AP Gov Chapter 9 Campaigns and Voting Behavior
Congressional elections are held every
2 years
Presidential elections are held every
4 years
Which of the following has the most influence on the outcome of a congressional election?
A candidate's incumbency status
Which of the following scenarios best represents an example of party-line voting?
A citizen casts votes for all Republicans based solely on the candidates' affiliation with the Republican Party
Which of the following scenarios is most closely related to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ?
A labor union spends millions of dollars to independently run negative advertisements about a presidential candidate shortly before the election
Which of the following scenarios is most related to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment?
An eighteen-year-old votes in a presidential election
The experience with 527 organizations in the 2004 elections suggest that campaign finance laws?
Are not likely to take money out of politics
Which of the following is NOT a way in which the federal government regulates campaigns?
By prohibitions on negative advertising
Which of the following criticisms of political campaigns is the author of the political cartoon most likely to agree with?
Candidates rely too heavily on professional consultants
When party members meet to nominate a candidate for office, they participate in which of the following?
Caucus
Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliate to vote?
Closed
Which of the following statements is true regarding political advertisements in 2012 based on the information graphic?
Few advertisements appealed to positive emotions
The data displayed in the table above best support which of the following statements?
House seats are safer from election turnover than are Senate seats
The advantages of incumbency in congressional elections include which of the following? I. Incumbents receive more campaign contributions than do challengers. II. Incumbents are able to provide important services for individual voters. III. The government provides campaign funds for incumbents. IV. The President usually endorses incumbents for reelection. V. Most American voters believe Congress does a good job.
I and II only
The use of direct primaries instead of the convention system in selecting presidential candidates results in which of the following? I. A weakening of party control over nominations II. A reduction in the costs of election campaigns III. An increase in the number of people involved in the choice of candidates IV. An increase in voter turnout in midterm elections
I and III only
Which of the following explains how The Federalist 10 relates to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ?
In both, a limited approach to government regulation was argued for
Which of the following is a significant trend in the presidential nominating process over the past three decades?
Increasing importance of presidential primaries rather than state conventions
Which of the following statements about incumbent senators running for reelection is correct?
Incumbent senators are less likely to be reelected than are incumbent members of the House of Representatives
All of the following contribute to the success of incumbent members of Congress in election campaigns EXCEPT:
Incumbents tend to understand national issues better than do their challengers
The data in the graph best illustrate which of the following common criticisms of the electoral college?
Individuals in small-population states have a greater impact on the electoral college than individuals in large-population states
Which of the following describes the Twenty-Fourth Amendment?
It eliminated poll taxes
Which of the following best describes the concept of political efficacy?
It is the belief that one can make a difference in politics by expressing an opinion and acting politically
Which of the following is NOT an explanation for low voter turnout?
Laws protecting minority voting rights
_______
Media related activities
Which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution addresses the grievance that a woman is not permitted "to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise"?
Nineteenth Amendment
In the United States, which of the following is a rule on voting found in the Constitution or its amendments?
No person eighteen years of age or older may be denied the right to vote on account of age
A number of states, including Georgia and Ohio, have passed laws that revoke voter registration if a person did not vote in recent election cycles. Which of the following is a likely consequence of these laws?
Occasional voters will not be able to vote on election day, which could influence election results
Which of the following best describes the difference between an open and closed primary?
Only voters who register as members of a political party may vote in that party's closed primary, while independents and others may be eligible to vote in open primaries
Which of the following statements about political action committees (PACs) is true?
PAC spending makes up a higher percentage of congressional campaign funds than of presidential campaign funds
Soft money is money that is obtained by
Political parties
Which of the following best explains how political parties are likely to respond to the data in the chart?
Political parties will adapt their positions and find ways to appeal to voters from growing demographic groups
A person votes for Democratic candidates based on the belief that the policies of the Democratic Party will be personally beneficial. This type of voting matches which of the following voting behavior models?
Prospective voting
A voter's decision to support the incumbent president in an upcoming election is based on recent economic growth and record low unemployment. Which of the following models of voting behavior best characterizes this voter's decision?
Retrospective voting
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) was designed to curtail which of the following?
Soft money
Which of the following best explains why eligibility criteria vary by state as shown on the information graphic?
States can create criteria for voting rights so long as they do not violate the United States Constitution
There is an ongoing debate over the role of money in elections. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 banned soft money and restricted advertisements in the weeks before an election. Parts of this act were challenged and struck down in the Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010). Which of the following was a consequence of that ruling?
Super PACs may spend unlimited funds on advertisements that are not coordinated with the campaign because they are protected by the freedom of speech
Which of the following is a likely effect of the trend depicted in the bar graph on voting and elections?
The Democratic Party will win more elections, based on current voting trends
Which of the following best explains why the winner of a presidential election usually claims to have a mandate from voters?
The allocation of electoral votes in the winner-take-all system exaggerates the margin of victory
Which of the following is a correct statement about political action committees (PAC's)?
The amount of money that PAC's can contribute directly to an individual candidate is limited by law
Which of the following factors that influence voters' decision making during an election is the cartoonist poking fun at?
The candidate's personal characteristics
If voters are acting according to the retrospective model of voting, which of the following will be the most important consideration in their decision?
The effect of recent economic conditions on the voters
The America First Action is a super PAC led by former administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon. Which of the following best explains how the organization can operate to influence elections, according to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) ?
The super PAC can spend unlimited money on issue-advocacy advertisements that are not coordinated with the campaign
Which of the following is most directly related to the large amount of money spent by outside groups in the 2012 election?
The use of super PACs as a mechanism to raise money and influence elections
Critics of the winner-take-all aspect of the electoral college are most likely to make which of the following arguments?
The winner-take-all system of the electoral college encourages presidential candidates to focus their time and effort disproportionately on battleground states with larger populations.
Which of the following is true of political action committees (PACs) ?
They make campaign contributions in hopes of gaining access to legislators
Which of the following is true of political action committees (PACs) ?
They make campaign contributions to gain access to legislators.
A political science professor is researching the effects that the Fifteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments have had on the American political system. Which of the following is the most likely reason the professor is researching these amendments?
To study the expansion of voting rights
Which of the following scenarios explains how demographic factors affect voter participation in elections?
Wealthier individuals are more likely to become involved in campaigns because they believe that their actions may influence the candidates
Which of the following statements about voting patterns is best supported by the table?
Women were more likely than men to vote Democratic
Given the information in the graph, in which of the following states would an individual's vote likely have more influence?
Wyoming
Typically, presidential candidates implement their campaign strategies by
focusing on larger, competitive states, because they might tip the balance of the electoral college
All of the following are reasons incumbents in the House of Representatives enjoy an electoral advantage over challengers EXCEPT that incumbents
get substantial financial support from their party's national committee
When contributing to congressional campaigns, political action committees (PACs) are most likely to contribute to
incumbents of both major parties
In response to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act), the United States Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), ruled that
independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions are protected by the First Amendment
Interest groups use political action committees (PACs) to
raise and spend money on election campaigns
The primary function of political action committees (PAC's) is to
raise campaign funds to support favored candidates
The process known as front-loading refers to
the tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calendar
A citizen who uses the rational choice model of voting behavior selects candidates for office based on
what is thought to be in the citizen's own self-interest
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did which of the following?
It banned soft money donations to national parties
Which of the following is true based on the information graphic?
Over 75% of the population is eligible to vote, but only about half the electorate actually voted in the 2016 presidential election
