Deck 11: Elections

Question 1

The problem of incomplete information-of choosing alternatives without fully knowing the details of available options-refers to which of the following?

A)hidden action
B)mitigated risk
C)moral hazard
D)adverse selection
E)hidden ambition

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The United States is one of the most participatory democracies in the world.Which of the following is NOT a way Americans can participate in electoral politics?

A)blogging about their opinions on a candidate
B)joining an interest group or political organization
C)giving money to a political candidate running for office
D)speaking with others about politics at a bowling alley
E)threatening to fire employees if they don't vote for the employer's preferred candidate

Answer 2

E

Question 3

At the beginning of the Republic, voting rights in most states were restricted to which of the following?

A)white female citizens over the age of 21
B)white male citizens over the age of 21
C)white male and female citizens over the age of 21
D)white female citizens over the age of 18
E)white male citizens over the age of 18

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The most recent relaxation of qualifications for voting in the United States allowed __________ to vote.

A)women
B)African Americans
C)noncitizen permanent residents
D)18-year-olds
E)Hispanics

Question 5

The responsibility for registering voters, printing ballots, and overseeing the voting process on Election Day lies with

A)Congress.
B)executive agencies.
C)the Federal Elections Commission.
D)the National Judicial Council.
E)local election offices.

Question 6

To increase voter turnout, some countries, such as Australia and Germany

A)have compulsory voting.
B)offer tax incentives to voters.
C)conduct elections annually.
D)allow all teenagers to vote.
E)require employers to pay employees for their time while they vote.

Question 7

The voting age in American elections was set to 18 by the

A)Seventeenth Amendment.
B)Voting Rights Act.
C)Nineteenth Amendment.
D)Twenty-First Amendment.
E)Twenty-Sixth Amendment.

Question 8

There are no regulations on which basic feature of elections?

A)individual donations to candidates for office
B)eligibility to vote in elections
C)how political parties choose their candidates for office
D)how states design congressional districts
E)whether candidates can run advertisements on television

Question 9

State laws determine all of the following EXCEPT

A)how votes are cast (punch card, optical scan, electronic).
B)how votes are counted.
C)how potential candidates get on the ballot.
D)the date of general elections for Congress and the presidency.
E)how parties nominate candidates.

Question 10

The Nineteenth Amendment extends suffrage to which of the following groups?

A)women
B)African Americans
C)persons 18 years of age or older
D)convicted felons who have served their time
E)noncitizen permanent residents

Question 11

Compared to other Western democracies, how extensive is voter turnout in the United States?

A)quite low
B)about average
C)just above average
D)well above average
E)the highest of any nation

Question 12

The problem of not knowing all aspects of the actions taken by an elected official refers to which of the following?

A)moral hazard
B)adverse selection
C)voter mobilization
D)suboptimal agency
E)unknown motives

Question 13

The institution principle states that political rules shape political outcomes.Which of the following is a feature of election laws that shape election outcomes?

A)regulating the allocation of campaign budgets by candidates for office
B)establishing federal guidelines for proper voting decisions
C)deciding which questions are asked at presidential debates
D)deciding who can vote in U.S.elections
E)determining the coalitions of the two political parties

Question 14

The problem of moral hazard arises because

A)wisdom learned in one era does not easily translate to other time periods.
B)value judgments about what is good or bad are inherently subjective.
C)representatives, once selected, cannot easily be monitored.
D)candidates are reluctant to reveal negative characteristics about themselves.
E)we never know what elected officials really want to do when elected.

Question 15

In examining elections, the number of people who vote in a given election divided by the number of people who are allowed to vote is called the __________ rate.

A)fall-off
B)turnout
C)fall-over
D)turnover
E)roll-off

Question 16

The choice of a ballot format is usually made by the

A)state.
B)county.
C)city.
D)U.S.Congress.
E)Federal Elections Commission.

Question 17

The answer to the problems of adverse selection and moral hazard are found partly in the fact that

A)elections work through competition, which motivates rational candidates to formulate policies that will please voters.
B)elections do not require candidates to reveal much information about themselves.
C)electoral laws are fungible and change frequently, leaving candidates largely unregulated.
D)history matters, so candidates who have won elections before will win again.
E)when many peoples' preferences are assembled together, these small problems usually vanish due to the large numbers of voters.

Question 18

The real problem with quantitative presentations of voter participation lies in

A)calculating the fall-off rate.
B)processing absentee ballots.
C)defining the baseline population.
D)counting the number of individuals who present themselves at polling stations.
E)sorting out provisional ballots.

Question 19

When voters had to choose between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016, even though they did not have complete information about which policies the candidates would pursue if elected, voters experienced the problem of

A)hidden action.
B)mitigated risk.
C)moral hazard.
D)adverse selection.
E)hidden ambition.

Question 20

Many states imposed which of the following to keep immigrants, blacks, and other groups out of the electorate?

A)closed primaries
B)literacy tests
C)smoke-filled backrooms
D)campaign finance regulations
E)machine-style politics

Question 21

The electoral format that presents the names of all candidates for any given office on the same ballot, allowing voters to select any candidate of their choice for each office, is called the __________ ballot.

A)American
B)Populist
C)Australian
D)ticket-splitting
E)partisan

Question 22

Which election reform, adopted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, helps prevent vote buying and voter intimidation?

A)the Poll Security Acts of 1894 and 1907
B)the secret ballot
C)female suffrage
D)the Force Bill of 1891
E)party primary elections

Question 23

Which of the following explains why Minnesota and Wisconsin tend to experience higher voter turnout rates?

A)Residents of Minnesota and Wisconsin participate more often because they are more interested in politics.
B)Both states make it easier to participate by eliminating registration requirements.
C)Both states ease participation restrictions by giving voters the opportunity to register and vote on the same day.
D)Residents of Minnesota and Wisconsin participate more often because they are simply asked to vote more often by grassroots organizations.
E)Both states ease participation restrictions because they allow residents to register at least six months prior to becoming 18.

Question 24

The critical years during which voter turnout dramatically declined across the United States coincided with two changes in the institutions of elections.One of these changes involved

A)the introduction of the two-party system.
B)the Great Depression.
C)the rise of negative campaigning on television.
D)radio broadcasts at national party conventions.
E)the creation of formal registration systems and lists.

Question 25

Before the introduction of the Australian ballot to the American system, each ballot was

A)secret.
B)identical.
C)exclusive to one party.
D)administered by the states.
E)marked with an identifiable number.

Question 26

At the turn of the twentieth century, voter registration requirements were imposed in the United States in order to accomplish which of the following?

A)to increase voter participation
B)to discourage fraud and corruption
C)to enhance political responsiveness
D)to encourage immigrant and ethnic voters
E)to discourage the formation of third parties

Question 27

Personal registration was one of several reforms of political practices initiated at the turn of the twentieth century by

A)libertarians.
B)progressives.
C)urban Democrats.
D)agrarian socialists.
E)Democratic Republicans.

Question 28

The adoption of the Australian ballot by U.S.states from 1885 to 1893 facilitated which type of voting?

A)straight-ticket
B)absentee
C)low-information
D)dropout
E)split-ticket

Question 29

Both Minnesota and Wisconsin allow individuals to register to vote on the same day as the election.This opportunity to register on the day of the election is also known as

A)same-day registration.
B)all-in-one registration day.
C)ballot-day registration.
D)registration day.
E)democracy day.

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of someone who is eligible to vote in the United States?

A)an immigrant who is applying for citizenship
B)a 16-year-old high school student
C)a prison inmate in Massachusetts
D)an 18-year-old high school student
E)a French exchange student on a six-month visa

Question 31

One example of efforts to ease voter registration restrictions is the law Congress passed in 1993 called the

A)motor voter bill.
B)pallet ballot law.
C)Election Inspection Act.
D)sunrise in franchise resolution.
E)Early Voting Act.

Question 32

In the 2016 election, a voter decided to vote for Hillary Clinton (a Democrat running for president) and Marco Rubio (a Republican running for the U.S.Senate).This type of voter is also known as a

A)most likely voter.
B)sincere voter.
C)sophisticated voter.
D)split-ticket voter.
E)straight-ticket voter.

Question 33

An electorate that is allowed to elect only one representative from each district is called a(n)

A)one-man show.
B)one-person, one-vote district.
C)single-member district.
D)equilateral district.
E)unirepresentational district.

Question 34

Ticket splitting has led to more

A)ballot fraud.
B)plurality voting.
C)divided government.
D)strengthened political parties.
E)voter turnout.

Question 35

Which two progressive reforms adopted from 1890 to 1910 led to a marked decline in voter turnout rates?

A)Prohibition and Social Security
B)literacy tests and voter registration
C)Australian ballots and ballot initiatives
D)child labor laws and civil service laws
E)campaign finance restrictions and ex-felon enfranchisement

Question 36

Relative to the nineteenth century, voter turnout today (as measured by the turnout ratio) is

A)more than 5 percent higher.
B)higher, but not by more than 5 percent.
C)about the same.
D)lower, but by less than 5 percent.
E)more than 5 percent lower.

Question 37

The critical years during which voter turnout dramatically declined across the United States coincided with two changes in the institutions of elections.One of these changes involved the

A)introduction of the two-party system.
B)adoption of literacy tests.
C)rise of negative campaigning on television.
D)initial radio broadcasts of the national party conventions.
E)Great Depression.

Question 38

Which of the following best explains why the turnout ratio, using voting-age population as the baseline, understates the true turnout rate?

A)The voting-age population increases the size of the baseline because the voting-age population includes adults over 21.
B)The voting-age population increases the size of the baseline because the voting-age population includes individuals who are ineligible to vote, such as noncitizens and felons.
C)The voting-age population decreases the size of the baseline because it excludes noncitizens and felons.
D)The voting-age population decreases the size of the baseline because it only includes eligible voters.
E)The voting-age population decreases the size of the baseline because it includes only adults who have previously voted.

Question 39

States that allow same-day voter registration have

A)higher turnout than states that do not.
B)lower turnout than states that do not.
C)lower levels of election fraud than states that do not.
D)fewer poll workers than states that do not.
E)larger populations than states that do not.

Question 40

To many progressive reformers, corruption was a code word referring to the type of politics practiced in

A)the South, where Jim Crow laws prevented African Americans from voting.
B)smoke-filled rooms of Congress, where party bosses decided election outcomes.
C)the West, where Native Americans were allowed to run their own tribal governments.
D)large cities, where political parties had organized immigrant and ethnic populations.
E)communities just south of the U.S.-Mexico border that tried to influence U.S.elections.

Question 41

The U.S.House of Representatives is an example of a legislative body with representatives selected from

A)single-member districts.
B)multimember districts.
C)state legislatures.
D)one-representative districts.
E)unirepresentational districts.

Question 42

A vote on final approval of a legislative act that is referred to the electorate is known as the

A)recall.
B)initiative.
C)franchise.
D)referendum.
E)mediated lawmaking process.

Question 43

The principle that states' plurality-rule electoral systems will tend to have two-party systems while countries with proportional representation will tend to have multiparty systems is known as

A)Arrow's theorem.
B)Condorcet's paradox.
C)Duverger's Law.
D)the median-voter theorem.
E)Sen's paradox.

Question 44

The referendum, initiative, and recall all entail shifts in the

A)partisan alignment.
B)agenda-setting power.
C)racial composition of the electorate.
D)gender composition of the electorate.
E)boundaries of electoral districts.

Question 45

Which two of the following states choose presidential electors in individual House districts and the Senate electors in a statewide vote?

A)Alaska and Hawaii
B)Maine and Nebraska
C)New Mexico and Vermont
D)Connecticut and Rhode Island
E)Iowa and New Hampshire

Question 46

A multiple-member district system that allows each political party to participate in governance according to its percentage of the vote is a(n) __________ system.

A)majority
B)plurality
C)minority
D)proportional representation
E)Arrow's

Question 47

Three candidates are running for political office under a plurality-rule system.Candidate A receives 45 percent of the vote, Candidate B receives 40 percent of the vote, and Candidate C receives 15 percent of the vote.What happens next?

A)Candidate A wins the election.
B)Candidate A must run in a second, confirmation election to ensure that the electorate has chosen the most qualified candidate.
C)Candidates A and B compete in a run-off election because they are the top two vote-getters.
D)Candidates A and B are in a statistical tie and must compete in a run-off election.
E)No candidate wins.All three candidates must run again in a second election because they failed to win over 50 percent of the votes.

Question 48

When California voters placed a measure on the ballot to remove an unpopular governor, Gray Davis, from office, they made use of the

A)recall.
B)initiative.
C)franchise.
D)referendum.
E)mediated lawmaking process.

Question 49

Which term commonly describes the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one political party?

A)el-bridging
B)gerrymandering
C)line-drawing
D)party mongering
E)partisan warfare

Question 50

In American presidential elections, a candidate winning 5 percent of the popular vote would most likely receive how many Electoral College votes?

A)zero
B)five
C)ten
D)forty-three
E)fifty

Question 51

Empirical study of U.S.House elections has shown that gerrymandering

A)bias exists but has decreased since the 1960s.
B)bias exists and has increased since the 1960s.
C)does not affect election outcomes.
D)does not change the voting behavior of representatives.
E)does not exist and never has.

Question 52

The presidential electors from each state who meet after the popular election to cast ballots for president and vice president are collectively called the

A)Electoral Senate.
B)Electoral College.
C)House of Representatives.
D)Continental Congress.
E)Court of Electors.

Question 53

A type of electoral process in which a candidate must receive more than 50 percent of all votes cast in the relevant district to win a seat in a legislative body is a

A)majority system.
B)plurality system.
C)minority system.
D)proportional representation.
E)Borda count system.

Question 54

The body of law that supports the principle that legislative districts must have equal populations began with the Supreme Court case

A)Johnson v.Texas.
B)Bartlett v.Strickland.
C)Gibbons v.Ogden.
D)Griswold v.Connecticut.
E)Baker v.Carr.

Question 55

When California voters introduced a ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in their state, they made use of the

A)recall.
B)initiative.
C)franchise.
D)referendum.
E)mediated lawmaking process.

Question 56

The framers of the U.S.Constitution had originally intended which of the following offices to be subject to direct popular election?

A)senators
B)presidents
C)Supreme Court justices
D)congressional representatives
E)bureaucrats

Question 57

The type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets more votes than any other candidate is called a

A)caucus.
B)plurality system.
C)majority system.
D)proportional representation system.
E)Borda count system.

Question 58

In presidential elections, every state is allocated votes in the Electoral College equal to the number of

A)representatives in the House.
B)senators.
C)representatives in the House and Senate combined.
D)states in the Union.
E)years since the state was granted statehood.

Question 59

The process that provides citizens a way forward in the face of legislative inaction is the

A)recall.
B)initiative.
C)franchise.
D)referendum.
E)mediated lawmaking process.

Question 60

In 1965, the Mississippi state legislature redrew House district lines so that blacks living along the Mississippi River Delta would no longer constitute a majority across any single district.This strategy to dilute the strength of racial minorities is also known as

A)bridging.
B)reapportioning.
C)cracking.
D)party mongering.
E)partisan warfare.

Question 61

An issue for which a range of possible options or policies can be ordered is called a

A)multidimensional issue.
B)spatial issue.
C)valence issue.
D)nonissue.
E)range issue.

Question 62

The gender gap in electoral voting refers to

A)the tendency of women to vote by absentee ballot and men to vote in person.
B)the tendency of women to vote for younger candidates and men to favor older candidates.
C)the greater likelihood that men will turn out to vote.
D)the higher likelihood that women will vote Democratic and men Republican.
E)the fact that men are more likely than women to favor incumbent candidates.

Question 63

Which landmark Supreme Court case on campaign finance equated spending money with the right of free speech?

A)Buckley v.Valeo
B)McConnell v.FEC
C)McCain v.Feingold
D)Gibbons v.Ogden
E)Colorado Republican Party v.FEC

Question 64

Relative to other countries, campaigns in the United States are

A)longer.
B)about the same in length.
C)slightly shorter.
D)much shorter.
E)more negative.

Question 65

The device introduced by populists to allow voters to remove governors and other state officials from office prior to the expiration of their terms is called

A)recall.
B)conviction.
C)referendum.
D)impeachment.
E)mediated lawmaking process.

Question 66

Which of the following is a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns?

A)amicus curiae
B)philanthropists
C)the Catholic Church
D)fund-raising commissions
E)political action committees (PACs)

Question 67

Which term do political scientists use to describe vote choices that focus on future behaviors?

A)expectancy theory
B)anticipatory decision making
C)advanced selection
D)retrospective voting
E)prospective voting

Question 68

According to 2012 exit polls, which of the following policy issues was viewed as the most important issue facing the country?

A)terrorism
B)foreign policy
C)the economy
D)health care
E)natural disasters and relief

Question 69

Generally speaking, a recall campaign begins with a(n)

A)lawsuit.
B)petition.
C)executive order.
D)meeting of the State Board of Elections.
E)vote by the state legislature.

Question 70

The most sweeping change in campaign finance regulations came with the 1971 passage of the __________ Act.

A)McCain-Feingold
B)Federal Election Campaign
C)Buckley
D)Progressive
E)Public Affairs

Question 71

Studies estimate that which election reform increases voter turnout by 3 to 5 percent?

A)reduction of the voting age to 15
B)butterfly ballot structure
C)same-day voter registration
D)mandatory voter identification laws
E)federal tax credits for voters

Question 72

In the 2016 presidential election, the Democratic Party carried the following groups EXCEPT

A)African American voters.
B)Latino voters.
C)female voters.
D)Asian American voters.
E)white voters.

Question 73

The single strongest predictor of how a person will vote is that individual's

A)party identification.
B)political ideology.
C)issue positions.
D)economic well-being.
E)level of income.

Question 74

The median-voter theorem states that issue voting encourages

A)partisan loyalty.
B)candidate divergence.
C)diminished voter turnout.
D)policy moderation of candidates.
E)third-party candidates.

Question 75

The incumbent president loses the chance for a second term in office because voters are unsatisfied with the current state of the economy.In this case, the voters employed

A)speculative voting.
B)prospective voting.
C)retrospective voting.
D)contemporaneous voting.
E)reckless voting.

Question 76

An individual's attachment to a particular political party is called

A)party identification.
B)party ideology.
C)partisan aptitude.
D)partisan proclivity.
E)partisan score.

Question 77

Historically, which age group has been least likely to turn out to vote?

A)18 to 34
B)35 to 44
C)45 to 54
D)55 to 64
E)65 and older

Question 78

An issue or aspect of a choice for which all voters agree on a higher value is called a

A)multidimensional issue.
B)spatial issue.
C)valence issue.
D)nonissue.
E)range issue.

Question 79

Which 2010 Supreme Court case expanded the First Amendment right of individuals to participate in campaigns to corporations, which (the Court ruled) may spend money to influence elections?

A)Buckley v.Valeo
B)Kelo v.City of New London
C)McCain v.State of Arizona
D)Citizens United v.Federal Election Commission
E)Microsoft v.Baker

Question 80

Making certain that a political party's roster of candidates includes members of as many important groups as possible is known as

A)balancing the ticket.
B)diversifying the slate.
C)pandering to constituents.
D)spreading guns and butter.
E)providing opium to the masses.