Deck 8: Elections and Campaigns in Texas

Question 1

How often does Texas hold general elections?

A) every year
B) every two years
C) every four years
D) twice a year

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Texas has a

A) special type of open primary system.
B) semi-closed primary system.
C) closed primary system.
D) blanket primary system.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

To qualify for minor-party status,a party must have won at least __ percent of the votes in a race for statewide office in the last general election.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 5

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In Texas,when is a runoff primary required?

A) when the winner of the first primary is disqualified
B) when there is only a .02% difference in total votes for the top two candidates
C) when no candidate receives a plurality of votes
D) when no candidate receives a majority of votes

Question 5

By Texas law,special elections may be held in all of the following months EXCEPT

A) January.
B) May.
C) August.
D) November.

Question 6

In what year did Texans vote for governor?

A) 1996
B) 2004
C) 2006
D) 2012

Question 7

On what day do Texans vote for who will represent them in the United States Congress?

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

Question 8

The primary system that allows voters to register or change their party registration on election day is known as a

A) open primary system.
B) semi-closed primary system.
C) closed primary system.
D) blanket primary system.

Question 9

How many third parties have there been in Texas in the last 50 years?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 10

Who oversees the administration of elections to ensure that the rules are followed?

A) the county sheriff
B) the party chairs
C) the secretary of state
D) the party executive committees

Question 11

In 2014,Texas voters elected

A) all the members of the Texas House of Representatives and all the members of the Texas Senate.
B) all the members of the Texas House of Representatives and half the members of the Texas Senate.
C) half the members of the Texas House of Representatives and all the members of the Texas Senate.
D) half the members of the Texas House of Representatives and half the members of the Texas Senate.

Question 12

What is the most common special election in Texas?

A) city council elections
B) amendments to the constitution
C) single contest elections
D) mayoral elections in November

Question 13

The style of ballot form in which candidates are listed by office with party affiliation listed by their name is known as the

A) party line format.
B) party column format.
C) straight party ticket.
D) office block format.

Question 14

Imagine you are a die-hard member of party A,but wanted the less popular candidate from party B to be party A's general election opponent.What type of primary election system would allow you to vote for the less popular candidate in party B during the primaries without changing parties?

A) open primary system
B) semi-closed primary system
C) closed primary system
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 15

Advocates say the ________ encourages party identification and loyalty.

A) open primary system
B) semi-closed primary system
C) closed primary system
D) blanket primary system

Question 16

Ballot eligibility requirements are set by

A) the parties.
B) federal law.
C) the states.
D) tradition.

Question 17

The style of ballot form in which candidates are listed by party and by office is known as the

A) party line format.
B) party column format.
C) straight party ticket.
D) office block format.

Question 18

In Texas,to run as an independent for statewide office,a candidate must file a petition with a number of signatures equal to ________ percent of the votes cast for governor in the past election.

A) 1
B) 5
C) 10
D) 19

Question 19

If you wanted to run for statewide office in Texas you could pay a filing fee of ________ or submit a petition with ________.

A) $9,000; 45,000 signatures
B) $4,000; 45,000 signatures
C) $500; signatures equaling 3 percent of the votes cast for the office in the past election
D) $53,000; signatures equaling 3 percent of the votes cast for the office in the past election

Question 20

Can a Texas voter who voted in the primary election of one party vote in the runoff primary of the other party?

A) yes
B) no
C) yes, if it is an open primary
D) no, unless it was a blanket primary

Question 21

Most of the money used in political campaigns comes from

A) individual contributions.
B) political action committees.
C) federal matching funds.
D) political party war chests.

Question 22

A ________ is a panel of "average citizens" who are used by political consultants to test ideas and words for later use in campaigns.

A) poll
B) test group
C) statistical sample
D) focus group

Question 23

In the early twentieth century,candidates in Texas running for statewide office could have extremely inconsistent messages depending where they were campaigning in the state.Why?

A) Texas's diversity
B) traditional political culture
C) lack of a statewide press
D) individual political culture

Question 24

When do general elections occur in Texas,and which offices are up for election? Use 2012 and 2014 as examples.

Question 25

In state elections from 2002 to 2012,which sector contributed the most amount of PAC money to campaigns?

A) ideology
B) business
C) labor
D) environmental

Question 26

How do Texas laws make it very difficult for independent candidates to be successful?

Question 27

When did the Texas legislature change the rules to allow anyone to vote absentee without restrictions?

A) Texas has always allowed unrestricted absentee voting.
B) 1979
C) 1993
D) 2001

Question 28

Texas is required to use a bilingual ballot for all elections in counties that contain more than ________ percent Spanish-speaking residents.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 15
D) 20

Question 29

Today,elections are dominated by issues of what type?

A) social
B) fiscal
C) defense
D) foreign relations

Question 30

Today the regulation of campaign finances in Texas is limited to the requirement that all candidates and PACs file reports with the

A) Texas Elections Board.
B) U.S. Department of Justice.
C) Texas State Ethics Commission.
D) Texas secretary of state.

Question 31

List the four minor parties of the last 50 years.Discuss why it is so difficult for minor parties to become major parties.

Question 32

What are the three types of special election in Texas?

Question 33

Typically,voter turnout for special elections is highest when those elections are held in

A) January.
B) May.
C) August.
D) November.

Question 34

What is party raiding? Does it have the potential to affect the outcome of a general election?

Question 35

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) None of these answers is correct.

Question 36

Why has the Catholic vote in Texas migrated from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party?

A) social issues
B) immigration issues
C) natural gravitation to the right
D) the Republican's strong campaign to win over the Catholic vote

Question 37

What voting practice was developed with the U.S.armed services in mind?

A) Internet voting
B) early voting
C) absentee voting
D) proxy voting

Question 38

Discuss the runoff primary.Why does it exist? What are its benefits and its drawbacks?

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT among the types of short political commercials?

A) the feel bad spot
B) the sainthood spot
C) NOOTS
D) the good ol' girl spot

Question 40

List the five types of primary systems.Choose one and argue why it is the best.

Question 41

Discuss the regulation of campaign finances both in federal elections and in state elections in Texas.

Question 42

List the five types of sound-bite commercials listed in the chapter.Define two of them.

Question 43

What is the Citizens United decision and how has it impacted the financing of political campaigns?