Deck 10: Elections

Question 1

Multiple candidate challenges are inspired by

A) Open elections in which no incumbents are on the ballot
B) Polarizing incumbents
C) The desire for third party opportunity
D) a and b

Answer 1

a and b

Question 2

Electoral College voting results may be overridden by

A) The popular vote
B) The sitting Vice President
C) Claims of election fraud
D) None of the above

Answer 2

None of the above

Question 3

Faithless electors in the Electoral College

A) Are always dedicated to changing the election outcome
B) Have successfully overturned close elections
C) Are sometimes motivated by causes that transcend the election outcome
D) All of the above

Answer 3

Are sometimes motivated by causes that transcend the election outcome

Question 4

The National Popular Vote Plan

A) Was inspired by elections in which the Electoral College winner was different from the winner of the popular vote
B) Would require states to give their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote
C) Circumvents the need for a Constitutional amendment to eliminate the Electoral College
D) All of the above

Question 5

The national census occurs every ten years and

A) Always results in changes to the distribution of representation among the states
B) Contributes to partisan gerrymandering
C) Provides a consistent portrait of the national head count over time
D) None of the above

Question 6

The race for the White House is a race for

A) The electoral votes of states
B) The national popular vote
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 7

A collective decision-making process in which citizens choose an individual to hold and exercise the powers of public office is called

A) Public opinion
B) An election
C) Politics
D) None of these

Question 8

Elections are the primary mechanism that representative democracies use to achieve

A) Popular support
B) Popular sovereignty
C) Popular opinion
D) Governments

Question 9

Parties are important for elections because

A) They nominate candidates for the general election
B) They winnow the field of candidates for the general election
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 10

Parties select national convention delegates in _____ basic ways

A) Two
B) Three
C) Four
D) They aren't basic

Question 11

Frontloading has which of the following undesirable consequences?

A) Candidates have to put in work early and have expertise on all 50 state procedures
B) Candidates need a lot of money early in the campaign
C) The shortened time "degrades campaign quality"
D) All of the above

Question 12

There are _______ filter points that weed out weaker candidates.

A) Two
B) Four
C) Three
D) Five

Question 13

The ______ primary takes place largely behind the scenes with few, if any, formal rules.

A) Special
B) First
C) Invisible
D) Deciding

Question 14

The initial contests is/are

A) The second phase of the nomination campaign
B) The Iowa caucuses
C) The New Hampshire primary
D) All of the above

Question 15

The third phase begins after the two initial contests and is referred to as

A) The mist-clearing phase
B) The sifting phase
C) The sorting phase
D) None of these

Question 16

_____ remain(s) a significant predictor of vote choice and shape(s) how voters perceive candidates and issues.

A) Interest group activity
B) Polarization
C) Partisan identification
D) Divided government

Question 17

In national party caucuses, who make the key decisions regarding candidate selection?

A) Previously elected officials
B) Party bosses
C) Rank-and-file members
D) Delegates

Question 18

______ has/have decreased the time for candidates to raise money and obtain a nationally recognized name.

A) National party conventions
B) Caucuses
C) Frontloading
D) Primaries

Question 19

Specifically, what institution is used to decide who becomes president?

A) The popular vote
B) The partisan vote
C) The electoral college
D) Adding the votes from state parties

Question 20

Frontloading refers to

A) states moving their caucuses and primaries to an earlier date in order to influence choice of presidential nominees.
B) electing nation convention delegates at state presidential primaries.
C) the shift in power over the nomination process and professional to amateurs.
D) The ability to successfully fundraise early in the campaign

Question 21

The process of adjusting the number of House seats among the states based on population shifts Is known as

A) Reapportionment
B) Redistricting
C) Gerrymandering
D) Frontloading

Question 22

______, or perks, are benefits and support services that members of Congress receive in order to help them perform their job.

A) Incumbency advantages
B) Advertising
C) Pork-barrel benefits
D) Perquisites

Question 23

The day in early March, called _____ is when several states hold their primaries. These states choose a significant portion of delegates to the national convention.

A) Magic Day
B) Super Thursday
C) Super Tuesday
D) Make-it Monday

Question 24

Some states hold _____ in which independents-and in some cases voters from other parties-participate in a party's primary.

A) Closed primaries
B) Open primaries
C) Invisible primaries
D) Caucuses

Question 25

______ is the process through with political parties winnow down a field of candidates to a single one who will be the party's standard-bearer in the general election.

A) The nomination
B) The general election
C) A runoff election
D) Primary elections

Question 26

______ is a type of election in which candidates from all political parties run in the same primary, and the candidate who receives the majority obtains the office.

A) Louisiana primary
B) Open primary
C) Nonpartisan primary
D) A state presidential primary

Question 27

The _____________ is a plan to revise the electoral college that would distribute a state's electoral college votes by giving one vote to the candidate who wins a plurality in each House district and two votes to the winner statewide.

A) Direct popular election plan
B) District plan
C) Proportional plan
D) None of the above

Question 28

_____ is a collective decision-making process in which citizens choose an individual to hold and exercise the powers of public office.

A) An election
B) A nomination
C) The proportional plan
D) Reapportionment

Question 29

Which of the following determines the number of electoral votes a state will receive?

A) State law
B) The number of delegates it sends to the national party conventions
C) The size of it representation in Congress
D) The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

Question 30

The electoral contest in which the largest number of Americans participate is

A) The midterm congressional election
B) The presidential election
C) The off-year congressional elections
D) They are all about the same

Question 31

Congressional candidates are typically nominated by what method?

A) A direct primary
B) A caucus
C) A general election
D) A convention

Question 32

The "legislative caucus" method of presidential nominations violated the "separation of powers" principle because

A) It delegated presidential nominations to a panel of retired judges
B) It stipulated that the Speaker of the House would be head of the executive branch
C) It allowed state legislatures to determine presidential nominees
D) It gave members of Congress too much influence over presidential elections

Question 33

___________ are the congressional and gubernatorial contests that occur in the middle of a presidential term.

A) Mist clearing elections
B) Direct primaries
C) Midterm elections
D) None of the above

Question 34

The Electoral College is

A) The institution that nominates the parties' candidates for President
B) The method by which we elect our President
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 35

The elimination of the Electoral College is unlikely because

A) Most voters prefer the current system.
B) Changing it would require an act of Congress.
C) Changing it would require a constitutional amendment.
D) It would violate the parties right of association.

Question 36

____________ calls for the racial and ethnic makeup of Congress to reflect that of the nation.

A) Substantive representation
B) Majority-minority districts
C) True representation
D) Descriptive representation

Question 37

In ____________ the Supreme Court invalidated unequal congressional districts, saying that all legislative districts must contain about equal numbers of people.

A) Baker v. Carr
B) Shaw v. Reno
C) Wesberry v. Sanders
D) Reynolds v. Sims

Question 38

What happens during the "mist clearing" phase of the presidential nominating process?

A) Weaker candidates drop out
B) Super Tuesday
C) Delegate counts become the major criterion for determining who is ahead
D) All of the above

Question 39

The absolute majority of delegates a candidate needs to secure a party's presidential nomination is called b

A) the keynote proportion.
B) The magic number.
C) the roll-call tipping point.
D) the platform faction.

Question 40

The drawing of district boundaries to benefit one interest and hinder another is known as

A) redistricting.
B) gerrymandering.
C) reapportionment.
D) frontloading.

Question 41

As the electoral college currently operates, a candidate can be elected President without plurality of popular votes if

A) S/he wins plurality in the 11 most populous states.
B) S/he wins by at least 75% in any 26 states.
C) S/he wins by more than 55% in any 35 states.
D) All of the above guarantee victory.

Question 42

The winner of the "money primary" almost always ultimately wins the nomination of the party.

Question 43

Super Tuesday is an example of election "frontloading" and contributes significantly to "mist clearing" among multiple candidates.

Question 44

Ticket "balancing" is no longer an issue between presidential and vice presidential candidate selection.

Question 45

A sure way of influencing a general election is to determine what choices are available to voters.

Question 46

Iowa and New Hampshire are good signals for the presidential election because they are representative of most of the country.

Question 47

California is a good example of a "swing state" because it has 55 electoral votes, more than any other state, and can therefore "swing" the election one way or the other.

Question 48

Congressional districts are traditionally redrawn every 10 years, following the Census.

Question 49

In order to win the presidential election, a candidate needs to win 538 electoral votes.

Question 50

In the presidential election, the candidate who wins the most votes can still lose the election.

Question 51

In states with a nonpartisan blanket primary, voters might be asked to choose between two members of the same party in the general election.

Question 52

What are the problems with the electoral college? Should the electoral college be abolished?

Question 53

What system will lead to the best representation of Americans in Congress?

Question 54

How would a candidate overcome the incumbency advantage?

Question 55

Should "perks" be taken away from members of Congress? Why or why not?