Deck 10: Elections and Campaigns

Question 1

Members of the electoral college selected by each state equal the number of what?

A) House members
B) Senators
C) House members plus senators
D) Voting districts
E) Voting districts plus 3

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The formal selection of the president of the United States is in the hands of which of the following?

A) Supreme Court
B) Electors in the electoral college
C) House of Representatives
D) People
E) Senate

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following amendments combined the vote for president and vice president into one ballot, with the person running for each office named?

A) Ninth
B) Twelfth
C) Seventeenth
D) Twenty-First
E) Twenty-Second

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which two states do not use a winner-take-all system in the electoral college?

A) Maine and Ohio
B) Nebraska and Maine
C) Nebraska and Delaware
D) Michigan and Maine
E) Nevada and Nebraska

Question 5

To win the modern presidency, a candidate must obtain which of the following?

A) A majority of the popular vote
B) A plurality of the popular vote
C) 100 electoral votes
D) 270 electoral votes
E) 538 electoral votes

Question 6

Which of the following is a statewide election of delegates to a party's national convention, where the delegates will choose the party's presidential nominee.?

A) Primary election
B) Party primary
C) Presidential primary
D) Delegation primary
E) General election

Question 7

Who currently elects the members of the electoral college?

A) House of Representatives
B) People of each state
C) Senate
D) State legislatures
E) State governors

Question 8

When state legislatures redraw district lines in order to benefit one political party over another, it is called what?

A) Gerrymandering
B) Salamandering
C) Remaindering
D) Redistricting
E) Censuring

Question 9

Which of the following best describes what happens when citizens vote for a president on election day?

A) They are voting for a slate of electors pledged to support a particular candidate.
B) Their votes are weighted by their level of education.
C) Their votes are weighted by their levels of income.
D) They become members of the electoral college.
E) They are also voting for all other candidates from the same party.

Question 10

In most states, the slate of electors is chosen by which of the following?

A) A majority of votes
B) Two-thirds of the votes
C) A duality of votes
D) A plurality of votes
E) A proportionality of votes

Question 11

The Constitution spells out in some detail the workings of which institution that chooses the president?

A) Electoral college
B) Federal Election Commission
C) House of Representatives
D) Senate
E) State legislatures

Question 12

Which of the following is true of presidential elections?

A) Voters elect the president directly.
B) The number of electors equals each state's number of senators (two) plus its number of representatives.
C) Electors have always voted for the candidate who won their state's vote.
D) The House of Representatives usually picks the winner.
E) The Senate selects the winner from among the top three vote getters.

Question 13

Abolishing the electoral college would require which of the following?

A) A constitutional amendment
B) An act of Congress
C) Approval by a simple majority of the states
D) A parliamentary system of government
E) The approval of the Supreme Court

Question 14

Which of the following events contributed most to an increase in the number of African American public officials?

A) The legal end of segregation in public schools
B) The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment
C) The passage of major civil rights legislation in the 1960s
D) The refinement of the constitutional requirements for office in the latter 1800s
E) The lowering of the legal voting age to 18

Question 15

Which of the following is a preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for office?

A) Special
B) General
C) Municipal
D) Primary
E) Caucus

Question 16

Who originally elected the members of the electoral college?

A) House of Representatives
B) People of each state
C) Senate
D) State legislatures
E) State governors

Question 17

If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral college votes, the election is decided by which of the following?

A) The president
B) The House of Representatives
C) The Senate
D) Votes in the 50 state legislatures
E) The U.S. Supreme Court

Question 18

Today, how many electoral votes does each state get?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 10
D) 1 for every 10,000 residents
E) A number equal to the state's number of House and Senate members

Question 19

The manner in which members of the electoral college are selected within each state is currently governed by which of the following?

A) State laws
B) The Federal Electoral Selection Act
C) Article II of the U.S. Constitution
D) Congressional oversight
E) Federal district court judges

Question 20

We elect the president via 50 state elections combined into the electoral college; thus, presidential elections are best described as which of the following?

A) National
B) Majoritarian
C) Federal
D) Unfair
E) Elitist

Question 21

To win a primary election, a congressional candidate generally shapes campaign messages to please which of the following?

A) Local citizens
B) Local interest groups
C) Grassroots organizations
D) Core party members in the Senate
E) Core party members in the district

Question 22

Which of the following best describes what happens at the national convention?

A) Upon arrival, most delegates are undecided as to whom they would like to see as the party's candidate.
B) The delegates from those states that had early primaries and caucuses are seated closest to the front of the convention center.
C) The presidential candidate is chosen by the party delegates.
D) Elites within the political parties are entrusted with making the determination of an appropriate candidate based upon electability.
E) It usually takes three ballots for the party to choose the presidential candidate.

Question 23

Which method of delegate selection begins with local meetings and culminates in a state convention?

A) Open primary
B) Frontloading method
C) Caucus method
D) Closed primary
E) Deliberation

Question 24

Beginning with the 2010 election, corporations were free to run ads directly advocating a candidate's election for the first time since 1907 when Congress first banned using general corporate funds in federal election campaigns. This occurred based on which 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision?

A) Federal Election Commission v. McCain
B) Feingold v. McConnell
C) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
D) BCRA v. Fox News
E) FEC v. Americans United Trust

Question 25

The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC supports which of the following?

A) Corporations, unions, and interest groups funding campaign advertising without limits as long as it is not coordinated with a campaign
B) Restrictions on campaign language used in negative advertising about other candidates
C) Unrestricted advertising by, for, or about political candidates
D) The elimination of super PACs
E) The unrestricted role of big business in political campaigns and candidate advertising

Question 26

In very large districts and states, it is difficult for congressional candidates to connect directly with voters, which tends to make these campaigns about which of the following?

A) The personal characteristics of candidates
B) The size of the campaign war chest
C) International concerns, not local ones
D) Issues and party policies
E) Issues of little consequence to voters

Question 27

Which of the following statements best describes Super PACs?

A) They allow very wealthy Americans to donate unlimited funds to influence elections.
B) They are political advertising councils that design political campaigns.
C) They are limited to raising no more than $10 million per campaign cycle.
D) They allow money to be spent on advertising and other political activities.
E) They allow America's very wealthy to donate unlimited funds to influence elections and spend money on advertising and other political activities.

Question 28

Politicians, especially presidents, spending too much time working toward reelection and not enough time governing is called which of the following?

A) Front porch campaign
B) Permanent campaign
C) Strategic politician hypothesis
D) Winner-take-all hypothesis
E) Horse race campaign

Question 29

The congressional elections that occur between the four-year presidential election cycles are called which of the following?

A) Caucuses
B) Invisible elections
C) Midterm elections
D) Gubernatorial elections
E) Primary elections

Question 30

Which of the following is responsible for monitoring campaign finance?

A) Congress
B) Electoral college
C) Federal Election Commission
D) Federal Broadcast Commission
E) Individual political parties

Question 31

Which of the following states holds the nation's first and most famous caucus that requires people to attend a meeting of about two hours in which they indicate their preferences and then try to convince those who are undecided to join their candidate's group?

A) Arkansas
B) Iowa
C) New Hampshire
D) New Mexico
E) Washington

Question 32

In order to ensure victory in general elections, candidates revise their message to attract moderate voters. This is an example which of the following?

A) Maximum voter theorem
B) Median voter theorem
C) Rational voter theorem
D) Minimal voter theorem
E) Truthful voter theorem

Question 33

Which of the following best describes the outcome of the 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act?

A) It created the Federal Election Commission.
B) It placed limits on the sums that individuals and committees can contribute to candidates.
C) It created an effective way to enforce campaign rules.
D) It created the Federal Election Commission and placed limits on the sums that individuals and committees can contribute to candidates.
E) It made political action committees unconstitutional.

Question 34

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 was amended in 1974 to do which of the following?

A) To create the Federal Election Commission
B) To provide public financing for congressional races
C) To limit campaign expenditures in presidential elections to a maximum of $2 million
D) To create the Federal Communications Commission
E) To expand presidential campaign spending to an unlimited amount

Question 35

Currently, about 70% of states use some form of which of the following during the presidential campaign season?

A) Caucus
B) Town hall meeting
C) Primary election
D) Advisory referendum
E) Proportional representation

Question 36

Which of the following federal regulatory agencies enforces federal campaign laws?

A) The Federal Election Commission
B) The Department of Elections
C) The Congressional Campaign Committee
D) The Voting Rights Commission
E) The Federal Campaign Commission

Question 37

In 1971, Congress tried to put candidates on an equal financial footing and make them less beholden to special interests through which of the following?

A) McCutcheon, et.al v. FEC
B) Campaign Finance Reform Act
C) Election and Campaign Finance Act
D) Citizens United case
E) Federal Election Campaign Act

Question 38

Which of the following best describes what is allowed as a result of the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC?

A) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to presidential campaigns.
B) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to entities that are "independent" of the candidates.
C) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to political parties.
D) Political parties can create special funds from federal monies to donate to candidates.
E) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to presidential campaigns, as well as to entities that are "independent" of the candidates.

Question 39

One of the consequences of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC was the rise of which of the following that can raise unlimited funds from such groups as corporations, unions, and individuals?

A) PACS
B) Interest groups
C) Lobbyists
D) Super PACs
E) Grassroots movements

Question 40

States that are not clearly reliable to vote for one of the two major political parties, but that are of great interest to presidential candidates, are referred to as which of the following?

A) Swing states
B) Bipartisan states
C) Undecided states
D) Purple states
E) Fly-over states

Question 41

Should the electoral college be replaced by a direct popular election? Explain.

Question 42

In recent years, there has been a growing call for which of the following for members of Congress, much like those imposed upon the president?

A) Term limits
B) Term extenders
C) Strategic retirement
D) Pay freezes
E) Veto restrictions

Question 43

When a popular candidate influences the success of other candidates on the same party ticket, it is called which of the following?

A) Partisan effect
B) Australian ballot
C) Butterfly ballot
D) Incumbent effect
E) Coat-tail effect

Question 44

Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the electoral college.

Question 45

Describe how the framers felt about letting the people choose the president directly?

Question 46

Which of the following is a document that lays out a political party's core beliefs and policy proposals for each presidential election?

A) Mandate
B) Political agenda
C) Party platform
D) Candidate strategy
E) Strategic attack

Question 47

Describe some situations in which the electoral college has produced controversial results and explain the criticisms leveled against it.

Question 48

Discuss the modern campaign for running for president. Why is it referred to as the longest campaign? What is essential to a candidate's success?

Question 49

Describe what happens if no one wins a majority of the electoral votes.

Question 50

Explain how the size of a congressional district or state can affect campaign strategy.

Question 51

Which of the following occurs when a popular president running for reelection brings additional party candidates into office?

A) Bundling
B) Front porch campaigning
C) Microtargeting
D) Presidential coat-tails
E) Gerrymandering

Question 52

Cynthia Nixon running for Governor in New York in 2018 illustrated which of the following campaign advantages?

A) Fundraising
B) Name recognition
C) Super PACs
D) Grassroots campaigns
E) Incumbency

Question 53

Explain the electoral college process. Does it work as the founders envisioned?

Question 54

Give reasons for incumbency advantage.

Question 55

Which of the following almost always win congressional elections?

A) Challengers
B) Democrats
C) Incumbents
D) Progressives
E) Republicans

Question 56

Describe the significance of presidential debates.

Question 57

Analyze the differences between a caucus and a primary.

Question 58

What do high rates of incumbent reelection say about voters?

Question 59

Describe how the electoral college could be reformed. Should it be reformed? Why or why not?

Question 60

In the past 60 years, the number of competitive congressional elections has been declining, a trend called which of the following?

A) Diminishing marginals
B) Vanishing marginals
C) Incumbency rules
D) Seat limitations
E) Safe seats

Question 61

Describe the general process of running for a congressional seat. When does it begin? What obstacles are faced by challengers?

Question 62

Describe the role of political action committees in the election process including their role in campaign finance.

Question 63

Analyze the reasons individuals choose to run for Congress.

Question 64

Explain why a candidate would decide to forgo matching funds in his or her quest for the presidential nomination. Is this a successful strategy?

Question 65

Summarize legislation that has led to campaign finance reform, and discuss the current campaign finance environment.

Question 66

Analyze the impact of invisible primary voter choices.

Question 67

Analyze the difference in issues focused on by candidates for the House of Representatives compared to senators.

Question 68

Is negative advertising healthy for a democracy? Explain.

Question 69

Discuss the impact of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC, making note of the rise of super PACs and their effect on campaigns.

Question 70

How did the Citizens United decision affect campaign funding? Do you believe this was a change for the better? Explain your response.

Question 71

Analyze the impact of presidential elections on congressional elections.

Question 72

What policies can be put in place to limit the impact of incumbency?

Question 73

Explore the strategies devised by interest groups and parties to get around campaign finance reform legislation.

Question 74

Analyze how congressional candidates shape their messages depending on the type of election: primary or general.

Question 75

How have recent campaign finance laws changed the nature of presidential campaigns?

Question 76

Do presidential candidates spend too much time focusing on swing states? What could be done to change this?

Question 77

Analyze the impact of local versus national issues on congressional elections.