Deck 5: Political Parties

Question 1

Which party model emphasizes that political parties are primarily concerned with electing governmental officeholders?

A) Functional party model
B) Ideological party model
C) Max-voter party model
D) Epstein party model

Answer 1

A

Question 2

George Washington viewed political parties as

A) essential to the success of the nation.
B) institutions necessary to allow democracy to flourish.
C) nothing more than large factions driven by selfish motives destructive of the common good.
D) part of the moral fiber needed to preserve the new constitution.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a type of direct primary?

A) Closed
B) Open
C) Caucus
D) Top-Two Blanket

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In many of the American states, legislative elections are becoming

A) more competitive.
B) meaningless.
C) less partisan.
D) less competitive.

Question 5

All of the following are true of the responsible party model EXCEPT:

A) Parties should be ideologically consistent by presenting a clear platform and set of policies that are principled and distinctive.
B) When looking at third parties, one would be hard-pressed to find one that reflects the normative ideal of responsible parties.
C) Voters are expected to choose a candidate based on whether or not they agree with the proposed programs and policies of that candidate's party.
D) Once in office, the candidate and the party are to be held accountable for implementing the party's programs and policies.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT true about political parties in the United States?

A) Institutionally, and across the states, political parties are equally powerful.
B) Political parties allow people to come together to articulate a political viewpoint.
C) Political parties help nurture political leaders, mobilize citizens to vote, and formulate public policy.
D) Some observers feel that the most important factor in state politics is the political party.

Question 7

When party members informally meet, deliberate, and then cast votes for their preferred candidates, it is called

A) a secretive primary.
B) a caucus.
C) a county convention.
D) absentee voting.

Question 8

Which primary system is one in which voters can only vote for candidates of the party with which they are registered?

A) Closed primary
B) Secretive primary
C) Open primary
D) Semi-closed primary

Question 9

Despite the views of the founding fathers, political scientists often describe political parties as

A) nothing more than large factions driven by selfish motives destructive of the common good.
B) superior political organizations serving to enhance democracy.
C) weak and insignificant, having no impact on the political system.
D) inferior to interest groups in democratic governance.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a function of a political party?

A) Candidate recruitment
B) Political socialization
C) Lobby electioneering
D) Linkage between citizens and government

Question 11

In Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that

A) the state's law permitting registered independents to vote in the Republican Party primary was unconstitutional.
B) the state's top-two primary system, allowing all eligible voters to vote for any candidate running on any party ticket, was unconstitutional.
C) the state's top-two blanket primary did not deprive state parties of their associational rights to choose their party nominees.
D) the state's law requiring registered voters wishing to vote in the Republican Party's primary had to be registered with the party was unconstitutional.

Question 12

Which of the following is an institutional constraint that encourages the two major political parties to operate as "big tents"?

A) Multimember districts
B) Proportional representation
C) Closed primaries
D) Direct and open primaries

Question 13

California's recent adoption of a nonpartisan top-two blanket primary will likely result in all of the following EXCEPT

A) moderation within the state legislature.
B) candidates rewarded who campaign on the far ends of the ideological spectrum.
C) offer greater electoral chances to moderate Republican and Democratic candidates.
D) encourage more registered independents to turn out to the polls.

Question 14

All of the following are characteristics of a nonpartisan direct primary EXCEPT:

A) A candidate's party affiliation is listed on the ballot.
B) Every voter receives the same ballot.
C) Voters do not have to be registered with a party to participate.
D) The two candidates receiving the most votes win spots on the general election ballot.

Question 15

In a partisan direct primary

A) voters select two candidates affiliated with a political party for each elected office; then those two candidates have a run-off to determine who will be the party nominee.
B) voters select one delegate affiliated with a political party who will then select the nominee for each office; the nominee will then face the nominees of the opposing party in the general election.
C) voters select one candidate affiliated with a political party for each elected office; the party nominees later face one another in a general election.
D) voters select a slate of candidates who are all affiliated with a political party; then the party leaders choose which candidates from the slate will fill each elected office.

Question 16

In what kind of election do voters select one candidate affiliated with a political party for each elected office, after which a general election follows?

A) Open primary
B) Caucus
C) Partisan direct primary
D) Closed primary

Question 17

Which model holds that political parties should be ideologically consistent?

A) Ideological Party Model
B) Responsible Party Model
C) Rational Party Model
D) Functional Party Model

Question 18

All of the following functions exemplify why political parties are essential to democratic governance EXCEPT:

A) Political parties regularize the "office-seeking ambition" of politicians.
B) Political parties help citizens overcome collective action barriers to mobilization.
C) Political Parties allow legislators to overcome collective action problems when voting on public policies.
D) Political parties prevent the decision making of governments from becoming too routine.

Question 19

Which state institution typically sets the date and determines whether a primary election or a caucus will be held?

A) The Governor
B) The Elections Commission
C) The Supreme Court
D) The state Legislature

Question 20

Which primary system was struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v. Jones ?

A) Blanket primary
B) Closed primary
C) Top-Two primary
D) Semi-open primary

Question 21

The "tripartite" structure of parties includes all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) party-in-the-electorate.
B) party-in-activism.
C) party-in-government.
D) party-as-organization.

Question 22

Which of the following United States Supreme Court cases involves party regulation?

A) Meyer v. Grant
B) Davis v. Bandemer
C) Baker v. Carr
D) Mapp v. Ohio

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT true regarding ballot access?

A) During the 1950s, in the midst of the "Red Scare," many states made their ballot access laws more restrictive in fear of the spread of communism.
B) The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that ballot access laws could be stricken if they were "invidiously discriminatory" and gave the two major parties a decided advantage over new parties.
C) The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that states could require third party candidates to petition more than 20 percent of a state's registered voters to qualify for the ballot.
D) Democrats and Republicans are usually given "major party" status and are entitled to permanent space on the ballot, whereas minor parties may have to meet stricter requirements for ballot access.

Question 24

At a minimum, to be successful a party organization must be able to overcome

A) barriers to collective action.
B) the price of mobilizing voters.
C) restrictive laws passed by state legislatures.
D) interest group politics.

Question 25

With respect to political ideology, political scientists have shown that

A) respondents living in Northern and Midwestern states tend to be more ideologically conservative than Southern states.
B) respondents living in Southern states tend to be more ideologically liberal than northern and Midwestern states.
C) respondents living in Midwestern states tend to be more ideologically liberal than Northern and Southern states.
D) respondents living in Southern states tend to be more ideologically conservative than Northern and Midwestern states.

Question 26

Which electoral practice did the 1997 U.S. Supreme Court case, Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party , specifically allow states to prohibit?

A) Blanket primaries
B) Felon disenfranchisement
C) Fusion
D) Non-Partisan primaries

Question 27

In his majority opinion, U.S. Supreme Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote all of the following reasons in support of the constitutionality of state antifusion laws, EXCEPT:

A) States should be able to avoid "voter confusion".
B) States should be able to permit two or more parties to nominate the same candidate for office.
C) States should be able to protect the "stability of their political systems".
D) States should be able to ensure the integrity of the ballot by prohibiting candidates to be cross-listed as two or more parties.

Question 28

Which of the following is the most restrictive form of primary?

A) Top-two blanket primary
B) Semiclosed primary
C) Open primary
D) Closed primary

Question 29

All of the following regarding party fusion are true EXCEPT:

A) Party fusion was a regular feature of American electoral politics during the late nineteenth century.
B) The U. S. Supreme Court ruled that party fusion was unconstitutional and could no longer be used.
C) Party fusion permits two or more parties to nominate the same candidate for office.
D) Issue-oriented third parties frequently cross-listed their candidates on the tickets of the weaker of the two major parties in the state.

Question 30

What might be considered one positive benefit of using patronage in the nineteenth century to determine political appointments?

A) It allowed the state parties to print and distribute ballots for Election Day.
B) It helped to integrate citizens, many of which were recently naturalized immigrants, into the political system.
C) It allowed local parties to exchange jobs for votes.
D) It led to State Democratic parties becoming disorganized operations, barely capable of holding annual conventions or mobilizing citizens to vote.

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the two-party duopoly in the United States?

A) Single-member district, winner-take-all electoral systems
B) Blanket primaries
C) Direct primary system
D) Ballot access laws

Question 32

The strength of an individual's attachment to a party is measured by one's

A) party affiliation.
B) political ideology.
C) party identification.
D) political affection.

Question 33

Which of the following states has its own unique top-two blanket primary system?

A) Louisiana
B) Connecticut
C) Mississippi
D) California

Question 34

What system, which emerged in the nineteenth century, describes the appointment of government positions that are determined by being a loyal partisan supporter?

A) Spoils system
B) Back-scratch system
C) Clientelist system
D) Rewards system

Question 35

Party fusion occurs when

A) members of two different parties run together on the same ticket.
B) voters can participate in the primaries for two parties on the same ballot.
C) one person runs as the candidate of multiple parties on the same ballot.
D) elected officials from two or more parties all represent the same district.

Question 36

Who was the party boss of Tammany Hall, often seen as unprincipled, self-serving, and corrupt?

A) Samuel J. Tilden
B) William Macy Tweed
C) Thomas Nast
D) George Briggs

Question 37

All of the following are possible reasons why voter turnout across the states has steadily declined since the 1970s EXCEPT:

A) partisan dealignment in the electorate.
B) decline in interparty competition.
C) decline of state and local party organizations.
D) increase in the number of voters associating with a party.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT true regarding party identification?

A) Party identification usually forms in early adulthood.
B) A person's party identification is a genuine form of social identity.
C) Party identification has proven to be an instable predictor of which party a voter will support on Election Day.
D) A person is drawn to a political party because his or her sense of belonging and allegiance.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a contributing factor to why a state's ideology and political identification do not always correlate with one another?

A) Registration laws
B) Primary election laws
C) Party competition
D) Family values

Question 40

The weakening of the attachment that voters have to a political party is known as

A) partisan dealignment.
B) party detachment.
C) partisan abandonment.
D) partisan alienation.

Question 41

What are some of the major differences between open and closed primary systems? How might a state's primary system affect partisan politics as well as political participation in a state?

Question 42

Which federal law passed by Congress in 2002 banning state parties from using soft money contributions for federal election activities has influenced state campaign finance laws?

A) Large Contribution Limitation Act
B) Soft Money Regulation Act
C) Citizens Against Corruption Act
D) Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Question 43

Which type of ballot groups together all candidates running for different political offices by their party affiliation, making straight ticket voting possible?

A) Australian (or secret) ballot
B) Direct party ballot
C) Party-column ballot
D) Office-block ballot

Question 44

According to some political scientists, during the 1950s, state political parties

A) became further weakened by the rise of candidate-centered campaigns.
B) retained their robust role in the political system, as in the mid-nineteenth century.
C) became stronger and more central to political campaigns.
D) established permanent headquarters and hired specialized staff to raise contributions and direct campaigns.

Question 45

How do political scientists measure party competition in the states? Is party competition relatively stable, or does it change? Providing examples, how would you characterize party competition in your state?

Question 46

In 2010, ____________ gained more than 700 legislative seats in the mid-term elections.

A) Republicans
B) Democrats
C) third party candidates
D) incumbents

Question 47

Which of the following was NOT an attempt by reformers to wrest control from state and local party bosses?

A) Adoption of the Australian ballot
B) Nonpartisan local elections
C) Indirect caucuses for party nominations
D) Commission and manager-commission forms of municipal government

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT true regarding interparty competition?

A) Increased party competition tends to lead to the passage of more liberal public policies.
B) State governments produce different kinds of public policies depending on the dynamics of party strength and inter-party competition.
C) Interparty competition recently has decreased across the country.
D) Heightened interparty competition leads to greater levels of participation by citizens.

Question 49

What are some of the major barriers to electoral participation in the American states? Providing at least two examples to make your case, do you think your state has greater participation barriers today compared with other states?

Question 50

Some scholars argue that political parties are necessary actors in the American system of government. What is their importance? Be sure to provide two examples defending and countering this essential question.

Question 51

What is partisan identification (PID)? How does it relate to party registration? Are there any institutional reasons why citizens might choose not to register with a party in some states more than others?

Question 52

Progressive Era ballot and election reforms included

A) grouping candidates on a ballot by office rather than by party.
B) using ballots issued by the party to encourage party-line voting.
C) allowing parties to have more control over ballot printing.
D) prohibiting citizens and groups from placing issues on the ballot for a public vote.

Question 53

Between 1950 and 2000, legislative seats across the states

A) were almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.
B) were held by a majority of Democrats.
C) started with a majority of Republicans, but gradually shifted to a majority of Democrats.
D) were held by a clear majority of Republicans.

Question 54

Political scientists often measure party competition in the states using which of the following?

A) Ranney Index
B) Tripartite Index
C) Internecine Party Index
D) Epstein Index

Question 55

Many state campaign finance regulations in place today

A) prohibit potential donors from making small contributions.
B) are extremely lax with respect to their enforcement.
C) are not at all successful in preventing illegal contributions.
D) are new, with over 30 states adopting them over the past two decades.