Deck 4: State and Local Direct Democracy

Question 1

Which third party was one of the most influential in the adoption of direct democracy in the 1890s?

A)Populist Party
B)Green Party
C)Libertarian Party
D)Greenbackers Party

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Political observers,pundits,journalists,scholars,and politicians

A)agree that direct democracy in the American states is a disaster.
B)agree that direct democracy laws in the American states must be reviewed,rewritten,and revised.
C)disagree over the merits of allowing citizens to have more direct control over their government.
D)disagree over the number of states that permit direct democracy.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A public vote to approve a measure placed on the ballot by a state legislature or local government is a

A)popular referendum.
B)legislative referendum.
C)legislative initiative.
D)popular initiative.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In 2004,ballot measures dealing with which issue shaped the agenda of the presidential election?

A)Minimum wage
B)Gay marriage
C)Illegal Immigration
D)Humane conditions for chickens

Question 5

Direct democracy may grant all of the following powers to citizens EXCEPT

A)raise or cut taxes.
B)electing candidates to office.
C)vetoing laws.
D)removing an elected official from office.

Question 6

Between 1996 and 2012,citizens in 15 states and the District of Columbia adopted ballot initiatives

A)decriminalizing marijuana.
B)prohibiting marijuana use.
C)legalizing marijuana.
D)allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients suffering chronic pain.

Question 7

A(n)is a public veto of legislation.

A)direct initiative
B)indirect initiative
C)popular referendum
D)legislative referendum

Question 8

State legislatures have adopted which rule to ban egregious attempts at building coalitions of supporters by rolling many attractive features into a ballot measure?

A)Single-subject rule
B)Log-Rolling rule
C)Anti-packing rule
D)Pre-election qualifying rule

Question 9

In the early 1900s,direct democracy was widely adopted in which part of the country?

A)South
B)North
C)Midwest
D)West

Question 10

Former California governor,Arnold Schwarzenegger,was elected in 2003 as a result of

A)the impeachment of former governor Gray Davis.
B)a change to California's constitution in 2002.
C)a plea from Hollywood for fairer representation.
D)the recall process.

Question 11

States that adopted the initiative process in the early 1900s have

A)generally abandoned the process.
B)made provisions for the initiative and popular referendum that are less democratically radical than those that adopted the process in the late 1900s.
C)made rules that make it relatively easy to qualify for the ballot.
D)a relatively high threshold of signatures required to qualify for the ballot.

Question 12

Which president referred to the practice of citizen lawmaking as the "gun behind the door?"

A)Abraham Lincoln
B)Franklin D.Roosevelt
C)Teddy Roosevelt
D)Woodrow Wilson

Question 13

What is the mechanism of the direct initiative?

A)It allows petitioners to collect signatures to force the legislature to consider a measure proposed by citizens.
B)It allows petitioners to collect signatures to hold a public vote to remove an elected official from office prior to when the official's term expires.
C)It allows petitioners to have a public vote on a bill that the legislature has already approved.
D)It allows petitioners to collect signatures to qualify a measure for a spot on the ballot.

Question 14

In the 1990s,the use of direct democracy

A)dramatically declined.
B)reached a historic peak.
C)was outlawed in nearly all the states.
D)was shown to have no effect on what legislatures do.

Question 15

Which of the following states does NOT have any form of the initiative process?

A)Florida
B)Arizona
C)Nebraska
D)New Jersey

Question 16

Almost every state uses some form of .

A)referendum
B)initiative
C)popular veto
D)recall

Question 17

Which state has the highest level of difficulty for ballot initiative qualification,and thus,has had very few initiatives qualify for the ballot?

A)Colorado
B)Missouri
C)Ohio
D)Wyoming

Question 18

In 2011,what did the Humane Society do to place pressure on Congress to modify regulations on raising chickens?

A)It circulated ballot initiatives in two states,only to withdraw them after brokering a deal with the United Egg Producers.
B)It had petition gatherers dress up in chicken suits to collect ballot initiative signatures.
C)It hired Col.Sanders to lobby for a new law.
D)It used ballot measures to change the law in a dozen states.

Question 19

Which state has used the initiative process more than any other?

A)Colorado
B)California
C)Washington
D)Oregon

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT true regarding direct democracy?

A)Direct democracy has its roots in the Populist and Progressive eras.
B)One of the main goals of Progressive reformers was to give the public greater influence over the behavior of elected officials.
C)By the early 1900s,campaign contributions were regulated,bribery was outlawed,and new laws regulating political corruption showed the success of direct democracy.
D)Progressive reformers assumed that their efforts would cause politics to become more representative and responsible.

Question 21

Which is NOT an example of a tax limitation measure?

A)California's Proposition 13 (1978)
B)Oregon's Measure 5 (1990)
C)Indiana's Question 3 (2004)
D)Colorado's TABOR amendment (1992)

Question 22

Initiated laws passed by voters

A)take precedence over any other laws passed by the legislature.
B)cannot be challenged in court,but must be "reviewed,rewritten,and repassed" if any contradictions arise.
C)must be consistent with the state and the U.S.constitutions,like any other law.
D)must go through a waiting period before they are formally enacted.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT true regarding voter decisions on ballot measures?

A)Voters tend to use easily available "shortcuts" for information.
B)As ballot measures are mainly put forth by citizens and not politicians,partisanship is not a reliable predictor of how people will vote.
C)The availability of information shortcuts may explain why there are few examples of initiatives passing that are later found to be unpopular with the voters who approved them.
D)In some states,official state agencies mail every registered voter a pamphlet listing each ballot proposal with arguments for and against it.

Question 24

When economic interest groups spend in favor of their own initiatives,they

A)are mostly successful in getting their measures passed.
B)usually lose.
C)have a greater advantage over broad-based citizen groups.
D)tend to win,even if voters show clear opposition for their measures.

Question 25

Who is more likely to view TV and radio as the most influential media source in ballot measure campaigns?

A)Consultants
B)Voters
C)Politicians
D)The news media

Question 26

In 2006,voters in Florida approved a legislative referendum requiring all subsequent ballot measures to receive at least of the popular vote in order to be approved.

A)50 percent
B)60 percent
C)65 percent
D)75 percent

Question 27

Supporters of direct democracy suggest that when voters are allowed to make direct choices on policies at the ballot,they

A)can adopt laws that their state legislatures refuse to enact.
B)often replicate the ones made by their elected officials.
C)usually adopt the same laws their state legislature would adopt.
D)tend to reinforce the status quo.

Question 28

Regarding direct democracy,most people feel that

A)they can trust the campaigns put forth by measure proponents.
B)the system avoids special interest domination.
C)campaign expenditures are too high.
D)there are not enough citizen initiatives being used.

Question 29

Regarding whether money matters in initiative campaigns,some studies have shown that

A)a dollar spent by the "No" campaign has almost twice as much impact on the eventual vote share than a dollar spent by the "Yes" campaign.
B)spending by proponents is more effective when compared to spending against ballot measures.
C)narrow economic groups are regularly defeated by initiatives,such as environmental regulations or consumer protections.
D)economic interests are mostly successful at using initiatives to "buy" public policy.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT one of the four basic steps in the initiative process that most states share?

A)The proposal is drafted by proponents.
B)A state official issues an official title and summary of the measure.
C)Proponents circulate petitions for voters to sign.
D)A citizen commission verifies whether a valid number of signatures are collected.

Question 31

With regard to the effect of direct democracy on public policy,all of the following are true EXCEPT

A)direct democracy makes policies more representative of what people want and always leads to better public policy.
B)when voters are allowed to make direct choices on policies they sometimes make decisions that their elected representatives would not.
C)the biggest policy effects of direct democracy may be in the realm of governance policy.
D)the mere presence of the initiative process can affect public policy by changing how legislators behave.

Question 32

To qualify a measure for the statewide ballot in large states like California,proponents

A)need only to pay a qualifying fee,rather than collect individual signatures by petition.
B)present their measure to a panel of judges,who decide whether or not to allow it.
C)simply need to file a request and wait a required period of one year for a review.
D)often resort to hiring firms that are paid to collect signatures.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the effects of direct democracy on citizens?

A)The presence of highly visible initiatives and frequent voting on ballot measures may make people feel more as if they "have a say" in politics.
B)People in initiative states are more likely to think that public officials do not care about what citizens think.
C)There is some evidence that frequent use of initiatives causes voters to feel more competent when participating in politics.
D)People in initiative states are more likely to engage in political discussion,have greater political knowledge,and contribute to interest groups.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT true regarding paid signature gathering in the United States?

A)Petition management firms often offer proponents a guarantee of qualification,but at a price that runs close to $2 million.
B)Paid signature gatherers have been known to earn a typical rate of $1 or $2 per valid signature.
C)The U.S.Supreme Court upheld state laws in 1988 that banned the practice of paid signature gathering.
D)Paid signature gathering,as an institution,allows wealthy groups and individuals to play a prominent,if not dominant,role in affecting what gets put to a public vote.

Question 35

Which U.S.Supreme Court case ruled that no limits may be placed on sources that can be used,or a cap on the amount spent,in ballot initiative campaigns?

A)Simpson v.United States
B)Malone v.White Motor Corp.
C)Bellotti v.First National Bank of Boston
D)Bankers Trust Co.v.Mallis

Question 36

According to one study,which of the following states has the easiest qualification rules for ballot initiatives?

A)Idaho
B)Nevada
C)Oregon
D)Wyoming

Question 37

Controversial issues placed for a public vote via the initiative or referendum process by one political party or group,with the goal of dividing candidates and supporters of a rival party or group are known as

A)wedge issues.
B)split-ticket items.
C)partisan grudges.
D)policy divisions.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT true regarding direct democracy and minorities?

A)Many people worry that the initiative process can harm the interests and civil rights of minorities.
B)There is evidence that the initiative process is prone to produce laws that disadvantage minorities more than legislatures would.
C)In nearly every instance where the initiative process has been used to limit minority rights,courts have stepped in to overturn voters and uphold minority rights.
D)Most initiatives pit the interests of racial/ethnic minorities against the majority.

Question 39

The large sums of money spent on ballot measure campaigns gave rise to concerns about the perspective that says paid political consultants are actors who create the demand for their services by advocating their own proposals for ballot measures.This perspective is known as

A)the initiative industrial complex.
B)the guns for hire mechanism.
C)Californication.
D)special interest domination.

Question 40

In a 2010 decision,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that the state of Washington could do what with signatures collected on a popular referendum?

A)Make them available to the public.
B)Destroy them.
C)Prevent the public from viewing them.
D)Use them to identify pedophiles.

Question 41

How have minorities been affected by direct democracy measures? What minority group is currently on the frontline of initiative battles,and how is the fight progressing across state legislatures?

Question 42

Discuss some of the criticisms of financing direct democracy measures.How has the U.S.Supreme Court ruled in terms of spending for ballot initiatives? Do you think it has affected the costs of campaigns?

Question 43

What is the general public's response to direct democracy measures.What are the praises and criticisms? Do you
think your state should adopt or reject various measures?

Question 44

Why is the initiative process sometimes called the "gun behind the door"? Provide examples of how this process has
been used effectively.

Question 45

Is direct democracy better than representative democracy? Provide at least three reasons and an equal number of examples in your answer.