Question 1

Which statement about candidates is true?

Accepted Answer

The higher the office and the more prestige attached to it, the more candidates are likely to want to run for that office.

Answer

Political parties strive to provide a slate of candidates for at least three-fourths of all elections.

Answer

In areas of the country where one political party is considerably stronger than the other, elected positions have often been changed into appointed positions.

Answer

For the democratic political system to work effectively, competition for an elected office needs to be eliminated.

Question 2

Which of the following statements about the electoral college is correct?

Accepted Answer

The nation could cease to use the electoral college only through the passage of a constitutional amendment.

Answer

The members of the electoral college are required by the Constitution to be at least 35-years old and of good moral character.

Answer

The framers ensured that it would be impossible for a candidate to win the electoral vote without also winning the popular vote.

Answer

Although it is theoretically possible for a candidate to win the electoral vote while losing the popular vote,
this has only happened twice in our history.

Question 3

Which statement about voter fraud is true?

Accepted Answer

One of the easiest ways to commit voter fraud is through absentee ballots, which have been used by felons and unregistered voters to vote.

Answer

Suspected voter fraud that resulted in the purging of the voter rolls in Florida and Missouri was actually due to a computer error.

Answer

Voter fraud was surprisingly rare during the 1800s before secret ballots existed.

Answer

Being overly concerned about voter fraud has made it harder for older Americans to vote.

Question 4

The requirements to register to vote are __________.

Accepted Answer

citizenship, age, and residency

Answer

age, literacy, and military service

Answer

age, residency, and property

Answer

literacy, age, and residency

Question 5

The goal of a political campaign is to __________.

Accepted Answer

win the election, since the candidate who comes in second gets no reward

Answer

make the parties stronger and unite the country

Answer

improve the voters’ knowledge of the major issues

Answer

provide voters with strong ideology with a candidate who satisfies their preferences

Question 6

The rational ignorance effect refers to __________.

Accepted Answer

the lack of incentives to obtain costly information about issues and candidates

Answer

the effect campaigns have on a highly educated populace

Answer

candidates who attempt to mislead voters who are too rational to be duped by untruths

Answer

individuals who have not taken voter information tests administered by many states

Question 7

Which statement about caucus and primary elections is most accurate?

Accepted Answer

In a closed primary, only members of a party can vote in that party’s primary.

Answer

In an open primary, a voter can vote in both party’s primary.

Answer

Runoff primaries have been challenged in the Supreme Court for violating the First Amendment rights of political parties.

Answer

A caucus is a state party convention that is held following a primary election.

Question 8

The main difference between a 527 organization and a super PAC is that a __________.

Accepted Answer

super PAC must report its donors to the Federal Election Commission on a regular basis

Answer

super PACs are restricted to only identify issues that it supports and not candidates.

Answer

527 organization has only been able to raise a maximum of $1.4 million in contributions from donors

Answer

527 organization must report its donors to the Federal Election Commission on a regular basis

Question 9

An accurate way to gain insight into the public’s perception of a candidate is through __________.

Accepted Answer

tracking polls because they are conducted almost daily and enable fine-tuning of the candidates message

Answer

campaign contributions made by individual households because funding from these sources is indicative of voter preference

Answer

focus groups because the opinions of a small targeted group can often be translated to the entire electorate

Answer

the primary election because the response from voters will indicate the strongest candidate

Question 10

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 __________.

Accepted Answer

unconstitutionally limited the amount candidates could contribute to their own campaign

Answer

restricted the amount that could be spend on mass-media advertising if the candidate declined to use public
money

Answer

expanded the role of labor unions and corporations in political campaigns

Answer

required disclosure of all contributions and expenditures over $1,000

Question 11

Which statement about candidates, political parties, and campaigns is most accurate?

Accepted Answer

The focus during a campaign is on the candidate because fewer people identify with political parties.

Answer

The political party provides most of the expertise needed for a candidate to campaign effectively.

Answer

The political party is the main source of campaign funding for a candidate.

Answer

The intensity found in campaigns is due to the focus being on the political party and not on the candidate.

Question 12

Which statement about voter identification is true?

Accepted Answer

Democrats generally oppose photo ID requirements because they believe it restricts voters who might not have identification cards.

Answer

The Supreme Court has ruled that laws requiring voters to show a photo ID are unconstitutional.

Answer

Republicans generally oppose photo ID requirements because they view it as further government regulation of the voting process.

Answer

All but one of the 50 states have passed stronger voter identification standards with the requirement that a photo ID be produced to be able to vote.

Question 13

Which statement about declining voter turnout is true?

Accepted Answer

Voter turnout percentages are misleadingly low because they compare actual voters with the entire voting- age population, not just eligible voters.

Answer

Voter turnout percentages, by failing to exclude children, are often inaccurately measured.

Answer

Negative campaigning has been identified as the main cause of low voter turnout.

Answer

Voter turnout has been declining because many voters are displeased with the increasing size of the immigrant population.

Question 14

The Americans who turn out to vote at the lowest rate are __________.

Accepted Answer

the youngest voters

Answer

voters a few years from retirement

Answer

voters with children

Answer

the oldest voters

Question 15

Which statement about the nomination process is true?

Accepted Answer

Candidates from the two major parties have fewer requirements to get on ballots than independent or minor-party candidates, in most states.

Answer

Political parties require candidates to pay filing fees to run under the party’s name.

Answer

The nomination process is controlled by the Constitution and federal law.

Answer

For most minor offices, candidates submit petitions to be added to ballots at local courthouses.

Question 16

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 __________.

Accepted Answer

a “beauty contest”

Answer

“candidate parade”

Answer

“smoke and mirrors”

Answer

a “dog and pony show”

Question 17

The writers of the Constitution allowed __________ to decide who should vote.

Accepted Answer

the states

Answer

white males

Answer

Congress

Answer

property owners

Question 18

States that have been tagged as __________ states will see intense campaigning up to the very day of the election.

Accepted Answer

battleground

Answer

blue

Answer

red

Answer

large

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

Representatives today are overwhelmingly white and male.

Answer

The individuals elected to political offices accurately reflect the diverse population in America.

Answer

Individuals elected today are younger than candidates elected in the 1800s.

Answer

Elected officials are overwhelmingly Protestant.

Question 20

The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC __________.

Accepted Answer

stated that corporations, unions, and interest groups to fund campaign advertising without limits as long as
it is not coordinated with a campaign

Answer

opened the door for the creation of super PACs

Answer

supports the restriction that direct campaign language, such as “vote for,” is not permitted in advertising funded by corporations, unions, or interest groups

Answer

was undermined by the ruling in FreedomNow.org v. FEC

Question 21

People who choose to run for office can be divided into two groups: __________.

Accepted Answer

self-starters and those who are recruited

Answer

activists and the generally satisfied

Answer

those with follower personalities and those who are natural leaders

Answer

those who want to make money and those who want power

Question 22

Over the past 20 years, interest groups and individual companies have worked to find ways to support candidates through campaign donations, __________.

Accepted Answer

while candidates have become dependent of on these donations to run increasingly expensive campaigns

Answer

but Congress continues to pass laws that have steadily increased the restrictions that limit the contributions that groups and companies contribute to candidates

Answer

while political parties have been accepting larger amounts of soft money contributions

Answer

but candidates have chosen to decline these campaign donations because accepting public money appears more ethical to voters

Question 23

A winner-take-all system is also known as a __________ voting system.

Accepted Answer

plurality

Answer

proportional

Answer

representational

Answer

democratic

Question 24

Both a candidate for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives __________.

Accepted Answer

must be a resident of the state from which elected

Answer

must be a natural-born citizen

Answer

are elected to serve terms of four years

Answer

must have served previously in the state legislature

Question 25

In cases where no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral college vote, __________.

Accepted Answer

the election is decided in the U.S. House of Representatives

Answer

the decision is made by the Supreme Court

Answer

the electors cast a second ballot to determine who will be elected

Answer

the candidate who received a plurality of the popular vote is elected

Question 26

Political participation increases with age because older voters __________.

Accepted Answer

have had more time to experience voting as an expected activity

Answer

are more mobile

Answer

have attained higher levels of education

Answer

were once immigrants

Question 27

Which statement about political action committees (PACs) and campaigns is true?

Accepted Answer

An interest group will use PAC contributions to ensure access to powerful legislators in the future.

Answer

If a candidate has little or no opposition, an interest group that has supported that candidate in the past will withhold a contribution and redirect the funds to candidates in other races.

Answer

Campaign contributions by PACs have been given to challengers more often over the past two decades.

Answer

Corporate PACs usually focus contributions to campaigns of only Republicans candidates because of their focus on business interests.

Question 28

Low rates of voter turnout among Hispanic and Asian American immigrants may occur because they __________.

Accepted Answer

are not yet citizens

Answer

are less affluent

Answer

are apathetic

Answer

have attained lower levels of education

Question 29

Which statement about women and African Americans as candidates and elected officials is correct?

Accepted Answer

The passage of major civil rights legislation in the 1960s resulted in an increase in the number of African American public officials.

Answer

The number of African Americans and women in the U.S. House of Representatives is proportional to their representation in the general population.

Answer

Raising campaign funds continues to be difficult for women candidates, as well as African American candidates.

Answer

The legal qualifications for elected office at the national level eliminate large segments of African
Americans and women from running for national office.

Question 30

Low voter participation is not a major concern to some scholars because __________.

Accepted Answer

it indicates satisfaction with the status quo

Answer

nonvoters threaten representative democracy

Answer

representative democracy encourages nonvoting blocs

Answer

voter turnout rises and falls in predictable waves

Related quizzes

Related quizzes