Deck 9: Campaigns Voting and Elections

Question 1

Which of the following is responsible for monitoring campaign finance?

A) Congress
B) Electoral college
C) Federal Election Commission
D) Federal Broadcast Commission
E) Individual political parties

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What is the primary role of the political consultant in today's campaign process?

A) To organize the Get Out the Vote drive prior to election day
B) To devise the campaign theme and overall strategy
C) To direct fundraising and spending
D) To monitor the campaign's progress through polling
E) To deal directly with the press covering the campaign

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The American election system differs significantly from most European ones in which of the following ways?

A) It includes free and fair elections.
B) It includes voting rights for all citizens.
C) It includes little party involvement.
D) It includes primary elections.
E) It includes proportional representation.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following interacts directly with journalists covering a political campaign?

A) Press secretary
B) Moral majority
C) Pollster
D) Political pundit
E) Speaker of the House

Question 5

What is the goal of a political campaign?

A) To provide competition that will allow the most qualified candidate to be elected
B) To win the election, since the candidate who comes in second gets no reward
C) To improve the voters' knowledge of the major issues
D) To make the parties stronger and unite the country
E) To provide voters with a candidate who satisfies their preferences

Question 6

Which of the following statements about the nomination process is true?

A) Independent candidates often get help from political parties to obtain petitions and gather signatures to appear on ballots.
B) Candidates from the two major parties have fewer requirements to get on ballots than independent or minor-party candidates, in most states.
C) The nomination process is controlled by the Constitution and federal law.
D) For most minor offices, candidates submit petitions to be added to ballots at local courthouses.
E) Political parties require candidates to pay filing fees to run under the party's name.

Question 7

Which of the following is a preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for office?

A) Special
B) General
C) Municipal
D) Primary
E) Caucus

Question 8

Which of the following federal regulatory agencies enforces federal campaign laws?

A) The Federal Election Commission
B) The Department of Elections
C) The Congressional Campaign Committee
D) The Voting Rights Commission
E) The Federal Campaign Commission

Question 9

Which of the following best describes the outcome of the 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act?

A) It created the Federal Election Commission.
B) It placed limits on the sums that individuals and committees can contribute to candidates.
C) It created an effective way to enforce campaign rules.
D) It created the Federal Election Commission and placed limits on the sums that individuals and committees can contribute to candidates.
E) It made political action committees unconstitutional.

Question 10

Democratic political systems require which of the following?

A) Universal voting rights
B) Competitive elections
C) Elitist candidates
D) Primary elections
E) Political activists

Question 11

In the case of an independent candidate, or a candidate representing a minor party, the most serious problem is to convince voters of which of the following?

A) That voting is their patriotic duty
B) Of the importance of foreign policy issues
C) Of the importance of domestic policy issues
D) To reject the major-party candidates
E) That pluralism is fundamentally flawed

Question 12

Which of the following is a statewide election of delegates to a party's national convention, where the delegates will choose the party's presidential nominee.?

A) Primary election
B) Party primary
C) Presidential primary
D) Delegation primary
E) General election

Question 13

Which of the following events contributed most to an increase in the number of African American public officials?

A) The legal end of segregation in public schools
B) The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment
C) The passage of major civil rights legislation in the 1960s
D) The refinement of the constitutional requirements for office in the latter 1800s
E) The lowering of the legal voting age to 18

Question 14

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 was amended in 1974 to do which of the following?

A) To create the Federal Election Commission
B) To provide public financing for congressional races
C) To limit campaign expenditures in presidential elections to a maximum of $2 million
D) To create the Federal Communications Commission
E) To expand presidential campaign spending to an unlimited amount

Question 15

Which of the following is a  striking feature of today's political campaigns?

A) Large number of people who are willing to volunteer their time
B) Positive theme that most candidates use exclusively through the election
C) Lack of money contributed to candidates for major political office
D) Importance of paid professionals rather than volunteers
E) Refusal of so many candidates to take advantage of the media

Question 16

A winner-take-all system is also known as what type of voting system?

A) Democratic
B) Majority
C) Plurality
D) Proportional
E) Representational

Question 17

Which of the following statements about candidates, political parties, and campaigns is most accurate?

A) The political party is the main source of campaign funding for a candidate.
B) The candidate's position on the issues has been overshadowed in the campaign by the political party's position on key issues.
C) The focus during a campaign is on the candidate because fewer people identify with political parties.
D) The political party provides most of the expertise needed for a candidate to campaign effectively.
E) The negativity found in modern campaigns is a new phenomenon.

Question 18

An accurate way to gain insight into the public's perception of a candidate is through which of the following?

A) Man-on-the-street opinion polls, because they are conducted by the media
B) Tracking polls, because they are conducted almost daily and enable fine-tuning of the candidate's message
C) Advertising expenditures, because these are indicative of the strongest candidate
D) The primary election, because the response from voters will always indicate the strongest candidate
E) Campaign contributions made by individual households, because this funding  highlights most voters' preference

Question 19

In 1971, Congress tried to put candidates on an equal financial footing and make them less beholden to special interests through which of the following?

A) McCutcheon, et.al v. FEC
B) Campaign Finance Reform Act
C) Election and Campaign Finance Act
D) Citizens United case
E) Federal Election Campaign Act

Question 20

Which of the following statements about those individuals elected to political office in the United States today is most accurate?

A) The individuals elected to political offices accurately reflect the diverse population in the United States.
B) Those elected to political offices are evenly divided between men and women.
C) Representatives today are overwhelmingly white and male.
D) Individuals elected today are younger than candidates elected in the 1800s.
E) Elected officials are overwhelmingly Protestant.

Question 21

For presidential candidates, a significant advantage in an early primary win in New Hampshire is which of the following?

A) Being named the lead horse, which eliminates other partisan challengers
B) The ability to ignore the rest of the primary election season
C) A bonus accrual of 10 super delegate votes at the national nominating convention
D) Being designated as the front-runner, with resulting media exposure
E) The right to speak at the nominating convention of their party

Question 22

Which of the following best describes what happens at the national convention?

A) Upon arrival, most delegates are undecided as to whom they would like to see as the party's candidate.
B) The delegates from those states that had early primaries and caucuses are seated closest to the front of the convention center.
C) The presidential candidate is chosen by the party delegates.
D) Elites within the political parties are entrusted with making the determination of an appropriate candidate based upon electability.
E) It usually takes three ballots for the party to choose the presidential candidate.

Question 23

Which of the following states holds the nation's first and most famous caucus that requires people to attend a meeting of about two hours in which they indicate their preferences and then try to convince those who are undecided to join their candidate's group?

A) Arkansas
B) Iowa
C) New Hampshire
D) New Mexico
E) Washington

Question 24

Which of the following statements about the presidential nomination process is most accurate?

A) The nomination process in use today originated with the founders to elect the second president of the United States.
B) Super delegates comprise at least 50% of the delegate votes in the Republican Party.
C) Winning primary elections in states with a large number of electoral votes labels the candidate a front-runner.
D) Front-loading primaries have been discouraged by both major political parties.
E) The process of nominating presidential candidates is controlled by the public, rather than the party elites.

Question 25

Which of the following committees is responsible for determining the delegates who can participate at the national convention?

A) Credentials committee
B) National committee
C) Platform committee
D) Rules committee
E) Central committee

Question 26

Over the past 20 years, interest groups and individual companies have worked to find ways to support candidates through campaign donations, with which of the following results?

A) Congress has passed more laws to increase restrictions on contributions from big business.
B) Candidates have tried to distance themselves from these groups to avoid the appearance of complicity.
C) Candidates have become dependent on these donations to run increasingly expensive campaigns.
D) Candidates have chosen to decline these campaign donations because accepting public money appears more ethical to voters.
E) Congress has passed more laws to increase restrictions on contributions from liberal interest groups.

Question 27

How long does the typical national convention last?

A) 1 day
B) A few days
C) A few weeks
D) A month
E) Several months

Question 28

The general intent of the federal corrupt practices acts passed by Congress was to do which of the following?

A) Ensure that business interests were protected in campaign finance laws
B) Prevent or limit the possibility of slander against candidates
C) Regulate campaign financing
D) Simplify the financial information that the media report on candidates
E) Restrict the political activities of civil servants

Question 29

Who else does the national convention nominate besides a candidate for president?

A) Senator
B) Representative
C) Vice president
D) Secretary of state
E) Chief justice

Question 30

Which of the following best describes what is allowed as a result of the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC?

A) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to presidential campaigns.
B) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to entities that are "independent" of the candidates.
C) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to political parties.
D) Political parties can create special funds from federal monies to donate to candidates.
E) Corporations, unions, and individuals can donate unlimited funds to presidential campaigns, as well as to entities that are "independent" of the candidates.

Question 31

Which of the following describes states that will see intense campaigning up to the very day of the election?

A) Battleground
B) Blue
C) Large
D) Red
E) Front-loading

Question 32

The Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo that which of the following cannot be banned under the Constitution?

A) The amount a candidate spends on a campaign
B) Making unlimited contributions to a congressional campaign
C) Accepting campaign contributions from a corporation or union
D) Contributions to members of the Federal Election Commission
E) Making unlimited contributions to a presidential candidate

Question 33

Which method of delegate selection begins with local meetings and culminates in a state convention?

A) Open primary
B) Frontloading method
C) Caucus method
D) Closed primary
E) Deliberation

Question 34

A presidential primary in which contending candidates compete for popular votes, but the results do not control the selection of delegates to the national convention, is referred to as which of the following?

A) Beauty contest
B) Candidate parade
C) Reality show
D) Front-loader
E) Horse race

Question 35

Which of the following best describes the impact the 2010 Citizens United decision has had on the political campaign process?

A) Allowing corporate entities to directly coordinate candidate or campaign events
B) Opening the door to negative campaigning on a national level
C) Allowing corporate entities to contribute unlimited amounts to support or oppose candidates
D) Closing the door to Super PAC involvement in political campaigns
E) Restricting the contributions of corporate or international donors

Question 36

The term PAC refers to which of the following?

A) Political  action commissions
B) Political access contributions
C) Political action committees
D) Private access contributions
E) Private action campaigns

Question 37

Which of the following statements best describes Super PACs?

A) They allow very wealthy Americans to donate unlimited funds to influence elections.
B) They are political advertising councils that design political campaigns.
C) They are limited to raising no more than $10 million per campaign cycle.
D) They allow money to be spent on advertising and other political activities.
E) They allow America's very wealthy to donate unlimited funds to influence elections and spend money on advertising and other political activities.

Question 38

Beginning with the 2010 election, corporations were free to run ads directly advocating a candidate's election for the first time since 1907 when Congress first banned using general corporate funds in federal election campaigns. This occurred based on which 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision?

A) Federal Election Commission v. McCain
B) Feingold v. McConnell
C) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
D) BCRA v. Fox News
E) FEC v. Americans United Trust

Question 39

The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC supports which of the following?

A) Corporations, unions, and interest groups funding campaign advertising without limits as long as it is not coordinated with a campaign
B) Restrictions on campaign language used in negative advertising about other candidates
C) Unrestricted advertising by, for, or about political candidates
D) The elimination of super PACs
E) The unrestricted role of big business in political campaigns and candidate advertising

Question 40

The 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign initially saw how many candidates?

A) 50
B) 22
C) 18
D) 10
E) 4

Question 41

Which of the following amendments to the Constitution prohibits states from denying the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude"?

A) Tenth
B) Fourteenth
C) Fifteenth
D) Twenty-Second
E) Eighteenth

Question 42

Which of the following best describes the relationship between income and voting?

A) The lower one's income, the more likely you are to vote.
B) The lower one's income, the more likely you are to be politically knowledgeable.
C) Income appears to have no effect on voting participation.
D) The higher one's income, the more likely you are to vote.
E) The higher one's income, the less you are expected to vote.

Question 43

In Oregon, everyone votes by which of the following methods?

A) Telephone
B) Internet
C) Electronic devices
D) Mail
E) Raising their hand

Question 44

Which of the following best describes the right to vote?

A) It has been expanded since the writing of the Constitution.
B) It has not been extended to those without property.
C) It has been given to aliens as long as they are registered to vote.
D) It can never be taken away.
E) It is taken away if one doesn't vote in five elections.

Question 45

Which of the following amendments lowered the voting age to 18?

A) Eighteenth Amendment
B) Nineteenth Amendment
C) Twentieth Amendment
D) Twenty-Sixth Amendment
E) Twenty-Seventh Amendment

Question 46

Characteristics frequently associated with nonvoters include which of the following?

A) Low education, high income, and being middle-aged
B) Low education, low income, and being relatively young
C) High education, low income, and being relatively old
D) Low education, low income, and being middle-aged
E) High education, high income, and being middle-aged

Question 47

Some states, such as Oregon, have started to use which of the following where voters get ballots in the mail two weeks prior to the election, providing them a chance to research the candidates and cast their ballots?

A) Australian ballot
B) Compulsory voting
C) Graveyard voting
D) Internet voting system
E) Vote-by-mail system

Question 48

In 1965, which of the following laws was passed by Congress that effectively ended strategies that had discriminated against African Americans at the polls?

A) Civil Rights Act
B) Equal Voting law
C) Federal Rights Act
D) Motor Voter law
E) Voting Rights Act

Question 49

Which of the following qualifications for voting was virtually eliminated in all states by the 1850s?

A) Property ownership
B) Age
C) Race
D) Gender
E) Literacy requirement

Question 50

Blacks compared to whites tend to have political participation rates today that are which of the following?

A) Far lower
B) Slightly lower
C) About the same
D) Slightly higher
E) Far higher

Question 51

Which of the following states is frequently considered to be a battleground state?

A) Texas
B) Florida
C) Oklahoma
D) Georgia
E) Massachusetts

Question 52

Which of the following granted women the right to vote?

A) Thirteenth Amendment
B) Fourteenth Amendment
C) Fifteenth Amendment
D) Nineteenth Amendment
E) Twenty-First Amendment

Question 53

What was the effect of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment that enfranchised 18- to 20-year-olds?

A) It boosted voter turnout in the United States above that of most other democratic nations.
B) It reduced the national voter turnout rate.
C) It increased the national voter turnout rate.
D) It decreased the percentage of the population that distrusts the American political system.
E) It countered the increasing social mobility of this group.

Question 54

In general, which of the following factors contributes to higher voting rates?

A) Greater geographic mobility
B) Higher education level
C) Minority status
D) Youth
E) Less competitive race

Question 55

Women could vote in all states with the ratification of which of the following amendments in 1920?

A) Fifteenth
B) Nineteenth
C) Twentieth
D) Twenty-First
E) Twenty-Second

Question 56

Which of the following amendments extended voting rights to African American males?

A) Thirteenth Amendment
B) Fourteenth Amendment
C) Fifteenth Amendment
D) Nineteenth Amendment
E) Twenty-First Amendment

Question 57

Which type of primary election requires a person to register as a member of a party in advance of an election?

A) Open
B) Closed
C) Blanket
D) General
E) Special

Question 58

Which of the following is the principal function of a primary election?

A) Select candidates for the general election
B) Determine the winner of the office
C) Approve state questions
D) Remove officials from office during their terms
E) Approve constitutional elections

Question 59

Which of the following groups tends to be overrepresented in the electorate?

A) Wealthier people
B) People under the age of 65
C) Voters aged 18 to 24
D) The poor and homeless
E) Hispanics

Question 60

Which of the following groups of Americans turns out to vote at the lowest rate?

A) Voters with children
B) The wealthiest voters
C) The oldest voters
D) Middle-aged voters
E) The youngest voters

Question 61

The party-column ballot encourages which of the following?

A) Low voter turnout
B) Incumbency advantage
C) Increased political donations
D) Decreased political donations
E) Straight-ticket voting

Question 62

Members of the electoral college selected by each state equal the number of what?

A) House members
B) Senators
C) House members plus senators
D) Voting districts
E) Voting districts plus 3

Question 63

If no candidate receives a majority in a primary election (in states that require it), what is the next election?

A) Close primary
B) Blanket primary
C) Runoff primary
D) Preference primary
E) Caucus

Question 64

In most states, the slate of electors is chosen by which of the following?

A) A majority of votes
B) Two-thirds of the votes
C) A duality of votes
D) A plurality of votes
E) A proportionality of votes

Question 65

The formal selection of the president of the United States is in the hands of which of the following?

A) Supreme Court
B) Electors in the electoral college
C) House of Representatives
D) People
E) Senate

Question 66

Which of the following  occurs when a popular president running for reelection brings additional party candidates into office?

A) Bundling
B) Front porch campaigning
C) Microtargeting
D) Presidential coat-tails
E) Gerrymandering

Question 67

Who currently elects the members of the electoral college?

A) House of Representatives
B) People of each state
C) Senate
D) State legislatures
E) State governors

Question 68

Which two states do not use a winner-take-all system in the electoral college?

A) Maine and Ohio
B) Nebraska and Maine
C) Nebraska and Delaware
D) Michigan and Maine
E) Nevada and Nebraska

Question 69

The manner in which members of the electoral college are selected within each state is currently governed by which of the following?

A) State laws
B) The Federal Electoral Selection Act
C) Article II of the U.S. Constitution
D) Congressional oversight
E) Federal district court judges

Question 70

If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral college votes, the election is decided by which of the following?

A) The president
B) The House of Representatives
C) The Senate
D) Votes in the 50 state legislatures
E) The U.S. Supreme Court

Question 71

The Constitution spells out in some detail the workings of which institution that chooses the president?

A) Electoral college
B) Federal Election Commission
C) House of Representatives
D) Senate
E) State legislatures

Question 72

Which type of primary essentially requires candidates to appeal to the entire electorate, not just the members of his or her own party?

A) Open primary
B) Blanket primary
C) Runoff primary
D) Preference primary
E) Caucus

Question 73

Which of the following is true of presidential elections?

A) Voters elect the president directly.
B) The number of electors equals each state's number of senators (two) plus its number of representatives.
C) Electors have always voted for the candidate who won their state's vote.
D) The House of Representatives usually picks the winner.
E) The Senate selects the winner from among the top three vote getters.

Question 74

Which of the following can be used to minimize the coat-tail effect?

A) Closed primary
B) Open primary
C) Blanket primary
D) Office-block ballot
E) Party-column ballot

Question 75

Who originally elected the members of the electoral college?

A) House of Representatives
B) People of each state
C) Senate
D) State legislatures
E) State governors

Question 76

We elect the president via 50 state elections combined into the electoral college; thus, presidential elections are best described as which of the following?

A) National
B) Majoritarian
C) Federal
D) Unfair
E) Elitist

Question 77

Which of the following best describes what happens when citizens vote for a president on election day?

A) They are voting for a slate of electors pledged to support a particular candidate.
B) Their votes are weighted by their level of education.
C) Their votes are weighted by their levels of income.
D) They become members of the electoral college.
E) They are also voting for all other candidates from the same party.

Question 78

When a popular candidate influences the success of other candidates on the same party ticket, it is called which of the following?

A) Partisan effect
B) Australian ballot
C) Butterfly ballot
D) Incumbent effect
E) Coat-tail effect

Question 79

To win the modern presidency, a candidate must obtain which of the following?

A) A majority of the popular vote
B) A plurality of the popular vote
C) 100 electoral votes
D) 270 electoral votes
E) 538 electoral votes

Question 80

Today, how many electoral votes does each state get?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 10
D) 1 for every 10,000 residents
E) A number equal to the state's number of House and Senate members