Deck 3: Political Participation: Activating the Popular Will

Question 1

As distinct from alienation,apathy is

A)associated with a low rate of voter turnout.
B)a feeling of powerlessness.
C)a general lack of interest in politics.
D)a sign that the political system is working properly.
E)widespread among affluent Americans.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In comparison with citizens in Western European democracies,Americans are less likely to

A)vote in national elections.
B)actively work in an election campaign.
C)participate in community activities.
D)join an interest group.
E)All these answers are correct.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Education and income affects voter turnout

A)more in the United States than in Europe.
B)more in Europe than in the United States.
C)only in national elections in the United States.
D)only in national elections in Europe.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is true of the Internet organization MoveOn.org?

A)It has demonstrated that online advocacy can dramatically increase voter turnout in local and state elections.
B)It is technically a registered lobbying organization.
C)It has a network of more than five million "online activists," which makes it a more powerful voting bloc than some entire states.
D)It was highly successful in its effort to shape the 2010 health care reform bill.
E)It was instrumental in helping Barack Obama defeat Hillary Clinton in their race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Question 5

The chief obstacle to Americans' participation in community activities is the

A)lack of opportunity,because there are few groups active at this level.
B)lack of personal motivation to get involved.
C)low potential for success,since key decisions are made at the national level.
D)low potential for success,since key decisions are made at the state level.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 6

A sustained action by citizens disenchanted with government to express their opposition and work to bring about the change they seek is a

A)social movement.
B)voter upsurge.
C)citizen lobby.
D)popular resistance.
E)regular election.

Question 7

Which of the following groups of people is most adversely affected by the country's registration system?

A)senior citizens
B)those with less income and education
C)young adults
D)women
E)people with college degrees

Question 8

One of the reasons why voter turnout is lower in the United States than in Western European countries is that

A)Americans pay less attention to politics.
B)U.S.registration laws place a greater burden on the individual.
C)the U.S.population is not as well educated.
D)Europeans must pay a huge fine if they fail to vote.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 9

All of the following tend to decrease voter turnout EXCEPT

A)sharp policy differences between major parties.
B)alienation.
C)frequent elections.
D)difficult registration requirements.
E)lack of interest in politics.

Question 10

The poll tax was used to

A)disenfranchise African Americans in the South.
B)finance election campaigns.
C)ensure that women voted with their husbands,who legally controlled the money in a marriage.
D)ensure that the people who voted would take the vote seriously.
E)help subsidize public education in the North.

Question 11

Civic duty and apathy are attitudes that are usually acquired from

A)one's economic status.
B)one's community.
C)one's education.
D)one's parents.
E)one's experience with voting.

Question 12

Voter identification cards find the most support among

A)Democrats.
B)Republicans.
C)libertarians.
D)liberals.
E)poorer citizens.

Question 13

Most candidates for office in the United States aim their appeals at

A)high-income voters.
B)middle-income voters.
C)labor unions and interest groups.
D)corporate lobbying powers.
E)low-income voters.

Question 14

Unlike in many other democracies,elections in the United States are traditionally held on

A)Mondays.
B)Tuesdays.
C)Fridays.
D)Saturdays.
E)Sundays.

Question 15

The frequency of elections in the United States reduces voter turnout by

A)discouraging local politicians from playing an active role in presidential elections.
B)creating more complex registration requirements.
C)focusing too much attention on state and local elections.
D)increasing the personal effort needed to participate in all elections.
E)increasing the amount of taxes paid at the polls.

Question 16

The idea that ordinary people have a right and a duty to participate in public affairs is the essential component of the ideal of

A)liberty.
B)equality.
C)self-government.
D)individualism.
E)collectivism.

Question 17

When it comes to protest activities,a majority of Americans are

A)actively involved in protests at one time or another in their lives.
B)willing to contribute through financial support but not through active participation.
C)not highly supportive of such activities,despite America's tradition of free expression.
D)actively involved only later in their lives,when they feel more secure that a protest is justified.
E)supportive of violent activities if the cause warrants such an approach.

Question 18

Regular voters tend to be characterized by

A)a strong sense of alienation,which motivates them to try to change government.
B)a strong sense of civic duty.
C)a desire to use government as a vehicle to help other Americans rather than themselves.
D)a strong sense of independence,which motivates them to try to defeat incumbents.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 19

Women gained the right to vote

A)with passage of the Bill of Rights.
B)shortly after the Civil War.
C)early in the twentieth century.
D)with passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
E)during the era of Jacksonian democracy.

Question 20

Voter registration in the United States

A)was introduced as a means of keeping white males without property from voting.
B)began as a way of preventing voters from casting more than one ballot on election day.
C)is the responsibility of the government,which adds legally qualified individuals automatically to the registration rolls.
D)applies to voting in general elections but not in primary elections.
E)has vastly increased voter turnout.

Question 21

Compared with U.S.citizens of higher income,those of lower income are

A)much less likely to vote in elections.
B)about equally likely to vote in elections.
C)much more likely to vote in elections.
D)much less likely to vote in elections-a pattern that is also true in European democracies.
E)None of these answers is correct.

Question 22

Many white working-class citizens failed to vote in the 1968 and 1972 elections because they felt alienated by the centrality of which political issue?

A)civil rights
B)the Vietnam War
C)the economy
D)immigration
E)youth protest

Question 23

Since the 1960s,the level of turnout in presidential elections has averaged ________ percent.

A)75
B)65
C)55
D)45
E)35

Question 24

In the twenty-first century,voting rates in the United States have

A)shown little difference from those of the late twentieth century.
B)increased in presidential elections,while continuing to remain lowest in local ones.
C)demonstrated that the apathy of young citizens has worsened considerably since the early 1990s.
D)increased in all elections.
E)declined in all elections.

Question 25

When the nation was founded,who was eligible to vote?

A)everyone-there was universal suffrage
B)all males and females who were at least 21 years of age
C)only white males who owned property
D)only citizens who had lived in the nation for at least ten years
E)All native-born citizens could vote.

Question 26

Eighteen,nineteen,and twenty year-old Americans were granted the right to vote in _______.

A)1875
B)1900
C)1923
D)1952
E)1971

Question 27

Citizens in which of the following countries are most likely to volunteer time and money to promote community causes?

A)Germany
B)France
C)Great Britain
D)the United States
E)There is no difference among the four nations.

Question 28

Protest activity is a reversal to the pattern of voting in that it

A)has broad public support.
B)is supportive of existing policies.
C)is more likely to involve younger citizens rather than older ones.
D)is rooted in prejudice.
E)usually takes place in the evenings.

Question 29

________ elections tend to draw the largest percentage of voters in the U.S.

A)Primary
B)Mayoral
C)Congressional
D)Gubernatorial
E)Presidential

Question 30

In the United States,the primary responsibility for registration of the individual voter rests with the

A)state and local governments.
B)local courts.
C)employer.
D)individual.
E)federal government.

Question 31

Which country has the highest estimated voter turnout in major national elections in recent decades?

A)Denmark
B)Germany
C)the United States
D)Belgium
E)France

Question 32

The "motor voter" law

A)was passed in 1993.
B)made it easier for citizens to register to vote.
C)linked voter registration to the vehicle registration process.
D)was passed in 1993 and linked voter registration to the vehicle registration process.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 33

If Americans vote less than Europeans,why are they more likely to work in a political campaign than are citizens in Europe?

A)America's federal structure provides more campaign opportunities.
B)European candidates seldom need campaign workers.
C)Americans have more leisure time than Europeans.
D)U.S.candidates pay campaign workers,whereas European candidates do not.
E)Laws in some U.S.communities require citizens to participate in campaigns.

Question 34

The adoption of voter identification cards by several states

A)will likely cause a decline in voter turnout.
B)is a policy intended to further the gains of the motor voter law.
C)was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
D)will increase the voting power of poorer citizens.
E)was a response to well-documented accounts of widespread electoral fraud.

Question 35

What issue has done the most to bring young Americans to the voting booth in the twenty-first century?

A)economic downturn
B)immigration
C)moral values
D)same-sex marriages
E)the war in Iraq

Question 36

The citizens of ________ are most likely to participate as campaign volunteers during an election.

A)the Netherlands
B)Great Britain
C)the United States
D)Germany
E)France

Question 37

Historically speaking,states with the most restrictive voting registration laws are concentrated in which region?

A)South
B)Midwest
C)Northeast
D)Pacific Coast
E)Great Plains

Question 38

Voting

A)allows elected officials to claim that their policies reflect the will of the people.
B)provides citizens with a regular way to express themselves.
C)is the most widespread form of political participation.
D)is both a means by which government controls the people and a means by which the people control government.
E)All these answers are correct.

Question 39

Harvard's Robert Putnam argues in his book Bowling Alone that

A)the increase in frequency of elections in the United States has increased the level of general voter apathy.
B)community participation among young adults has risen in the past two decades because of new media technologies like Internet activism.
C)voter apathy is only going to increase as long as we maintain a two-party system.
D)a proportional representation system in the legislature would increase voter turnout.
E)America has been undergoing a long-term decline in its social capital.

Question 40

Which of the following states has a voter identification card law?

A)Maine
B)New Hampshire
C)Minnesota
D)Indiana
E)Wisconsin

Question 41

Why are people of higher income and education levels more likely to be politically active?

Question 42

What did political scientist Larry Bartels demonstrate in his book Unequal Democracy?

A)Elected officials are substantially more responsive to the concerns of their more affluent constituents than to those of their poorer constituents.
B)Elected officials are substantially more responsive to the efforts of lobbyists than to the concerns of their constituents.
C)Elected officials do not tend to respond to the efforts of social movements or protests when casting votes or forming policy.
D)Elected officials tend to ignore the interests of their constituents when they make policy or cast votes,until just before they are up for reelection.
E)Incumbents hold so much power in the United States and are so difficult to unseat that they have disenfranchised much of the voting population of the U.S.

Question 43

In the United States,

A)the federal government prevents states from restricting registration based on the amount of time a person has resided in that state.
B)voter registration requirements have usually been set by the states.
C)voter registration periods and locations tend to be highly publicized,but registration requirements prevent many from taking advantage of them.
D)most states automatically register a person to vote when he or she acquires a driver's license.
E)states with easier registration laws have shown no higher turnout rates than states with restrictive registration requirements.

Question 44

Political protests

A)have recently seen success primarily with liberal or leftist protest groups.
B)are today usually planned events.
C)are more common in the United States today than in most European democracies.
D)have become more spontaneous and unlawful in recent years.
E)are today mostly aimed at local laws and local political targets.

Question 45

Which of the following is true of the Georgia law that required citizens without a government-issued photo ID,such as a driver's license or passport,to obtain a voter identification card,which would cost them twenty dollars and expire after five years?

A)A federal judge invalidated Georgia's twenty-dollar fee requirement,but the photo ID requirement stood.
B)The law currently stands as it was initially created.
C)A federal judge struck down the entire law; a person may vote in Georgia without a government-issued photo ID.
D)A federal court struck down the law,but Georgia appealed it and the Supreme Court upheld the law as created.
E)The photo ID requirement has resulted in a substantial reduction in voter turnout in Georgia.

Question 46

Describe three systemic reasons why Americans vote at a lower rate than Western Europeans.

Question 47

Should elections be held on weekends or perhaps as national holidays-why or why not?
This is an open-ended question.Conducting elections on weekends or as national holidays would make turnout easier,but would apathetic citizens change their behavior and vote,or would they ignore elections as usual? Also,making elections national holidays would have consequences for the national economy.

Question 48

Give three reasons why some Americans vote regularly while others do not.

Question 49

Define unconventional activism and its aims,and provide historical examples; describe Americans' attitudes toward unconventional activism.