POLS 1113 American Federal Government

1
POLS 1113American Federal Government

• Chapter 12
• Campaigns, Voting, and Elections

2
An election in which voters select candidates
from within the party to represent the party in a
general election is called a/an

• a. open election. d. primary
  election.
• b. direct election. e. closed
  election
• c. caucus election.

3
A candidate selection process in which only a
partys registered voters are eligible to
participate is called

• a. a blanket election. d. a beauty contest
  primary.
• b. an open primary. e. all of the above.
• c. closed primary.

4
The method most conducive to party control of the
candidate selection process is/are __, but they
are also considered to be more corrupt than
current methods of candidate selection.

• a. caucuses d. blind selection
• b. straw polls e. all of the
  above
• c. office rotation

5
The process that allows citizens to propose
legislation and submit it to the electorate for
popular vote is called

• a. proposition. d. referendum.
• b. initiative. e.
  plebiscite.
• c. recall.

6
A procedure by which the state legislature
submits proposed legislation to the voters is
called a

• a. plebiscite. d. proposition.
• b. recall. e. referendum.
• c. initiative.

7
In some states, an incumbent office holder can be
removed from office by the people in a process
called

• a. recall. d.
  retrospective voting.
• b. recantation. e. all of the
  above.
• c. retroaction impeachment.

8
A recent illustration of recall occurred in
California, where the recall of __ led to the
election of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the
governorship.

• a. Gary Willis d. Grey Davis
• b. Cruz Bustamonte e. Diane Feinstein
• c. Pete Wilson

9
Contemporary presidential nomination campaigns
are characterized by a phenomenon called __, in
which states face strong incentives to schedule
primaries as early as possible, lending an
advantage to well-funded frontrunners.

• a. bandwagoning d. blitzkrieg
• b. blanketing e. frontloading
• c. condensing

10
The year or so prior to the start of the
official nomination season when candidates begin
raising funds and unofficially campaigning is
described as

• a. Eating pork rinds in Iowa.
• b. Antiquing in New Hampshire.
• c. runoff campaigning
• d. jumping the gun.
• e. the invisible primary

11
A system in which party members meet in small
conventions sometimes as small as a living room
to elect delegates to a national convention is
called a __, the most prominent of which occurs
in Iowa early in the nomination process.

• a. caucus d. retail politics
• b. initiative e. all of the
  above.
• c. front-loading

12
Are delegates to the national conventions
representative of the population as a whole?
Delegates to both of the national party
conventions are

• a. demographically representative of the
  population in terms of race, class, and gender.
• b. ideologically more pure and richer than most
  Americans.
• c. generally representative of average Americans.
• d. younger than the average American.
• e. not even from this planet!

13
A professional who produces a candidates
television, radio, and print advertisements is
called a(n)

• a. canvasser. d. architect.
• b. producer. e. media designer.
• c. consultant.

14
The head of a political campaign is usually
called the

• a. campaign manager. d. political
  brains.
• b. campaign consultant. e. any of the above.
• c. political midwife.

15
Private-sector professionals and firms who sell
to candidates the technologies, services, and
strategies required to get their candidate
elected are called __, and their numbers have
grown exponentially since they first appeared in
the 1930s.

• a. consigliore d. hired guns
• b. manager e. trained attack dogs
• c. consultant

16
Among the more important of trained staff on the
average campaign are the __, who track public
opinion to determine what issues the voters want
him/her to address in their speeches.

• a. advertisers d. direct mailers
• b. pollsters e. focus group
  managers
• c. consultants

17
Television advertising on behalf of a candidate
that is broadcast in sixty-, thirty-, or
ten-second duration is called a

• a. quick hitter. d. spot ad.
• b. contrast ad. e. positive ad.
• c. negative ad.

18
Ads that stress the candidates qualifications,
family, and issue positions with no reference to
the opponent are generally described as __ ads.

• a. positive d. express advocacy
• b. negative e. puff-piece
• c. fluff

19
The idea of counteracting an anticipated attack
by ones opponent before the attack is even
launched is called a(n) __ ad.

• a. preemptive d.
  inoculation
• b. first strike e.
  double-negative
• c. anticipatory self-
• deprecation

20
Negative campaign ads can be traced back to__,
when Federalist opponents branded Thomas
Jefferson an atheist, coward and started a
whispering campaign hinting that he was guilty of
miscegenation.

• a. 1787 d. 1860
• b. 1796 e. 1874
• c. 1828

21
The Electoral College was a compromise designed
to

• a. insure the election of a popular president.
• b. produce a nonpartisan president.
• c. accommodate the growing influence of political
  parties.
• d. insure the election of demagogues.
• e. all of the above.

22
In the event that a single candidate fails to
secure a majority of Electoral College votes, the
Constitution mandates that the __ decides the
winner.

• a. House of Representatives
• b. Senate
• c. entire Congress
• d. two leading candidates engage in a trial by
  combat, and the death of the weaker candidate
• e. Supreme Court

23
All of the following constitutional amendments
relate to presidential selection or the Electoral
College EXCEPT the __ Amendment.

• a.12th d. 25th
• b. 13th e. all
  of the above
• c. 22nd

24
The election of __ resulted in no clear Electoral
College winner, with votes split between Thomas
Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and John Adams, and
resulted in the 12th Amendments granting of two
votes to Electoral College electors, one for
president and one for vice president.

• a. 1800 d. 1860
• b. 1804 e. 1874
• c. 1828

25
In __ another contested election took place in
which the candidate with the most popular and
Electoral College votes, Andrew Jackson, was
defeated for the presidency in the House of
Representatives by John Quincy Adams.

• a. 1808 d. 1836
• b. 1824 e. 1876
• c. 1832

26
Another contested election took place in __,
where the Republican Rutherford Hayes was
declared the victor over the Democratic candidate
Samuel Tilden.

• a. 1848 d. 1932
• b. 1868 e. 1948
• c. 1876

27
Among those candidates who received more popular
votes but nonetheless lost the presidency include
all of the following EXCEPT

• a. Andrew Jackson d. Al Gore,
  Jr.
• b. Grover Cleveland e. George W.
  Bush
• c. Samuel Tilden

28
A shifting of party coalitions from one party to
the next that remains in place for several
electoral cycles are called

• a. dealignments. d. geodesic
  shifts.
• b. tectonic shifts. e. secular
  shifts.
• c. realignments.

29
An election that signals a lasting change in the
makeup of partisan coalitions in the electorate
are called __ elections.

• a. crucial d.
  panic-inducing
• b. significant e. crucial
• c. critical

30
Congressional elections differ from presidential
elections because

• a. media focus much more attention on
  congressional races.
• b. so many congressional candidates are
  celebrities.
• c. incumbency is a relatively minor factor in
  congressional races.
• d. ballot-stuffing is illegal.
• e. most candidates for Congress are not
  particularly well-known.

31
The reelection rate for sitting House members is
generally __ percent.

• a. less than 50 d. less than
  86
• b. slightly more than 50 e. more than 95
• c. between 65-75

32
On those rare instances where congressional
incumbents lose an election, the explanation is
often

• a. redistricting.
• b. scandal.
• c. coattails on the part of a state-wide
  candidate.
• d. rapid secular realignment of the district.
• e. all of the above.

33
When an incumbent does lose an election, the best
explanation is often

• a. media overexposure. d. lack of access
  to
• b. lack of name recognition. adequate
  funding.
• c. redistricting. e. all of
  the above.

34
About __ percent of eligible Americans vote
regularly.

• a. 22 d. 55
• b. 33 e. 65
• c. 40

35
Approximately __ percent of eligible voters
rarely or never vote.

• a. 16 d. 48
• b. 27 e. 63
• c. 35

36
Under the provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2002, individuals are limited to a
total of __ in allowable contributions per
two-year cycle.

• a. 5,000 d. 50,000
• b. 15,000 e. 95,000
• c. 25,000

37
Under the provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2002 Act of 2002, individuals are
allowed to contribute __ to candidates for
Congress or the presidency in the primary, and
the same amount for the general election campaign.

• a. 500 d. 7,500
• b. 1,000 e. 10,000
• c. 5,000

38
Under the provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2002, political action committees
may contribute __ to candidates for Congress or
the presidency in the primary, and the same
amount for the general election campaign.

• a. 500 d. 7,500
• b. 1,000 e. 10,000
• c. 5,000

39
Under the provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2002, political party committees
may contribute 5,000 to candidates for Congress
in the primaries, but can contribute __ to
candidates during the general election campaign.

• a. 1,000 d. 8,000
• b. 1,500 e. 10,000
• c. 7,500

40
Candidates for the Senate receive most of their
funding from

• a. personal funding. d. political
  action
• b. individual contributors.
  committees.
• c. interest groups. e. Bill
  Gates.

41
A(n) __ is an officially recognized fund-raising
organization that represents particular interest
groups in the campaign process.

• political action d. federal
  campaign
• committee
  committee
• b. political interest e.
  campaign fund-raising
• group
  organizations
• c. interest group campaign
• committee

42
Voter turnout for the 2004 presidential election
reached around __ percent.

• a. 48 d. 65
• b. 52 e. 73
• c. 58

43
Most candidates receive a majority of their
campaign contributions from

• political action d. themselves.
• committees. e. a
  combination of PACs
• b. individuals. and
  political parties.
• c. one of the major
• political parties.

44
In 2001 alone, about __ billion was spent on
presidential and congressional elections.

• a. 4.1 d. 1.7
• b. 3.5 e. 1.2
• c. 2.4

45
In the Supreme Court case __, the Court ruled
that no limits could be placed on a candidates
expenditures of their own funds because such
spending in considered speech.

• a. Rockerfeller v. U.S. d. NYTimes v.
  Sullivan
• b. Perot v. Reno e. Nixon v.
  U.S.
• c. Buckley v. Valeo

46
In order to eligible for public matching funds
for ones presidential campaign, a candidate must
raise 5,000 in small contributions (250 or
less) in each of __ states.

• a. 10 d. 35
• b. 15 e. all 50
• c. 20

47
The virtually unregulated money funneled to state
and local parties for party building activities
that often result in campaign advertisements is
called __ money.

• a. soft d. housekeeping
• b. hard e. widows and
  orphans
• c. funny

48
In general, voter turnout is higher among those
who are

• less educated with d. minorities.
• moderate incomes. e. poor.
• b. older and wealthier.
• c. female.

49
Among the Hispanic population, the group most
likely to support the Republican Partys
candidates are

• a. Puerto Ricans. d. Central
  Americans
• b. Mexican-Americans. e. Cuban Americans.
• c. Latino Americans.

50
Among the principal reasons Americans give for
not voting include all of the following EXCEPT

• a. too busy. d. interest in
  politics.
• b. difficulty registering. e. difficulty with
  absentee
• c. physically disabled. ballots.

51
True/False Universe
52
Vote counting problems in New York led to the use
of digital recording devices during elections.

• True b. False

53
Recent electoral reforms have curbed the
front-loading of elections because it increased
incumbency advantage.

• a. True b. False

54
Caucuses are used to nominate candidates in many
states because they are highly democratic in
nature.

• a. True b. False

55
Republican delegates to the national conventions
are considerably more conservative than the
average Republican voter.

• a. True b. False

56
The United States employs a system of regional
primaries to elect a president every four years.

• a. True b. False

57
Candidates rarely make a large number of personal
appearances because they can reach more people
via television.

• a. True b. False

58
In presidential campaigns, staff can include
thousands of volunteers and hundreds of paid
staff.

• a. True b. False

59
The average campaign advertisement that airs on
television is 4 ½ minutes in duration.

• a. True b. False

60
Negative campaigning, including ads, is a
relatively new phenomenon.

• a. True b. False

61
The Electoral College was designed to select a
nonpartisan president.

• a. True b. False

62
Incumbents usually win reelection campaigns.

• a. True b. False

63
The presidential party usually gains seats in a
presidential election year, but often loses seats
in midterm elections.

• a. True b. False

64
People who vote are generally more highly
educated than those that do not.

• a. True b. False

65
Less than half of eligible 18-24 year-olds are
registered to vote.

• a. True b. False

66
White and African-Americans participate in
elections at approximately the same rate.

• True b. False

67
Whites and African-Americans with the same income
and education levels participate in elections at
the same rate.

• a. True b. False

68
Political active Americans make up less than 53
of the population.

• a. True b. False

69
Americans who contribute time or money to a
campaign make up roughly 12 of the population.

• a. True b. False

70
The only racial group to vote in the majority for
President George W. Bush were whites. All other
groups voted in the majorty for the Democratic
Partys candidate, John Kerry.

• a. True b. False