 1968 presidential nomination without entering any state primaries?

A) Eugene McCarthy
B) Robert Kennedy
C) Lyndon Johnson
D) Hubert Humphrey

Question 20

States that use a "top-two" nomination process include __________.

A) Ohio and New Hampshire
B) Michigan and Florida
C) Louisiana and Washington
D) Texas and Iowa

Question 21

One outcome of the Corrupt Bargain of 1824 was the __________.

A) primary system
B) caucus system
C) Electoral College
D) national nominating convention

Question 22

An alternative to the current primary system in the United States recommends that the nation vote in primaries in four blocks, starting with the 13 states with the smallest population, then the next 13, next 12, and largest 12. This plan is known as the _________.

A) Iowa Plan
B) Ohio Plan
C) Delaware Plan
D) Rotating Plan

Question 23

Why do some people criticize the concept of an open primary system?

A) Only registered voters are allowed to vote in an open primary.
B) Members of one party might vote for a weak candidate of the other party.
C) Republicans would not have the opportunity to vote for a Democratic candidate.
D) Voters would be able to vote in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.

Question 24

Which of the following statements best describes how voting works in a closed primary election?

A) You would be able to vote in the Democratic primary only if you were already registered as a Democrat.
B) You would be able to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary if you were registered as an Independent.
C) You would be able to vote for both Democratic and Republican candidates, with the top two finishers to be placed on the general election ballot.
D) As a registered Republican, you would be able to vote in either the Republican or the Democratic primaries.

Question 25

The __________ is(are) the site for the writing of the party platform every four years.

A) national party convention
B) the states' nominating conventions
C) November elections
D) state primaries

Question 26

Following the 1968 election, Democrats put into place a system of __________, in which voters picked delegates who pledged their support for a particular presidential candidate.

A) responsible party models
B) states nominating conventions
C) state primaries
D) binding primaries

Question 27

States use ____________ to allow voters from both parties to participate in hopes of finding a candidate with general appeal to win in the general election.

A) closed primary systems
B) invisible primaries
C) open primary systems
D) binding primaries

Question 28

Considering the average voter turnout percentages for primaries and caucuses, what would you advise a candidate whose campaign you were managing about spending time in states with primaries and states with caucuses?

A) Primaries will give a clearer indication of voter favor, so go with states with primaries.
B) Caucuses indicate the preferences of rank-and-file party members, so spend more time in those states.
C) Spend equal amounts of time in all states so as not to show favoritism.
D) Strategies for spending time in primary states versus caucus states have shown no differences in outcomes.

Question 29

The Twelfth Amendment states that in the Electoral College, electors must indicate __________.

A) what state they are from
B) who they are voting for as president and who they are voting for as vice president
C) their top two nominations for president
D) their second choice for president if the first choice leads to a deadlock

Question 30

You are fed up with the Electoral College and want it abolished. How can this be accomplished?

A) Each state would have to ratify its own amendment and send it to Congress.
B) A national referendum is required.
C) An amendment to the Constitution would need to be ratified by the required majority of states.
D) Each state can choose not to select any electors.

Question 31

The winner-takes-all model used by 48 of the 50 states is also called the __________.

A) unit rule
B) binding primary
C) Electoral College
D) popular candidate guarantee

Question 32

In 1888, the Electoral College worked as it was designed to when the election was won by __________ even though his opponent, Grover Cleveland, won the popular vote.

A) Andrew Jackson
B) Henry Clay
C) Rutherford B. Hayes
D) Benjamin Harrison

Question 33

Even more than just winning the popular vote, why do presidential candidates work so hard to ensure an Electoral College victory?

A) The Electoral College is a better indicator of the number of people voting for a specific candidate.
B) Despite the importance of the Electoral College, only swing states have any impact on who wins the election.
C) The unit rule used in 48 states puts a premium on winning the right combination of states to receive a majority of Electoral College votes.
D) The Electoral College rubber stamps a victory with the majority of popular vote.

Question 34

"Independent expenditure-only committees" are more familiarly known as __________.

A) PACs
B) 527s
C) super PACs
D) super fund organizations

Question 35

A Senator makes a point in his reelection campaign of reminding voters that he was instrumental in keeping a military base open in his state. According to scholar David Mayhew, this is an example of __________.

A) advertising
B) credit claiming
C) position taking
D) bragging

Question 36

__________ are designed to counter the unfair advantage given to politicians who are already in office and to produce more open seats.

A) Campaign contribution limits
B) Term limits
C) Advertising balancing
D) Open primaries

Question 37

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act left open the ability for wealthy individuals to donate virtually unlimited sums of __________ to state and local party organizations.

A) hard money
B) soft money
C) election money
D) PAC money

Question 38

The proper name for a super PAC is __________.

A) policies and contributions
B) soft money
C) political action committee
D) independent expenditure-only committee