Deck 6: Nominations and Elections

Question 1

Which of the following groups of Americans does NOT traditionally vote Democratic?

A)African Americans
B)Catholics
C)Hispanic Americans
D)Protestants
E)Jewish voters

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following are used by the Democratic Party but not the Republican Party?

A)Open primaries
B)Closed primaries
C)Superdelegates
D)Winner-take-all primaries
E)Caucuses

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Democratic Party primary rules allocate delegates on the basis of

A)a winner-take-all system.
B)proportional representation.
C)a majoritarian system.
D)party caucus preferences.
E)a national caucus system.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A party's vice presidential nominee is customarily chosen by the

A)presidential nominee.
B)party's national chairperson.
C)president pro tem of the Senate.
D)Speaker of the House.
E)national caucuses.

Question 5

The purpose of the convention system favored by the Jacksonians in 1824 was

A)to make it easier to elect a president.
B)to discourage frontloading by various states.
C)to make the process more democratic.
D)to ensure that only two political parties would participate.
E)to create the Electoral College as a method of electing presidents.

Question 6

To qualify for retroactive federal funds,a third-party candidate for the presidency must receive what percentage of the total popular vote?

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

Question 7

The presidential primary takes the formal selection of convention delegates out of the control of __________ and places it in the hands of the voters.

A)local precinct bosses
B)state party leaders
C)the national committee chairperson
D)big donors
E)party platforms

Question 8

The earliest method used to select candidates for public office in the United States was the

A)mixed caucus.
B)legislative caucus.
C)primary system.
D)convention system.
E)direct primary system.

Question 9

In which of the following elections is voter turnout most likely to be highest?

A)A midterm Senate election
B)A midterm House election
C)A presidential primary
D)A presidential caucus
E)A presidential general election

Question 10

The most common method for nominating candidates for public office in the United States today is the

A)primary system.
B)caucus system.
C)Electoral College system.
D)party appointment system.
E)executive appointment system.

Question 11

Which of the following accurately describes recent changes in the presidential primary process?

A)States are scheduling their primaries later in the year.
B)States are scheduling their primaries earlier in the year.
C)States are shifting from caucuses to primaries.
D)Primary elections are being made cheaper as campaigns shift to the Internet to reach voters.
E)States with later primaries are having a disproportionate influence on the selection of delegates.

Question 12

The increasing cost of political campaigning is largely due to the

A)rise of lawsuits.
B)use of television.
C)the Electoral College.
D)increasingly complicated federal campaign regulations.
E)use of the Internet.

Question 13

Meetings of party members at the local or precinct level to choose delegates to county conventions are known as

A)caucuses.
B)primaries.
C)run-off primaries.
D)open primaries.
E)preconventions.

Question 14

A primary election in which participation is limited to voters who have formally registered as members of a particular political party defines the

A)open primary.
B)closed primary.
C)runoff primary.
D)winner-take-all primary.
E)national primary.

Question 15

The number of delegates attending a party convention is determined by

A)a panel of state governors.
B)the party itself.
C)the House of Representatives.
D)the number of members of Congress a state has.
E)the Supreme Court.

Question 16

If a political party in a given state awards all of its delegates to the candidate who wins the most votes,the state is using a __________ system.

A)caucus
B)convention
C)progressive
D)winner-take-all
E)king caucus

Question 17

Which of the following accurately describes contemporary national party conventions?

A)They are frequently contentious affairs.
B)It is hard to predict how the delegates will vote.
C)They are a means for the party to appeal to voters.
D)They are closely watched by the public.
E)They foster dissent within the party.

Question 18

Which one of the following is true regarding open and closed primaries?

A)More states hold open primaries than closed primaries.
B)In a closed primary,the voter can select the ballot of the party in whose primary he or she wants to participate; open primaries allow only party members to participate.
C)Political parties generally do not favor closed primaries because they encourage raiding; open primaries discourage raiding.
D)Closed primaries restrict voting to registered members of that party only; in open primaries,voters can select the ballot of the party in whose primary they want to participate.
E)Republicans tend to hold open primaries; Democrats tend to hold closed primaries.

Question 19

Party platforms are

A)very specific,detailed statements about current political issues.
B)statements about only one or two prominent issues.
C)statements about detailed political campaign fund-raising and advertising strategy.
D)rarely addressed at the national conventions.
E)often vague,general statements about current political issues.

Question 20

Some states require that candidates receive a majority of the votes in order to win the nomination.If this does not happen during the primary,then a _______ is often used.

A)general election
B)caucus
C)king caucus
D)closed primary
E)runoff primary

Question 21

Prior to changes in campaign finance laws,contributors would give money to political parties rather than directly to the candidates in order to avoid certain limits on contributions.These donations were known as

A)soft money.
B)hard money.
C)new money.
D)bundled money.
E)declared money.

Question 22

Drawing a congressional boundary to give one political party electoral advantage over the opposing party is called

A)gerrymandering.
B)petitioning.
C)raiding.
D)engineering.
E)coattailing.

Question 23

Which one of the following is true of the Electoral College?

A)Most states use a winner-take-all system.
B)It gives third parties a high probability of winning electoral votes.
C)A candidate receiving 100 electoral votes becomes president.
D)States may select as many electors as they wish.
E)The winner of the popular vote has always won the electoral vote.

Question 24

The tax-exempt groups that were influential in the 2004 election and were named after a provision in the Internal Revenue Code are called

A)PACs.
B)FECAs.
C)527s.
D)INGOs.
E)ETFs

Question 25

The Republican Party won control of both the House and the Senate in 2002,something they had not done since

A)1932.
B)1960.
C)1954.
D)1988.
E)1992.

Question 26

In the 2008 congressional elections,Democrats gained seats in both the House and the Senate.Many of these victories were said to be a result of the popularity of Barack Obama.Which of the following helps explain this phenomenon?

A)Gerrymander
B)Coattails
C)Franking privilege
D)King caucus
E)Soft money

Question 27

The presidential nominating process begins earlier in the year than it used to.

Question 28

The "office block" or "Massachusetts ballot" lists all the candidates according to

A)the popularity of the candidates.
B)the office for which they are running.
C)political party.
D)last name,regardless of the office for which they are running.
E)the amount of money each candidate has raised.

Question 29

To be elected president of the United States by the Electoral College,a candidate must win

A)at least 270 electoral votes.
B)at least 538 electoral votes.
C)at least 600 electoral votes.
D)a majority of the popular votes.
E)the electoral votes in a majority of the states.

Question 30

Turnout in presidential elections has increased since 1996.

Question 31

Presidential primaries are more common than caucuses.

Question 32

What is the total number of Electoral College votes?

A)104
B)225
C)270
D)538
E)1030

Question 33

Most states use the open primary.

Question 34

Which of the following is an advantage that congressional incumbents enjoy when running for reelection?

A)Incumbents do not have to disclose the sources of their funding.
B)Incumbents generally receive more campaign contributions.
C)Incumbents can receive anonymous donations up to $10,000.
D)Incumbents enjoy public financing of their campaigns.
E)Incumbents are exempt from franking privileges.

Question 35

A procedure in which a person who wants to vote presents an election official with proof that he or she meets all the legal requirements for voting in the upcoming election is called

A)balloting.
B)registration.
C)nomination.
D)electing.
E)petitioning.

Question 36

The amount of money spent on congressional campaigns has

A)declined due to the increase of PAC activity.
B)declined dramatically as more focus has been placed on presidential contributions.
C)remained steady over the past thirty years.
D)increased very slightly in recent years.
E)increased greatly in recent years.

Question 37

Which of the following groups of states receives the most votes in the Electoral College?

A)Nevada,Wyoming,Missouri,Oklahoma
B)New Jersey,Connecticut,South Carolina,Utah
C)Minnesota,Washington,Oregon,New Mexico
D)Rhode Island,Delaware,Alaska,Hawaii
E)California,Texas,New York,Florida,Ohio,Pennsylvania,Illinois,and Michigan

Question 38

In an open primary,voters do not have to choose a party and are free to select the ballot of the party in whose primary they wish to participate.

Question 39

Under Electoral College procedures governing the presidential elections,voters directly vote for

A)a presidential candidate.
B)a presidential candidate and a vice presidential candidate.
C)candidates for the presidency,vice presidency,U.S.Senate,and House of Representatives.
D)a slate of electors.
E)members of the president's cabinet.

Question 40

The debates between which presidential candidates marked the first time an incumbent president faced an opponent on television?

A)Nixon and Kennedy
B)Ford and Carter
C)Bush and Clinton
D)Johnson and Goldwater
E)Roosevelt and Hoover

Question 41

It is clear that present campaign finance laws are very effective in limiting campaign spending.

Question 42

In terms of voting,Republicans often do well in rural areas,small towns,and suburbs of major cities.

Question 43

So-called 527s are exempt from the ban on soft money spending that was put in place by the 2002 campaign finance law.

Question 44

The gender gap is to be found among older women voters because of issues related to Social Security and Medicare.

Question 45

There was no coattail effect in the 2008 election.

Question 46

Participation in primary elections is generally the same or slightly higher than for general elections.

Question 47

Public opinion polls consistently find that large numbers of Americans pay no attention to presidential elections.

Question 48

The Electoral College was devised by the Constitutional Convention.

Question 49

Soft money was subject to individual and group limits while hard money was not.

Question 50

The national party convention has developed into a contentious meeting that selects candidates for congressional,state,and local offices.

Question 51

Most recent proposals for revising the method for electing the president and the vice president call for replacing the Electoral College system with proportional voting.

Question 52

In the 2008 presidential election,a vast majority of African Americans who cast ballots voted for Barack Obama.

Question 53

The Indiana ballot lists all candidates in columns according to party affiliation.

Question 54

Caucuses select delegates for the national political conventions through meeting of party members.

Question 55

The National Voter Registration Act allows citizens to register to vote and renew their automobile registration simultaneously.