Question 1

Campaigns in the United States, particularly those for president and congressional seats, are known for being unusually long due mainly to:

Accepted Answer

Campaigns in the U.S. are long because candidates need to reach a large number of voters across a vast country, which requires significant time and resources. Additionally, the election process itself, including primaries and general elections, extends over a lengthy period.

Question 2

Australia and Mexico require citizens to vote.

Accepted Answer

Both Australia and Mexico have compulsory voting laws, requiring eligible citizens to participate in elections.

Question 3

Congress prohibited unlimited party spending (called soft money) and banned certain sorts of political attack advertisements by interest groups in the last weeks of a campaign in 2002 with the:

Accepted Answer

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), also known as McCain-Feingold, was enacted in 2002 to address issues related to soft money and political advertisements.

Question 4

What demographic characteristics do social scientists see as the strongest predictors of who turns out to vote in most American elections?

Accepted Answer

Age, education, and residential mobility are considered strong predictors of voter turnout. Older individuals, those with higher education levels, and those who have lived in the same place for a longer time are more likely to vote.

Question 5

After the 1965 Voting Rights Act that made certain voter suppression policies illegal, Mississippi prevented the election of black candidates to Congress through this strategy, one commonly used by states to dilute the voting strength of groups:

Accepted Answer

Gerrymandering involves drawing district boundaries in a way that dilutes the voting power of certain groups, making it difficult for them to elect candidates of their choice. This strategy was used to prevent the election of black candidates to Congress despite the Voting Rights Act.

Question 6

The congressional and state legislative redistricting process does have certain constraints, among them that districts must have:

Accepted Answer

Districts must have equal populations to ensure equal representation, and they must be contiguous, meaning all parts of the district are connected.

Question 7

In the 2010 case Citizens United v.Federal Elections Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002's restrictions on corporations' independent expenditures-that is, money spent on candidate or issue advocacy, without being given directly to a campaign-violated their:

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court ruled that the restrictions on independent expenditures by corporations violated their First Amendment rights to free speech.

Question 8

The responsibility for congressional redistricting lies, in most states, with:

Accepted Answer

In most states, the responsibility for congressional redistricting lies with state legislatures and governors, often under the supervision of courts and sometimes with input from independent or bipartisan commissions.

Question 9

In recent years, voter turnout in the United States has been high relative to that in other Western democracies.

Accepted Answer

In recent years, voter turnout in the United States has been relatively low compared to other Western democracies. According to the Pew Research Center, in the 2016 presidential election, voter turnout in the United States was only 55.7% of the voting-age population, which was lower than the turnout in most other developed countries.

Question 10

While the Constitution gives states control over the administration of federal elections, _______________ are typically tasked with running polling places.

Accepted Answer

Local governments are typically responsible for running polling places during elections.

Question 11

Which of the following organizations must a private group-say, a business firm or labor union-establish in order to raise funds and distribute them to candidates' election campaigns or political parties?

Accepted Answer

A Political Action Committee (PAC) is an organization that private groups, such as business firms or labor unions, establish to raise and distribute funds to candidates' election campaigns or political parties.

Question 12

No democratic country makes voting compulsory or legally required.

Accepted Answer

Some democratic countries, such as Australia and Belgium, have laws that make voting compulsory for eligible citizens.

Question 13

The wide use of elections is thought to keep government policy close to the preferences and interests of its constituents.

Accepted Answer

Elections allow citizens to choose their leaders, and leaders are often motivated to align their policies with the desires of their constituents in order to win re-election. Therefore, elections can have a significant impact on government policy.

Question 14

When the framers of the Constitution established the Electoral College, they required each state's legislature to choose its electors.Since the 1860s, however, all states have chosen electors by:

Accepted Answer

Since the 1860s, all states have chosen electors by popular vote, where citizens vote for electors pledged to vote for their party's candidate.

Question 15

Partisan manipulation of congressional and state legislative redistricting has become much easier in recent years due to:

Accepted Answer

Sophisticated mapping software and more data on local voting patterns and demographics have made it easier for parties to manipulate district boundaries to their advantage.

Question 16

In 2010, a federal district court struck down California's Proposition 8, a ballot initiative approved by a majority of voters that banned same-sex marriage within the state.In declaring the law unconstitutional, the court showed that:

Accepted Answer

State referendum results, like all state laws, are subject to federal judicial review to ensure they comply with the U.S. Constitution.

Question 17

To ensure that their populations are equal, U.S.House and state legislative districts must be redrawn every:

Accepted Answer

U.S. House and state legislative districts are redrawn every 10 years following the completion of the federal census, which provides updated population data.

Question 18

The most sweeping change in campaign finance regulations came with passage of the _____________ in 1971.

Accepted Answer

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 was the first major campaign finance reform legislation in the United States. It established the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and set limits on campaign contributions and spending.

Question 19

A super PAC, the popular name given to independent expenditure-only committees established in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, may raise __________________ and spend the monies on candidate or issue advocacy.

Accepted Answer

Super PACs can raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations, and other entities, and spend these funds on political activities, as long as they do not coordinate directly with candidates or political parties.

Question 20

Almost all states in the United States prohibit felons from voting in elections.

Accepted Answer

Most states in the United States prohibit felons from voting in elections.

Quiz 10: Elections