Deck 4: Citizen Participation and Elections

Question 1

A constructive response to dissatisfaction over a community policy may involve both a passive and an active component. An example would be

A)voting against a policy and then, if it is approved, organizing demonstrations against it.
B)failing to vote and moving to another community.
C)leaving the jurisdiction and doing campaign work.
D)failing to vote and opting for a privatized alternative to government service.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Of the following, which type of individual would generally be the least likely to vote?

A)A young male living in large city
B)A 65 year old male living in a small town
C)A 65 year old male living in a large city
D)A young male living in a small town

Answer 2

A

Question 3

At the heart of the Progressive effort regarding initiatives, popular referenda, and recall mechanisms was a

A)basic trust of political party mechanisms.
B)faith in the basic institutions of government and the wisdom of partisan politics.
C)faith in the institutions of government.
D)belief in the capacity of individual citizens and a belief in restricting the powers of institutions, such as legislatures.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

To this day, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires that counties covered under the act submit any changes in election laws to the U.S. Department of Justice. These counties are located mainly in

A)southern states.
B)northern states.
C)midwestern states.
D)western states.

Question 5

Statewide initiatives are used in

A)twenty-four states.
B)all fifty states.
C)only three states: Florida, Washington, and Colorado.
D)all states where advance notice of meetings are required and minutes must be taken.

Question 6

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been modified to

A)ensure physical intimidation is not allowed.
B)limit the use of white primaries.
C)make illegal any government action that discourages minority voting.
D)extend the vote to illegal immigrants.

Question 7

The most common form of citizen participation is

A)letter writing to officials.
B)running for public office.
C)serving on an advisory committee.
D)voting.

Question 8

Major factors that help explain nonparticipation in politics include

A)age of the voter.
B)socioeconomic status of the citizen.
C)income level of the citizen.
D)All of these choices.

Question 9

The suffragists won early victories in Wyoming and Colorado. They scored the ultimate victory in their quest for enfranchisement of women when

A)the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, which granted universal suffrage to everyone.
B)the Twentieth Amendment was passed in 1920, giving women the right to vote in all states.
C)the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women had the right to vote in Smith v. Allwright .
D)the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920, forbidding the states to deny women the right to vote on the basis of gender.

Question 10

In the 2006 general elections, a non-president election year, the average voter turnout for statewide races was

A)55 percent.
B)61 percent.
C)40 percent.
D)36 percent.

Question 11

The recall mechanism for state officials is available in

A)all but two states, Georgia and South Carolina.
B)nineteen states, most recently (2010)Illinois.
C)twenty-six states, and it is available at the local level in forty-nine states.
D)all states, but it has never been used.

Question 12

To circumvent the right to vote given to African Americans under the Fifteenth Amendment (1870), southern states employed the white primary to limit the political influence of blacks. In Smith v. Allwright (1944), the Supreme Court held that

A)primaries based on race were illegal.
B)poll taxes and literacy tests were unconstitutional.
C)the primaries were a matter for party control and could not be regulated by government.
D)poll watchers and registrars must be dispatched by the U.S. Justice Department to nine southern states and parts of seven others.

Question 13

Two states that do not operate traditional polling places are

A)Washington and Massachusetts.
B)Massachusetts and Colorado.
C)Texas and Iowa.
D)Oregon and Washington.

Question 14

A closed primary is one in which

A)registered voters with party affiliation may vote in either primary, but the election is closed to independents.
B)voters may choose either party ballot in secret.
C)registered voters may vote in either party primary, but the primary is closed to those not registered.
D)voters must be registered with their party affiliation indicated in order to vote in their party primary.

Question 15

Which region was quite open, both procedurally and socially, to the early adoption of direct democracy?

A)Northeastern states
B)Western states
C)Southern states
D)Midwestern states

Question 16

The state that most recently adopted the initiative is

A)Mississippi.
B)California.
C)Utah.
D)Florida.

Question 17

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 enabled individuals to register to vote at all of the following except

A)when applying for unemployment compensation.
B)when applying for welfare benefits.
C)when applying for a driver's license or registering their cars.
D)on the day of the actual election.

Question 18

In terms of voter turnout, states with moralistic political culture typically experience

A)lower voter turnout than do states with traditionalistic political culture.
B)the same voter turnout than do states with traditionalistic political culture.
C)higher voter turnout than do states with traditionalistic political culture.
D)less political participation than states with any other type of political culture.

Question 19

What is the name of a primary system, used in states like Louisiana and California, where candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same ballot and subsequently the two candidates with the most votes in the primary then appear on the ballot in the general election?

A)Open primary
B)Top-two primary
C)Closed primary
D)Modified semi-closed primary

Question 20

Voter turnout tends to be highest in which of the following elections?

A)Primary elections held in off years
B)Non-partisan state-wide elections
C)In presidential election years
D)Local elections where non-incumbents face each other

Question 21

Voting is the most common form of political participation in the United States.

Question 22

Wealthier, more educated individuals tend to participate in politics less than individuals with lower levels of income and education.

Question 23

Women gained universal suffrage in the United States with passage of the Twentieth Amendment in 1901.

Question 24

Citizens have many ways to participate in the political process that do not involve voting.

Question 25

The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (ratified in 1920)forbids states from denying the right to vote on account of sex.

Question 26

E-government is seen as beneficial in all of the following ways except

A)it is an efficient way for government to gauge public opinion and preferences.
B)citizens can easily download reports and forms.
C)people can "click" on a government's homepage and find information and resources.
D)it leaves the "technology have-nots" behind.

Question 27

White-collar workers and professionals participate in politics at about the same rate as unskilled workers and blue-collar workers.

Question 28

In the United States, younger people participate in elections less than middle-aged individuals.

Question 29

In an open primary, only those registered with the political party are allowed to vote.

Question 30

In his influential book, Bowling Alone , political scientist Robert Putnam documented the gradual disengagement of people from all sorts of community activities and organizations.

Question 31

Participation refers to acting to influence government.

Question 32

Citizen advisory committees serve

A)exclusively as a vehicle to ensure citizen participation in government.
B)simply as a tool to be manipulated by politicians.
C)as a way to circumvent state legislatures and city councils in developing public policy.
D)a number of political purposes and provide a formal structure for citizen input.

Question 33

People in small communities (less than 5,000 inhabitants)are less likely to participate in various civic activities (including contacting local officials, attending community meetings, and voting in local elections)as compared to big-city dwellers (those who live in places with a population of 1 million or more).

Question 34

North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration.

Question 35

Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote in 1869.

Question 36

California's Proposition 13 sought to

A)give citizens tax relief by lowering property tax rates and spawned an immediate wave of tax-reduction propositions across the nation.
B)strengthen affirmative action programs in the state.
C)make marijuana legal for medical uses.
D)dismantle affirmative action programs in the state.

Question 37

In the states that permit initiatives, what percent typically are approved each year?

A)53 percent
B)41 percent
C)19 percent
D)36 percent

Question 38

Passage of the National Voter Registration Act in 1993 means that individuals can now register to vote at any U.S. Post Office.

Question 39

One reason initiatives are seen as negative is

A)the public is too ill-informed to make intelligent choices.
B)voters with frequent exposure to ballot questions are more likely to vote and feel more politically efficacious.
C)voters have a simple yes-no question rather than being forced to reflect on all appropriate options and alternatives.
D)lawmakers prefer to deal with controversial issues, such as abortion and school prayer, and face the direct consequences for their decisions.

Question 40

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1870)extended the right to vote to African Americans, but Congress had to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to get defiant southern states to allow blacks to vote.

Question 41

Referendum is a procedure where a government body submits proposed laws, constitutional amendments, or bond issues to the voters for ratification.

Question 42

Sunshine laws refer to open meeting laws, which open the meetings of government bodies to the public and are present in all 50 states.

Question 43

The coattail effect is the tendency of state candidates to influence the election prospects of a presidential candidate.

Question 44

Are initiatives good for democracy? Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages associated with initiatives.

Question 45

Recall is a procedure that allows citizens to vote an elected official out of office before his or her term has expired.

Question 46

Nonpartisan elections remove the party identification from candidates in an effort to depoliticize the campaign.

Question 47

Participation is believed to be necessary and good for democracy. However, there are positive and negative aspects associated with increased participation. Evaluate some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with increased citizen participation.

Question 48

Why do people participate in the political process? In your discussion, be sure to include a description of the various potential responses to dissatisfaction in the community and the general demographic and contextual factors that have been linked to participation. Given your discussion, what might governments do to increase citizen participation?

Question 49

What is the impact of volunteerism in states and localities?

Question 50

Nonpartisan elections are likely to be found in municipalities and in school districts.

Question 51

Most states hold their general elections during November in even-numbered years.

Question 52

What are the recent trends in the electoral processes used by state and local governments? Do you believe that they affect voting patterns?

Question 53

Statewide initiatives are legal in most states.

Question 54

California approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 adopting the top-two primary system similar to the one used in Louisiana, where the top-two vote getters in the primary become the general election candidates regardless of party affiliation.

Question 55

To ensure public access to the rulemaking process, states have adopted administrative procedure acts, which usually require public notice of the proposed rule and an opportunity for citizen comment.