Deck 6: Elections, Parties, and Democracy

Question 1

Voting strictly based on perceived economic conditions and holding those incumbents responsible is ____________________.

A) retrospective voting
B) prospective voting
C) group preference voting
D) responsible party voting

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What percent of voters in the United States describe themselves as "Independent" or moderate?

A) 23%
B) 47%
C) 42%
D) 35%

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Political Scientist Russell Dalton has found that newer "dealigned" voters are frequently

A) informed on political issues.
B) concerned with politics generally.
C) willing to consider candidates from either party.
D) All of the above are true.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The most accurate predictor of vote choice is ______________________.

A) ideology
B) political socialization
C) party identification
D) party policy position

Question 5

Roughly what percent of incumbents are re-elected to their public office?

A) 75%
B) 90%
C) 50%
D) 80%

Question 6

The decline in the number of people identifying with either party is referred to as

A) apathy.
B) dealignment.
C) realignment.
D) neutralization.

Question 7

Most voters have _______ information about many of the specific policy issues upon which to base their voting choices.

A) much researched based
B) no
C) very little
D) bias

Question 8

Democratic candidates tend to do better among _________ voters.

A) single women
B) small-town, rural
C) protestant
D) business owners

Question 9

Which of the following is seen as a "myth" when it comes to understanding voter behavior?

A) Voters vote based on policy positions.
B) Voters vote based on candidate image.
C) Voters vote based on economic conditions.
D) Voter vote based on perceived group benefit.

Question 10

The purpose of the responsible party system is to

A) educate the people about the issues and simplify choices for them.
B) recruit candidates for public office who agreed with the party policy positions.
C) organize legislatures to ensure party control of policy-making.
D) All of the above are true.

Question 11

Based on personal appeal, President __________ won more Democratic voters than any other Republican candidate in modern history.

A) Nixon
B) George H.W. Bush
C) Reagan
D) George W. Bush

Question 12

_________ are those who rely on either liberal or conservative principles in evaluating candidates and issues.

A) Policy voters
B) Retrospective voters
C) Party Voters
D) Party activists

Question 13

Political parties have ____________ holding their elected officials responsible for enacting party positions or carrying out party platforms.

A) several direct measures for
B) considerable power in
C) no direct way of
D) the ability to enact measures for

Question 14

In democratic nations, the first function of elections is to

A) tie the masses to the system.
B) provide legitimacy for elected officials.
C) protect individuals and groups from official abuse.
D) illustrate a symbolic show of input from the masses.

Question 15

Voters for the Democratic Party are disproportionately drawn from

A) urbanities.
B) Jews, Catholics, and African Americans.
C) those with annual incomes over $200,000.
D) all of the above.

Question 16

In recent decades, the percentage of voters preferring neither party has doubled while

A) the percentage of Republicans has also doubled.
B) the percentage of Republicans has remained the same.
C) the percentage of Democrats has doubled.
D) the percentage of Democrats has remained the same.

Question 17

Realignment is best illustrated by _________________________.

A) a Democratic leaning social group becoming identified as Republican.
B) an Independent political group aligning with either political party.
C) a Republican PAC choosing to support a moderate candidate and policy mandate.
D) All of the above.

Question 18

As more voters identify as independents, ____________ of candidates have become central to many.

A) policy views
B) personal characteristics
C) educational status
D) the individual wealth

Question 19

The percentage of the adult population who are party activists is roughly

A) 35 percent.
B) 25 percent.
C) 10 percent.
D) less than 5 percent.

Question 20

Although a myth, _________________frequently causes candidates to believe their positions were what brought electoral victory.

A) party support
B) policy voters
C) fundraising
D) policy mandate

Question 21

Compared with presidential elections, participation in primary elections is about

A) 10% to 15 %.
B) 20% to 30%.
C) the same as the presidential election.
D) 50% to 60%.

Question 22

Third parties fail in American politics due to

A) ballot access issues.
B) a lack of an organized effort to focus on elections .
C) only focus on a single issue.
D) All of the above.

Question 23

How many independent candidates have been elected to the White House in U.S. history?

A) 0
B) 1
C) 2
D) 3

Question 24

The average US Senate election costs candidates _____________________.

A) $5 billion
B) $10 billion
C) $15 billion
D) $20 billion

Question 25

In ________, a majority of party convention delegates began to be selected in primary elections.

A) 1787
B) 1865
C) 1936
D) 1972

Question 26

What percent of Americans believe that the United States needs a third party?

A) 35%
B) 45%
C) 50%
D) 60%

Question 27

___________ is consistently the most "successful" minor party in the United States.

A) The Green Party
B) The Reform Party
C) The Libertarian Party
D) The Democratic Socialist Party

Question 28

The party that draws its membership more from small-town residents, Protestants, and professionals is the ____________________ Party.

Question 29

What types of contributions are not disclosed to the federal government?

A) hard money
B) contributions under $200
C) soft money
D) contributions from SuperPACS

Question 30

____________________ is the term describing the increasing ideological separation between Democratic and Republican Party activists.

Question 31

________________ played a major role in the defeat of Hoover, Carter, and Bush based on economic conditions.

Question 32

To appeal to the majority of voters, a political party will have to ________________.

A) clearly articulate a policy platform.
B) move to the ideological middle.
C) launch an extensive media campaign.
D) raise more money than the other party or candidate.

Question 33

The main goal of a party is to

A) promote ideological positions.
B) frame the issue debate.
C) win elections.
D) educate the electorate.

Question 34

President Obama broke election records by ___________________.

A) outspending his opponent - spending almost double the opposing candidate.
B) raising the most money in small campaign contributions.
C) losing the New Hampshire primary but winning the election.
D) receiving the most electoral votes of any candidate.

Question 35

Generally, the ideology that believes in limited government, individual liberty, and free markets is called

A) libertarianism.
B) conservatism.
C) Americanism.
D) republicanism.

Question 36

_________________ candidates, in recent years, have emerged and separated from the established Republican Party establishment candidates.

Question 37

The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that independent expenditures by corporations and unions could not be restricted. This case is known as

A) the Buckley case.
B) the Reynolds case.
C) the Citizens United case.
D) the United Farm Workers of America.

Question 38

SuperPACS

A) are now illegal in all except one state.
B) can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money promoting or attacking candidates.
C) are run by foreign corporations and interests to change election outcomes.
D) are able to use public funds for campaigns.

Question 39

Elections are a means of selecting

A) policy mandates.
B) public opinion on specific issues.
C) public support for government.
D) people, not policy.

Question 40

The amount of money spent in a presidential election year is roughly _____________.

A) $2 billion
B) $4 billion
C) $10 billion
D) $6 billion

Question 41

In recent decades, Democratic Party loyalty has________________.

Question 42

Political contributions given directly to political parties, not candidates, is referred to as ____________________.

Question 43

Primary voters pay little or no attention to candidates for party offices.

Question 44

____________________ is the campaign effort to identify and target favorable voters in the electorate.

Question 45

Voter behavior, or how and why the masses make their ballot decisions, is a central question in political science.

Question 46

____________________ and ethnic minorities are conspicuously underrepresented in the primary electorate.

Question 47

Parties are ____________________, dominated by active ideologically motivated elites.

Question 48

The U.S. Supreme Court declared that the right to spend as much of one's own personal wealth on campaigning as they wish is protected by the ____________________.

Question 49

Most campaign funds are raised from ____________________.

Question 50

In order to secure election victory, political parties cannot remain on the far left or far right because most Americans are found ____________________.

Question 51

The term for elections in which success is defined by getting the most votes is ____________________.

Question 52

Negative campaigning __________________ voter turnout among the masses.

Question 53

Most voters self-identify themselves as Independent due to the _____________ in the electorate.

Question 54

The establishment of ____________________ has contributed a great deal to the decline in importance of party organizations.

Question 55

The "Daisy Girl" commercial broadcast by _________________ was the first memorable attack ad in a political campaign.

Question 56

The American party system provides the masses with an effective means to direct public policy.

Question 57

SuperPACS can raise and spend ______________ amounts of money promoting or attacking candidates.

Question 58

____________________ is the most important hurdle for any candidate trying to run for public office..

Question 59

Masses are likely to understand what the meaning of liberalism or conservatism is.

Question 60

Elections provide the masses with an opportunity to________________ judge the conduct of past administration.

Question 61

The organization of the two main parties is a result of Diverger's Law.

Question 62

Increasing numbers of voters identify not with either major party, but as independents.

Question 63

Most third parties do not try to win, but only to publicize a political message.

Question 64

Most Americans believed that Mitt Romney was the more "Moderate" candidate in the 2012 Presidential election.

Question 65

Unionists, feminists, and environmentalists are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans.

Question 66

Primary elections weaken the influence of ideological activists in each party.

Question 67

What is a SuperPAC and why have these organizations become an integral part of the modern day campaign?

Question 68

In 2000, Hilary Clinton broke campaign finance records by raising $85 million dollars for her New York Senate race.

Question 69

The core Republican activists are often government employees or those who belong to labor and teachers' unions, and feminist, civil rights, and environmental organizations.

Question 70

What role does political identification play on voting behavior? How does this affect the political parties?

Question 71

Discuss the "responsible party" model of the American system.

Question 72

In 2006, roughly 70% of Americans approved of President Bush's Iraq war "stay the course" policy.

Question 73

Elections are purely symbolic exercises to tie the masses to the established order.

Question 74

Party loyalties in American politics show decreases overtime but a majority still register as party members.

Question 75

Americans who identify as liberal or conservative remain ideologically consistent in their policy views.

Question 76

Explain the effect of the increase in Independent voters on the Democratic and Republican parties as well as any successful third party.

Question 77

In most campaigns, image trumps ideology.

Question 78

The growth of presidential primaries over the last several decades contributed a great deal to the decline in the importance of party organizations.

Question 79

Major party candidates are automatically included on the general election ballots.

Question 80

According to Fiorina, the elites are the most divided, and not the masses.