Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

A vote on final approval of a legislative act that is referred to the electorate is known as a referendum. Recall refers to the process of removing an elected official from office before the end of their term. Initiative refers to a process where citizens can propose a new law or constitutional amendment. Franchise refers to the right to vote in an election.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

Duverger's Law states that plurality-rule electoral systems tend to produce two-party systems, while proportional representation electoral systems lead to multiparty systems. The law is named after French sociologist Maurice Duverger, who first observed this phenomenon in his 1954 book Political Parties.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

The referendum, initiative, and recall all involve the ability of citizens to directly influence the political agenda, thus affecting the agenda-setting power. They do not involve partisan alignment, racial composition of the electorate, or boundaries of electoral districts.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

The device to allow voters to remove governors and other state officials from office prior to the expiration of their terms is called a recall. Recall is a political mechanism that allows citizens to remove elected officials from office before their term ends. If enough voters sign a petition calling for a recall election, the elected official is put on the ballot for a special recall election.

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

Proportional representation system allows each political party to have representation in governance according to its percentage of the vote. In this system, the number of seats a party receives in the legislature is proportional to the number of votes it receives in the election. This system ensures that minority voices are also represented in governance.

Question 6

Generally speaking, a recall campaign begins with a

Accepted Answer

A recall campaign typically begins with a petition that is signed by a specific number of registered voters in the jurisdiction where the elected official holds office. Once enough signatures are collected, the recall process can move forward.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

The question mentions the removal of a governor from office, which is a process known as recall. Therefore, the correct answer is A. The other options (initiative, referendum, and franchise) refer to different concepts in direct democracy, but they do not apply to this specific situation.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

Maine and Nebraska choose presidential electors in individual House districts and two additional electors in a statewide vote. This is known as the district method of allocating electoral votes.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

The initiative process allows citizens to propose new laws or changes to existing laws without waiting for the legislative branch to act. This gives citizens a way forward in the face of legislative inaction. The recall process is used to remove elected officials from office before their term is up, the referendum process allows citizens to vote directly on a proposed law or policy, and franchise refers to the right to vote.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

In a majority system, a candidate needs to receive more than 50 percent of all votes cast to win a seat in a legislative body. This ensures that the winning candidate has the support of a majority of voters in the district, rather than just a plurality (the most votes, but not necessarily a majority).

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

Typically, in American presidential elections, Electoral College votes are only awarded to candidates who win a plurality of the popular vote in a particular state. Therefore, a candidate winning only 5 percent of the popular vote would not be awarded any Electoral College votes.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Empirical studies have shown that gerrymandering bias does exist in U.S. House elections, but it has decreased since the 1960s. This is due to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other reforms aimed at increasing fairness in the redistricting process. However, some level of bias still remains, particularly in states where one party has a dominant political power.

Question 13

Who was the most recent president to win an Electoral College majority while receiving a smaller vote share than another candidate?

Accepted Answer

Donald Trump is the most recent president to win an Electoral College majority while receiving a smaller vote share than another candidate, as he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

The case that established the principle of "one person, one vote" and the requirement for legislative districts to have equal populations was Baker v. Carr in 1962. A and B are not relevant to this issue, and Griswold v. Connecticut dealt with the issue of privacy and contraception.

Question 15

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

Accepted Answer

Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating the boundaries of an electoral district to favor one political party over another. It can be done by drawing district lines in a way that concentrates voters from one party in a single district, or by splitting up opposing voters across multiple districts to dilute their voting power. This practice is often criticized as undemocratic and unfair.

Question 16

Because the U.S. uses single member districts, we should expect that a party receiving 55 percent of the votes in U.S. House elections will win what share of the seats?

Accepted Answer

Single member districts in the U.S. tend to favor the incumbent party or candidate and can lead to a situation called "gerrymandering" where district boundaries are redrawn to favor one party. Therefore, it is likely that a party receiving 55 percent of the votes in U.S. House elections will win much more than 55 percent of the seats.

Question 17

Duverger's Law assumes that rational politicians will not do this which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Duverger's Law assumes that rational politicians will not split the votes of like-minded voters among two similar candidates or parties as it could lead to their opponents winning the election. Instead, they are likely to merge or form coalitions to create a stronger, more competitive party.

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

The use of a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage is an example of an initiative, which allows citizens to propose and enact new laws or constitutional amendments through the electoral process.

Question 19

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?

Accepted Answer

In a plurality system, the candidate with the highest number of votes wins, even if they don't have a majority (over 50 percent). In this scenario, Candidate A received 45 percent of the vote, which is the highest percentage among the three candidates. Therefore, Candidate A wins the election. There is no need for a run-off, statistical tie, or a second election.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

In a plurality system, the candidate who receives a larger number of votes than any other candidate wins, regardless of whether or not they have won an absolute majority of the votes. This system is used in elections like the US presidential elections, where the candidate who receives the most electoral college votes- not necessarily the candidate who receives a majority of the total votes- is declared the winner.

Quiz 11: Elections