Deck 8: Campaigns and Elections, Texas Style

Question 1

Which of the following barriers to voting in post-Reconstruction Texas was rarely used?

A) literacy tests
B) a poll tax
C) white primaries
D) intimidation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In an open primary election, ______.

A) the election contest is restricted to voters who have not declared a party affiliation
B) the election contest excludes supporters of other political parties
C) voters are permitted to vote any time during election week
D) independent voters are excluded from voting
E) voters do not have to declare party affiliation to participate

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which of the following helped to eliminate barriers to voting for African Americans?

A) the Registration Rights Act of 1933
B) the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v. Madison
C) the Nineteenth Amendment
D) the Motor Voter Law
E) the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Texas extended voting rights to which of the following groups in primary elections even before an amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

A) African American men
B) military personal stationed in Texas but without Texas residency
C) women
D) nonresidents

Question 5

Which candidates do not receive votes in a roll off?

A) national
B) state
C) both national and state
D) county

Question 6

Voter turnout refers to the number of ______.

A) people casting ballots in a given election
B) people registered to vote in a given election
C) candidates on a ballot in a given election
D) the population eligible to participate in an election
E) voters turned away from voting locations due to ineligibility

Question 7

On what day are national elections held?

A) the first Tuesday in November
B) the second Tuesday in November
C) November 6
D) the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
E) the first Tuesday after the second Monday in November

Question 8

Second-order elections refer to ______.

A) elections that occurred prior to the Help America Vote Act
B) elections in which the national chief executive is elected
C) elections that occur after the primary election
D) elections in which the winners exclusively use the patronage system to fill jobs post-election
E) elections in which offices below the national chief executive are elected

Question 9

Electronic voting ______.

A) is less expensive compared to the use of paper ballots
B) became more common after the 2000 presidential election
C) is required in state and local elections in Texas
D) is prohibited in most states

Question 10

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ______.

A) was initiated by the U.S. federal government, not the Texas state government
B) eliminated the use of the white primary
C) was initiated by the Texas state government, not the U.S. federal government
D) eliminated the use of the poll tax

Question 11

Which of the following countries was last in terms of granting women the right to vote?

A) the United Kingdom
B) New Zealand
C) the United States
D) Australia

Question 12

Early voting in Texas is ______.

A) permitted only for military personnel
B) permitted only for specific reasons since 2000
C) permitted only for those who will be out of state on Election Day
D) permitted without giving a specific reason since 1988
E) only allowed in presidential elections

Question 13

In what year was the Voting Rights Act passed?

A) 1955
B) 1965
C) 1968
D) 1971

Question 14

Which of the following barriers to voting was used primarily against Hispanics in Texas?

A) intimidation tactics
B) literacy tests
C) the Voting Rights Act of 1965
D) the grandfather clause
E) red lining

Question 15

Which of the following accurately describes voter registration requirements in Texas?

A) Residency must be established in the state for ninety days.
B) Citizens must register to vote at least thirty days before an election.
C) Voter registration requirements are set at the municipal level.
D) Voter registration must take place at a county seat.
E) Residents must reregister before each gubernatorial election.

Question 16

The candidate who already holds the office that is up for election is called the ______.

A) incumbent
B) challenger
C) party official
D) governor
E) suffragette

Question 17

In a closed primary election, ______.

A) the election contest is restricted to voters who have not declared a party affiliation
B) only members of a political party are allowed to vote
C) voters do not have to declare party affiliation to participate
D) independent voters may participate in only one party's primary
E) raiding by voters of other parties is allowed

Question 18

Which of the following accurately describes the Help America Vote Act?

A) It effectively standardized election procedures.
B) It created the early voting option.
C) It made the use of literacy tests illegal.
D) It banned the use of electronic voting devices.
E) It applied only to southern states with a history of voter intimidation.

Question 19

Which of the following is a way of getting one's name on the ballot in Texas?

A) appointment by the governor
B) appointment by the lieutenant governor
C) obtaining sufficient signatures
D) being named by national party committee
E) appointment by the Speaker of the Texas House

Question 20

What eliminated the use of white primaries in Texas?

A) state law
B) federal law
C) an amendment to the U.S. Constitution
D) an amendment to the Texas Constitution
E) a U.S. Supreme Court decision

Question 21

What is credit claiming?

A) an advantage derived from the incumbent's record
B) a disadvantage of an incumbent's failures
C) a tool used by the comptroller to collect campaign fees
D) a tool used by candidates to collect debts from contributors

Question 22

If used as it was intended, what does the long ballot require voters to ignore?

A) office
B) incumbency
C) name recognition
D) party identification

Question 23

Voter registration in Texas has ______ since 1970.

A) declined slightly
B) declined dramatically
C) increased dramatically
D) increased slightly

Question 24

In which state are voters allowed to register to vote up to and on Election Day?

A) Texas
B) Mississippi
C) Alabama
D) Minnesota

Question 25

In 2014, Greg Abbott reported contributions totaling over ______ million.

A) $75
B) $50
C) $44
D) $100

Question 26

The Help America Vote Act was created following irregularities in Florida during the ______ presidential election.

A) 1996
B) 1984
C) 2000
D) 2008

Question 27

Voluntary spending limits may be adopted by ______.

A) state sheriffs
B) state judges
C) the governor
D) PACs

Question 28

Historically, voters who wished to cast a vote before Election Day had to qualify for ______.

A) a driver's license
B) a special exemption
C) an absentee ballot
D) candidacy

Question 29

Which state lacks any form of registration?

A) Texas
B) Maine
C) Florida
D) North Dakota

Question 30

A system in which the government covered the costs of campaigns is known as ______.

A) private financing
B) closed financing
C) open financing
D) public financing

Question 31

Texas voter turnout is ______ the United States as a whole.

A) higher than in
B) the same as in
C) lower than in
D) not measured like in

Question 32

States began to pass laws to mirror HAVA rules in part because ______.

A) federal grants were provided
B) of federal pressure
C) federal elections occurred at the same time
D) citizens demanded change

Question 33

Party-line voting is a normal outcome of ______.

A) closed primaries
B) long ballots
C) open primaries
D) anonymous ballots

Question 34

A candidate who runs for office without seeking a party nomination is known as a(an) ______.

A) primary candidate
B) independent candidate
C) second-string candidate
D) dark-horse candidate

Question 35

When a representative assists a voter with finding the correct office to file a workforce complaint, the representative has engaged in ______.

A) franking
B) priming
C) casework
D) removal

Question 36

Recently, which political party has raised the most campaign contributions?

A) Democratic
B) Libertarian
C) Republican
D) Green

Question 37

Parties with less than 5 percent of the vote in the last gubernatorial election ______.

A) cannot run in the current election
B) must pay a registration fee to the comptroller
C) must first register with the secretary of state
D) are given public finance dollars

Question 38

A roll off occurs when a voter submits an incomplete ballot.

Question 39

Political parties that have won more than ______ percent of the vote in the previous gubernatorial election must hold primaries.

A) 50
B) 30
C) 20
D) 10

Question 40

When the Help America Vote Act was passed into law, approximately ______ of Texas counties still used paper ballots.

A) two-thirds
B) three-fourths
C) one-half
D) one-third

Question 41

Discuss the idea that there can be "too much democracy."

Question 42

Describe the Voting Rights Act.

Question 43

What is the most salient barrier to regulating the amount of money spent in political campaigns?

Question 44

List and discuss the three types of primary elections.

Question 45

Voter turnout for women is higher in Minnesota than in Texas.