Deck 13: Political Parties and Elections in America

Question 1

The single largest expansion of the American electorate occurred as a result of the

A) Thirteenth Amendment.
B) Fourteenth Amendment.
C) Fifteenth Amendment.
D) Eighteenth Amendment.
E) Nineteenth Amendment.

Answer 1

Nineteenth Amendment.

Question 2

Which of the following constitutional amendments does NOT deal with voting rights and procedures?

A) The Fourteenth Amendment
B) The Fifteenth Amendment
C) The Eighteenth Amendment
D) The Nineteenth Amendment
E) The Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Answer 2

The Eighteenth Amendment

Question 3

Donating money to a candidate and helping with a campaign are examples of

A) electoral behavior.
B) voter apathy.
C) deviant behavior.
D) mandates.
E) reform prerogative.

Answer 3

electoral behavior.

Question 4

Which of the following would NOT be an example of collective participation in politics?

A) Discussing politics with friends
B) Voting
C) Attending the local meeting of a political party
D) Working at a candidate's headquarters
E) Speaking at a rally

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an explanation for declining voter turnout?

A) Changing attitudes towards government in the United States emphasize cynicism, alienation, and distrust
B) Changes in the American lifestyle that make us busier and take attention away from politics
C) The decline in the influence of local party organizations
D) The changing nature of political campaigns
E) Increasing opportunities to participate create voter burnout

Question 6

Volunteerism, measured as the rate of volunteer activity, is highest in the United States among which age group?

A) People aged 15-25
B) People aged 26-37
C) People aged 38-56
D) People aged 57 and older
E) None of the above; there is no correlation between age and volunteerism

Question 7

The _____ party model holds that parties are organizations that sponsor candidates for political office under the organization's name in hopes of controlling the apparatus of government.

A) organizational
B) platform
C) rational
D) responsible
E) political

Question 8

Scholars have called political parties "______" institutions since they are subject to numerous state and local laws.

A) quasi-secular
B) quasi-public
C) quasi-independent
D) quasi-private
E) quasi-corporate

Question 9

If a citizen tells a pollster he thinks of himself as a "strong Democrat," he would be considered part of the

A) party-in-government.
B) party-as-organization.
C) party-in-the-electorate.
D) party network.
E) party kinship.

Question 10

The party formed in 1824 in opposition to the Democratic Party and President Andrew Jackson was the

A) Whig Party.
B) Democratic-Republican Party.
C) Democratic Party.
D) Republican Party.
E) Free Soil Party.

Question 11

Since the 1970s, political parties have

A) continued to decline in importance.
B) shifted their focus to providing services to candidates.
C) shifted their focus to providing services to voters.
D) virtually disappeared from national politics.
E) transformed their role away from winning elections towards providing information.

Question 12

A voter in New York goes to the polls. She is registered as an Independent but wishes to vote in the Republican primary. She is told she cannot vote in the Republican primary because she is not a registered member of the party. New York must be using a(n)

A) blanket primary system.
B) open primary system.
C) closed primary system.
D) nonpartisan primary system.
E) party caucus system.

Question 13

Approximately _____ states use nomination caucuses to pick delegates.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 15
D) 20
E) 25

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a critique leveled against the current process of selecting presidential candidates?

A) The process tends to polarize the electorate.
B) The process tends to permit weak candidates to win the nomination.
C) The process is expensive, time consuming, and negative.
D) The media has too much influence over the outcome.
E) The process grants some states too important a role.

Question 15

The Electoral College system reflects the founders' concerns over the

A) wisdom of the people.
B) need for political stability.
C) power of the political elite.
D) undue influence of the media.
E) need for as much democracy as possible.

Question 16

During the first few decades, electors sent from each state to vote in the Electoral College were

A) directly elected by the people.
B) appointed by the governor.
C) chosen by lot.
D) selected by the state legislatures.
E) chosen by the state Supreme Courts.

Question 17

Rutherford B. Hayes won the 1876 election despite losing the popular vote because

A) his overwhelming support was concentrated in one region, the South, while his opponent enjoyed more moderate support across the country.
B) like most states, Florida awards its Electoral College vote in a winner-take-all format, giving him all of the state's votes despite winning by a razor-thin majority.
C) the House of Representatives awarded him the election when the Electoral College could not produce a majority.
D) a special commission of senators, representatives, and a Supreme Court justice declared him the winner.
E) he was able to convince three faithless electors to switch their support from his opponent to him.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT an effect of the Electoral College system?

A) It promotes the inclusion of more racially and ethnically diverse candidates.
B) It promotes legitimacy by amplifying the majority won.
C) It forces candidates to strive for a wide geographic appeal.
D) It forces candidates to address the needs of both large and small states.
E) It creates the possibility of a candidate winning the presidency without winning the popular vote.

Question 19

The Supreme Court in Buckley v. Valeo ruled that

A) limiting the amount of money candidates accepting public funding can raise and spend is unconstitutional.
B) the time and manner of conducting elections must be standardized within a state
C) campaign expenditures are protected by the First Amendment
D) public funding of elections is unconstitutional.
E) campaign expenditures are not protected by the First Amendment.

Question 20

Which of the following was NOT an effect of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act?

A) 527 issue groups were banned.
B) Limits on contributions by political parties to individual candidates were increased.
C) Soft money donations to national political parties were prevented.
D) Group-sponsored advertisements were restricted.
E) All of the above were imposed as a result of the 2002 Campaign Finance Reform Act.

Question 21

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, an agency empowered to investigate voting rights violations and suggest remedies.

Question 22

Voter turnout in federal elections in the United States was very high before 1800.

Question 23

The rational party model argues that parties are organizations that run candidates to shape the outcomes of government and to direct public policy.

Question 24

The candidate-centered era began with the development of radio in the early part of the twentieth century.

Question 25

Candidates are formally selected at the national nominating conventions.

Question 26

The Electoral College is a device for selecting state congressional representation at the federal level.

Question 27

Soft money refers to funds contributed through a loophole in federal campaign finance regulations that allowed individuals and groups to give unlimited sums of money to political parties.

Question 28

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment

A) lowered the voting age to 21.
B) lowered the voting age to 18.
C) eliminated the use of poll taxes.
D) expanded the franchise to women.
E) overturned prohibition.

Question 29

The legal voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 by the

A) Fifteenth Amendment.
B) Eighteenth Amendment.
C) Nineteenth Amendment.
D) Twenty-First Amendment.
E) Twenty-Sixth Amendment.

Question 30

In 2009, the government of _____ used force to suppress mass rallies against alleged irregularities in the country's presidential election.

A) Russia
B) China
C) Saudi Arabia
D) Iraq
E) Iran

Question 31

Which of the following restricted voting in the early days of the Republic?

A) Religious qualifications
B) Property ownership requirements
C) Tax payment requirements
D) All of the above were imposed
E) None of these were imposed

Question 32

The system once used primarily in the South that allowed only white citizens to participate in primary elections was specifically known as the

A) grandfather clause.
B) Jim Crow law.
C) white primary.
D) franchise restriction.
E) private party law.

Question 33

The _____ Act of 1965 provided that in any congressional district in which fewer than fifty percent of adults went to the polls, a five-year "emergency state" would be triggered.

A) Voting Rights
B) Voter Help
C) Civil Rights
D) Mandatory Voter
E) Motor Voter

Question 34

Which of the following were implemented to prevent dead or nonexistent voters from casting ballots?

A) Grandfather clauses
B) Motor voter laws
C) Ballot initiatives
D) Residency and registration laws
E) Poll taxes

Question 35

The 1993 Motor Voter law was originally developed in order to

A) make voting more inclusive.
B) reduce the level of corruption in the voting process.
C) make it easier for voters to register.
D) exclude minorities from participating in the electoral process.
E) secure a permanent Democratic Party majority.

Question 36

The 2002 _____ Act was designed to help create a more uniform voting system.

A) Residency and Registration
B) Alien and Sedition
C) Help America Vote
D) Federal Election Campaign.
E) Voter Rights Act

Question 37

_____ participation occurs when a citizen participates in activity aimed at changing public policy without interacting with other citizens.

A) Individual
B) Collective
C) Singular
D) Interactive
E) Social

Question 38

All of the following are examples of collective rather than individual participation in politics EXCEPT?

A) Giving money to a candidate or party
B) Attending a rally
C) Discussing politics with friends
D) Blogging about politics
E) Volunteering at a campaign headquarters

Question 39

With respect to political participation in voting, which of the following statements is true?

A) As the number of people eligible to vote has increased, voter turnout has simultaneously increased.
B) As the number of people eligible to vote has increased, voter turnout has remained constant.
C) As the number of people eligible to vote has increased, voter turnout has decreased.
D) As the number of people eligible to vote has decreased, voter turnout has increased.
E) As the number of people eligible to vote has decreased, voter turnout has remained constant.

Question 40

According to the _____ theory, life today is simply busier than in the past and offers more distractions.

A) relativity
B) democratic
C) lifestyle-change
D) string
E) social reform

Question 41

A political party's _____ refers to the set of issues, principles, and goals the party supports.

A) issue agenda
B) belief system
C) platform
D) political culture
E) institutional model

Question 42

The _____ party model views parties as organizations that run candidates to shape the outcomes of government.

A)organizational
B) platform
C) pragmatic
D) responsible
E) political

Question 43

Parties serve an important organizing function because they narrow the pool of office seekers to party _____ and establish a platform of issues for their candidates.

A) donors
B) nominees
C) officers
D) surrogates
E) planners

Question 44

By the 1950s, political scientists developed what is called the _____ view of parties, which holds that parties have three interrelated elements.

A) bipartite
B) tripartite
C) dialectic
D) quadrilateral
E) univariate

Question 45

_____ refers to the officials who were elected under a given party's banner.

A) Party-in-the-electorate
B) Party unity score
C) Party organization
D) Party-in-government
E) Party governance

Question 46

The Democratic Caucus refers to

A) the convention at which the Democratic Party chooses its candidates for office.
B) the main leadership body of the Democratic Party, responsible for setting party policies and platforms.
C) the strategic analysis unit of the Democratic Party, responsible for developing election strategies.
D) the leaders of the Democratic Party in the House and Senate.
E) all the Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Question 47

The citizens who identify themselves with the ideology or platform of a political party make up the

A) party-in-government.
B) party-in-structure.
C) party-in-the-electorate.
D) party-as-organization.
E) party-as-fundraiser.

Question 48

If a citizen tells a pollster that he thinks of himself as a "strong Republican," he would be considered part of the

A) party-in-the-electorate.
B) party unity score.
C) party organization.
D) party-in-government.
E) party governance

Question 49

_____ famously warned against the corrupting influence of parties in his farewell address.

A) George Washington
B) John Adams
C) Thomas Jefferson
D) Alexander Hamilton
E) Benjamin Franklin

Question 50

_____ believed that the future of the United States lay in the development of vibrant cities based on a strong manufacturing sector.

A) William Jennings Bryan
B) James Madison
C) Thomas Jefferson
D) George Washington
E) Alexander Hamilton

Question 51

The first two major parties in the United States were the

A) Democrats and the Republicans.
B) Federalists and the Whigs.
C) Whigs and the Republicans.
D) Democratic-Republicans and the Whigs.
E) Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists.

Question 52

Political parties wielded the greatest influence over American politics in the period from _____ to _____, sometimes referred to as the "Heyday of Parties."

A) 1790s to 1828
B) 1828 to 1900
C) 1900 to 1945
D) 1900 to 1970s
E) 1970s to the present

Question 53

To reduce the ability of party bosses to control what happened in polling places, the _____ ballot (or "secret ballot") was instituted.

A) English
B) Nebraskan
C) Danish
D) Australian
E) French

Question 54

_____ is the process of choosing candidates to appear on the general-election ballot under a party's banner.

A) Enrollment
B) Nomination
C) Appropriation
D) Realignment
E) Redistricting

Question 55

The direct primary system was established in order to

A) reduce the role of the party elite in selecting nominees to run for office.
B) reduce the role of political parties in selecting nominees to run for office.
C) increase participation in electoral politics.
D) reduce the influence of popular opinion on electoral politics.
E) ensure that the candidate most likely to win the general election was selected in the primary.

Question 56

Elections held by political parties in order to select their nominees are referred to as

A) primary elections.
B) general elections.
C) nomination conferences.
D) unaligned elections.
E) loyalty elections.

Question 57

The _____ primary is a system in which voters are allowed to participate in the primary election without declaring membership in a party.

A) binding
B) restricted
C) closed
D) open
E) blind

Question 58

The first major party conventions were held in

A) 1800.
B) 1832.
C) 1860.
D) 1904.
E) 1968.

Question 59

The 1968 Democratic Party convention was noteworthy because

A) incumbent President Lyndon Johnson did not seek the nomination.
B) a leading candidate, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated while campaigning.
C) anti-war protestors outside the convention were beaten by city police.
D) party leaders ultimately chose Hubert Humphrey as the party's candidate.
E) All of these things took place

Question 60

In a _____ primary, used in most states, voters pick delegates who are pledged to support a particular candidate.

A) binding
B) restricted
C) closed
D) open
E) blind

Question 61

In a(n) _____ system, rank-and-file party members attend neighborhood meetings, share ideas and concerns about particular candidates, and cast a ballot for pledged delegates to attend a statewide meeting.

A) open primary
B) closed primary
C) blanket primary
D) binding primary
E) nomination caucus

Question 62

Voters in primary elections and caucuses tend to be more _____ than the average voter.

A) wealthy
B) ideological
C) liberal
D) moderate
E) conservative

Question 63

The importance of raising money and attracting media attention early in the election process, often more than a year before the primary election, has been labeled the

A) pre-primary primary.
B) real primary.
C) necessary primary.
D) candidate-centered primary.
E) invisible primary.

Question 64

Which two states are normally afforded the privilege of holding the first primary and caucus in the presidential election cycle?

A) Iowa and New Hampshire
B) Iowa and Nevada
C) Washington and New Hampshire
D) Alabama and Washington
E) South Carolina and Ohio

Question 65

In the Democratic Party's convention, _____ are delegates appointed by the Party who have the flexibility to cast a ballot for whomever they desire.

A) at-large delegates
B) preferred delegates
C) superdelegates
D) national delegates
E) limited delegates

Question 66

A candidate who receives more votes than any other candidate but who does not receive a majority of the votes cast is said to have won a

A) rigged election.
B) effective majority.
C) essentiality.
D) plurality.
E) limited majority.

Question 67

If no candidate receives a majority in the Electoral College vote, how is the president selected?

A) Directly by the popular vote
B) By a majority vote of the state governors
C) By a majority vote of the House of Representatives
D) In the House of Representatives, in a special vote in which each state receives one vote
E) In the Senate, in a special vote in which each state receives one vote

Question 68

After the election of 1800, the voting process in the Electoral College was clarified so that a tie vote or a split ticket would be less likely to result. This was accomplished by

A) executive order by the president.
B) an act of Congress.
C) the U.S. Supreme Court.
D) the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
E) the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Question 69

The _____ is a winner-take-all model used for presidential elections in forty-eight out of the fifty states.

A) electoral filibuster
B) component law
C) direct election
D) unit rule
E) systematic determination

Question 70

In the "corrupt bargain" of 1824,

A) Henry Clay supported John Quincy Adams's candidacy in the House, and in return was named Secretary of State
B) the Supreme Court declared John Quincy Adams president.
C) the House elected Henry Clay president despite his fourth-place finish in the electoral college
D) the Senate elected Andrew Jackson president, despite him winning fewer electoral college votes than John Quincy Adams.
E) Andrew Jackson bribed House members to elect him president.

Question 71

The 1888 election was won by Benjamin Harrison despite losing the popular vote because

A) his opponent's overwhelming support was concentrated in one region, the South, while Harrison enjoyed more moderate support across the country.
B) like most states, Florida awards its Electoral College vote in a winner-take-all format, giving him all of the state's votes despite winning by a razor-thin majority.
C) the House of Representatives awarded him the election when the Electoral College could not produce a majority.
D) he won all the small states by narrow margins, putting him over the top in the Electoral College.
E) he was able to convince three faithless electors to switch their support from his opponent to him.

Question 72

Since the 1960s, money has become more important in political campaigns because of the

A) declining influence of political party organizations.
B) growing size of the electorate.
C) rise of television.
D) increasing use of campaign consultants.
E) All of above contribute to the rising costs of political campaigns

Question 73

The Supreme Court ruled that campaign expenditures are akin to free speech and are therefore protected by the First Amendment in the case of

A) Smith v. Allwright.
B) Roe v. Wade.
C) McConnell v. Federal Election Commission.
D) Buckley v. Valeo.
E) Tinker v. Des Moines.

Question 74

"_____" refers to funds contributed through a loophole in federal campaign finance regulations that allowed individuals and groups to give unlimited sums of money to political parties.

A) Dirty money
B) Fringe benefits
C) Soft money
D) Hard money
E) Declarative donations

Question 75

Political action committees were originated

A) in the 1970s to get around spending limits imposed on candidates accepting public funding.
B) during the 2004 election to combat the rising influence of 527 groups.
C) after 2002 to get around limits imposed by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
D) in the1940s to get around laws barring labor unions and corporations from giving money to federal candidates.
E) in the 1960s to counteract the incumbent fundraising advantage.

Question 76

PACs prefer to send their funds to incumbents because of the so-called incumbent

A) demand.
B) oligarchy
C) advantage.
D) disadvantage.
E) leverage.

Question 77

In the case of U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not impose _____ on their Congress members.

A) recall elections
B) public censure
C) ballot initiatives
D) term limits
E) campaign finance restrictions

Question 78

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was challenged in the Supreme Court case

A) Smith v. Allwright.
B) Roe v. Wade.
C) McConnell v. Federal Election Commission.
D) Buckley v. Valeo.
E) Tinker v. Des Moines.

Question 79

In the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that

A) unions and corporations could spend money from their general treasuries on federal elections, although they could not give money directly to candidates.
B) individual campaign contributions were limited to $50.
C) political action committees could spend unlimited money on federal elections.
D) individuals, but not unions and corporations, could spend unlimited money on federal elections.
E) unions and corporations could give money directly to candidates.

Question 80

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment outlawed the use of poll taxes.