Deck 12: Campaigns, elections, and Voting

Question 1

The idea of counteracting an anticipated campaign attack by your opponent before the attack is even launched is most accurately called

A)preemptive advertising.
B)inoculation advertising.
C)first-strike advertising.
D)red zone advertising.
E)creative advertising.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The BEST example of a voter canvassing technique is

A)campaign stops.
B)computerized telephone calls.
C)fund-raising activities.
D)candidate debates.
E)television ads.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

About ________ percent of eligible Americans vote regularly.

A)30
B)40
C)55
D)65
E)70

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Proportional representation primaries are favored MOST by

A)small states.
B)large states.
C)Democrats.?
D)Republicans.
E)southern states.

Question 5

The group that casts the ballots that actually elect a president is

A)the electorate.
B)superdelegates.
C)the Electoral College.
D)state legislators.
E)the Senate.

Question 6

An officially recognized,federally mandated fund-raising committee for an interest group is called a/an

A)campaign committee.
B)political action committee.
C)interest group campaign committee.
D)political interest group.
E)political funding organization.

Question 7

The most politically cohesive religious group has been ______ voters.

A)Protestant
B)Catholic
C)Muslim
D)Jewish
E)Hindu

Question 8

The primary function of presidential debates among candidates is to

A)catch candidates in "gotcha" moments.?
B)increase voter knowledge about candidates' issue positions.
C)give free face time to the top three candidates.
D)create unscripted confrontations between the two opposing candidates.
E)start off the campaign season with a highly-publicized event.

Question 9

Nomination campaigns

A)involve candidates of the same political party.
B)end one week before Election Day.
C)last for a period of time established by law.
D)are usually a toss-up until the very end.
E)determine the final outcome of the election.

Question 10

Nonprofit,tax-exempt groups that can expressly advocate for candidates and are not required to disclose the names of contributors are called

A)political action committees.
B)527 committees.
C)501(c)groups.
D)national party committees.?
E)member PACs.

Question 11

Putting forward the most favorable possible interpretation of a specific candidate is best known as

A)lying.
B)spin.
C)punditry.
D)libel.
E)the FOX effect.

Question 12

The scare-off effect is NOT due to an incumbent's

A)war chest.
B)name recognition.
C)prior campaign experience.
D)age.
E)legislative staff.

Question 13

In 1971,the voting age was lowered to eighteen by the ________ Amendment.

A)Twenty-Seventh
B)Twenty-Fifth
C)Eighteenth
D)Seventeenth
E)Twenty-Sixth

Question 14

One of the primary dangers of the nomination campaign is that

A)candidates can become overly cautious and not talk about issues.
B)many candidates ignore their party's base.
C)candidates raise too much money.
D)candidates get too much media attention.
E)candidates can become too ideologically extreme.

Question 15

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

A)gave African Americans the right to vote.
B)gives state governments the right to monitor discriminatory voting practices.
C)was not renewed in 2006.
D)bans any procedure that impinges upon minorities' right to vote.
E)allowed Hispanics applying for U.S. citizenship the right to vote.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT an accurate predictor of vote choice?

A)Age
B)Party identification
C)Gender
D)Race
E)Incumbency

Question 17

One of the reasons that congressional incumbents have an electoral advantage is

A)they are more intelligent than challengers.
B)their reelection bids are federally funded.
C)fundraising is often easier for challengers.
D)the media pays more attention to challengers.
E)constituency service.

Question 18

The gender gap

A)is characterized by women favoring Republican candidates by ten to fifteen points.
B)varies widely in size but has been present in most recent elections.
C)carried Ronald Reagan into office on the strength of women's votes.
D)did not exist in the 2004 presidential election.
E)was relatively insignificant in the 1996 presidential election.

Question 19

Voter registration in the United States

A)is automatic at age 18.
B)must be done by the individual.
C)is required by law for everyone over age 21.
D)is not necessary to vote in any state.
E)was made more difficult by the Motor Voter Act.

Question 20

The head of a political campaign is usually called the

A)campaign consultant.
B)political manager.
C)campaign manager.
D)political strategist.
E)political insider.

Question 21

One of the best ways to improve public perception of a candidate is to have the candidate face the media directly when bad news about him or her arises.

Question 22

One difference between the primary election campaign and the general election campaign is the party of a candidate's opponents.

Question 23

The Democratic Party uses the winner-take-all system in few of its presidential primaries.

Question 24

Candidates can give as much money toward their own campaigns as they wish.

Question 25

College graduates are more likely to vote than those with only a high school diploma.

Question 26

According to the text,people offer several reasons why they do not vote,but

A)they may just be making excuses.
B)they may be too ashamed to give the real reason.
C)the vast majority of Americans do vote.?
D)almost all registered voters actually cast a ballot.
E)most people simply forget to do so.

Question 27

A wealthy donor can contribute large sums of money under the radar to support a candidate's cause as long as it does not go to the candidate directly and is used for issue advocacy.

Question 28

Despite then-Senator Barack Obama's high favorability ratings,why were Democrats concerned about his securing electoral victory?
?

A)They were concerned that white Americans may not support an African American candidate.?
B)John McCain and his vice presidential pick were a dream team combination.
C)John McCain had more executive experience than Barack Obama.
D)Barack Obama had little name recognition.
E)President George W. Bush's approval ratings were on the rise toward the end of his presidency.

Question 29

The media has little effect on whether members of the public contribute money to campaigns.

Question 30

Presidential elections occur the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Question 31

The sheer amount of resources available to incumbents often scares off even quality challengers.

Question 32

Barack Obama holds the record for the most money spent by a candidate for a presidential campaign.

Question 33

The nomination campaign for president begins in January of the election year.

Question 34

The most powerful predictor of vote choice remains a person's race.

Question 35

The Twelfth Amendment provided separate elections for the offices of president and vice president.

Question 36

The Help America Vote Act was passed in response to complaints about obsolete or malfunctioning voting equipment.

Question 37

After BCRA regulations took effect,soft money was banned completely in the United States.

Question 38

About a quarter of Americans are very interested in politics.

Question 39

Some people believe that giving political parties more power could increase voter turnout.

Question 40

527 political committees are tax-exempt organizations created to influence the nomination,election,or appointment of political candidates,which are not subject to FEC disclosure rules.

Question 41

In 2010,the limit on individual contributions to candidates per election was

A)$2,400.
B)$2,800.
C)$3,400.
D)$5,000.
E)unlimited.

Question 42

According to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act,issue advocacy ads are limited to within____ days of a primary and ______ days of the general election.

A)ten/twenty
B)fifteen/thirty
C)twenty/forty-five
D)thirty/sixty
E)forty-five/sixty

Question 43

In 2008,presidential candidates raised

A)more than $100 million.
B)about $100 million each.
C)upwards of $800 million.
D)over $1 billion.
E)over $2 billion.

Question 44

The sponsors of the 2002 campaign finance reform bill were

A)Mitch McConnell and John Edwards.
B)John McCain and Russell Feingold.
C)John Edwards and John McCain.
D)Russell Feingold and Mitch McConnell.
E)Mitch McConnell and John McCain.

Question 45

The length of campaigns influences which of the following in a campaign?
?
I)Structure of the campaign
II)How,when,and where campaigns spend money
III)Who candidates meet on the campaign trail
IV)Advertising strategy

A)I and IV
B)I and II
C)I, II, and IV
D)I, II, and III
E)I, II, III, and IV

Question 46

Which of the following states did Barack Obama carry in the 2008 election?

A)Virginia
B)Georgia
C)South Carolina
D)Texas
E)Mississippi

Question 47

Most candidates receive a majority of their campaign contributions from

A)individuals.
B)PACs.
C)the political parties.
D)a combination of parties and PACs.
E)corporations.

Question 48

Suppose you are quite wealthy and contributed money to the campaign of one candidate in a primary election,then gave money to another campaign after that first candidate dropped out.You also contributed to a battery of political action committees and the state and national party committees.By the time the general elections come in November,what is the most that you could have contributed?

A)$30,400.
B)$50,000.
C)$115,500.
D)$500,000.
E)There is no overall limit.

Question 49

PACs give primarily to

A)incumbents.
B)challengers.
C)presidential candidates.
D)Republicans.
E)Democrats.

Question 50

The legislative campaign season in Japan

A)is longer than that in the United States.
B)is comparable to the length of the campaign season in Israel.
C)has far greater restrictions on length than the United States.
D)is limited to 60 or fewer days.
E)includes direct mailings to potential voters.

Question 51

There are approximately ________ PACs registered with the Federal Election Commission.

A)500
B)1,000
C)4,000
D)7,000
E)10,000

Question 52

Suppose you are a candidate and you want to re-craft your campaign message.With which of the following staff members would you MOST likely work closely to create a compelling and effective message?

A)Communications director
B)Press secretary
C)Volunteers?
D)Finance chair
E)Internet team

Question 53

If you are a Democratic member of Congress representing a very Democratic district and have no challengers,much of your fundraising revenue will

A)be kept to a minimum.
B)go to charity.
C)be given to more vulnerable candidates in other districts.
D)go to the party's presidential campaign, if there is an election that year.
E)build up a massive war chest for future campaigns.

Question 54

Representative Betsy Markey said she believes that what really makes a difference in legislative campaigns is

A)one-on-one contact with potential voters.
B)fundraising.
C)phone banking.
D)negative campaigning.
E)drumming up support from those loyal to the Democratic Party.

Question 55

Money raised under the FECA guidelines is known as

A)soft money.
B)hard money.
C)individual money.
D)public funding.
E)real money.

Question 56

Why is a candidate moving to the left or the right during nomination phases both an advantage and a disadvantage?

A)It gives a candidate a more defined ideological position, but even the slightest shifts will certainly be called flip-flopping.
B)While moving to one end of the spectrum might motivate a party base during nomination, it might actually alienate more moderate or on-the-fence voters of the general election.
C)Such a move decreases divisions within one political party, but it provides banter for the media.
D)Extreme views give candidates the edge, but it also means that they are forced to hold true to that message throughout the campaign.
E)The general public, who generally view these moves as appealing during nomination, change their minds when these candidates go to the debates after nomination processes.

Question 57

Which of the following decisions struck down major components of the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act in 2010?
?

A)Buckley v. Valeo
B)Bush v. Gore
C)Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
D)BCRA v. United States
E)McConnell v. Federal Election Commission

Question 58

The lifeblood of national,state,and local campaigns are the

A)candidates.
B)political consultants.
C)speech writers.
D)volunteers.
E)voters .

Question 59

Volunteer campaign staff perform many tasks,including

A)phone banking.
B)developing a media strategy.
C)polling.
D)submitting official reports to the Federal Election Commission.
E)acquiring and distributing campaign funds.

Question 60

What strategy was MOST likely behind Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold working together to pass the 2002 campaign finance reform bill?
?

A)Having senators from different regions of the country would show the widespread need for electoral reform.
B)McCain was not an influential senator at the time, so Feingold bolstered McCain's cause.
C)Having two senators work across the aisle limited accusations of partisanship.
D)McCain was planning on running for president, and Feingold would help his chances of getting elected.
E)Feingold needed to improve his media image, so he worked very publicly with a prominent senator from his own party.

Question 61

Among the strategies that campaigns use to control the media are

A)making the candidate more available to the press.
B)staging media events.
C)ignoring negative campaign events.
D)appearing on the major networks' nightly news shows.
E)holding unrehearsed, spontaneous press conferences.

Question 62

Critics of the presidential primary argue that

A)the quality of participation in primaries is low.
B)scheduling of primaries does not affect who wins.
C)the media do not play an important role in the process.
D)candidates do not declare for office in time to run in early primaries.
E)primaries attract only the most moderate voters and candidates.

Question 63

In ________,the Supreme Court ruled that there could be no limits placed on candidates' expenditures of their own funds since such spending is considered free speech.

A)Buckley v. Valeo
B)Nixon v. U.S.
C)Rockefeller v. U.S.
D)Perot v. Reno
E)Kerry v. U.S.

Question 64

Presidential candidate debates came into wide use beginning in

A)1860.
B)1900.
C)1960.
D)1980.
E)1972.

Question 65

The Presidential Election Campaign Fund is made up of contributions from

A)corporations.
B)PACs.
C)individual taxpayers.
D)political parties.
E)public interest groups.

Question 66

Suppose you are a candidate who has been participating in an illicit marital affair,and you fear that the truth may be revealed.The MOST effective way to minimize damage is to

A)dig out and air questionable activities of your opponents until the threat blows over.
B)bow out of the race.
C)admit to nothing.
D)air an inoculation ad.
E)ignore any attack that may be launched against you.

Question 67

The traditional media
I)provide candidates with free advertising.
II)usually supply in-depth reports on the substance of campaigns.
III)follow campaigns much as they would a horse race.
IV)have little effect on people's voting decisions.

A)I only
B)I and II
C)II and III
D)I and III
E)I, III, and IV

Question 68

The most party-oriented means of choosing delegates to the national convention is

A)the instant run-off.
B)proportional representation.
C)the direct primary.
D)the caucus.
E)the winner-take-all primary.

Question 69

One of the MOST important aspects of presidential debates is

A)legitimate debate over specific issues.
B)candidates' styles of dress, especially if one is a woman.
C)drawing parallels between previous debates.
D)any gaffes or factually incorrect statements, as they may have an effect on outcomes.
E)the family members who attend the debates.

Question 70

The U.S.presidential election takes place every four years on the

A)first Tuesday in November.
B)second Tuesday in November.
C)the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
D)the Tuesday after the second Monday in November.
E)third Tuesday in November.

Question 71

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is

A)a notable 501(c)group.
B)not tax-exempt.
C)an example of a 527 committee.
D)a PAC.
E)a mostly Republican group.

Question 72

Although the Internet was first used in presidential campaigns in 1992,it was not until ____ that the role of Internet transcended the role of a virtual brochure.

A)1996
B)2000
C)2004
D)2008
E)2010

Question 73

Members of Congress contribute to candidates via

A)party caucuses.
B)foreign organizations.
C)PACs.
D)back-door donations.
E)Internet funding groups.

Question 74

In recent years,states have chosen early dates for their presidential primaries in order to gain influence in the process.This is called

A)influence peddling.
B)gerrymandering.
C)logrolling.
D)staging.
E)front-loading.

Question 75

The MOST significant difference between 501(c)groups and 527 political committees is

A)their tax-exempt status.
B)that one involves soft money and the other is hard money.
C)their affiliation with political action committees.
D)their ability to endorse specific candidates.
E)the amount of money they raised in 2008.

Question 76

Most states today choose their nominee for the president using

A)party caucuses.
B)national conventions.
C)initiatives.
D)primary elections.
E)superdelegates.

Question 77

New media has changed the face of political campaigns by
I)providing a lot more transparency of candidates' lives and ideas.
II)allowing for more immediate results and responses to strategies.
III)giving campaigns the ability to research more efficiently.
IV)providing an outlet for free media to reach scores of potential voters.

A)I and II
B)II and III
C)I, II, and IV
D)II, III, and IV
E)I, II, III, and IV

Question 78

Negative ads

A)only attack positions but not the character of opponents.
B)most frequently compare and contrast candidates' issue positions.?
C)are on the decline as a whole.
D)were not used until President Lyndon B. Johnson's controversial "Daisy Ad."
E)sometimes do not even mention the sponsor of the ads.

Question 79

Upon acceptance of the Democratic or Republican nomination,the candidates can accept public financing of up to

A)$60 million.
B)$65 million.
C)$72 million.
D)$78 million.
E)$85 million.

Question 80

What is the MOST likely reason that candidates use sound bites instead of long explanations of their agendas and positions?

A)People have great interest in political campaigns.
B)It reduces the cost of advertisements.
C)People view long explanations as too academic.
D)The news media devote little time to campaign coverage.
E)They are more likely to appear on the Daily Show.