GOVT 2305 Chapter 10
If you want to run for a seat in the House of Representatives, you will probably need to raise more than
$1 million.
Under federal law, individuals may donate as much as ____ per candidate per election and up to ______ per national party committee per calendar year.
$2,700; $33,400
Under current federal rules, individuals may donate a maximum of ____ to any single candidate and up to _____ to a political action committee.
$2,700; $5,000
Which income group had the highest percentage of donations to a political campaign in 2012?
$80k+
Except on rare occasions, boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts in the United States are redrawn by the states every ____ years.
10
The 2012 presidential elections broke all fundraising records with over ______ spent.
4 billion dollars
Third-party candidates for president can receive public funding only if they received at least _____ percent of the vote in the previous presidential race.
5 percent
Which age group had the highest percentage of donations to a political campaign in 2012?
65+
What percentage of the Romney campaign's funding came from large individual contributions?
82 percent
For only the fourth time in US history, the 2016 Presidential election resulted in a different winner in the ____ as opposed to the _____.
Electoral College, Popular Vote
What is a reason that incumbents are re-elected at such high rates?
Incumbents usually raise more money than do challengers.
In the 2014 Supreme Court case ________, the Court ruled that there was no evidence that making campaign contributions to large numbers of candidates led to the donor controlling the candidates. The Court therefore ruled that restrictions on this activity were not justified.
McCutcheon et al. v. Federal Election Commission
_____ primaries only allow registered members of a political party to vote to select that party's candidates, whereas ______ primaries allow all registered voters to choose which party's primary they will participate in.
Open; closed
____ are organizations established by corporations, labor unions, or interest groups to channel the contributions of their members into political campaigns.
Political action committees
______elections are held to select a party's candidate for the ____ elections.
Primary; general
____ is the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives.
Redistricting
____ voting occurs when voting is based on the past performance of a candidate.
Retrospective
What was the largest state Donald Trump won in 2016?
Texas
Which of the following statements about congressional redistricting is accurate?
The federal government has generally supported the creation of majority-minority districts.
runoff election
a "second-round" election in which voters choose between the top two candidates from the first round (page 372)
A nonprofit group that also engages in issue advocacy and is allowed to spend up to half of its revenue for political purposes is called
a 501(c)(4) committee.
incumbent
a candidate running for re-election to a position that he or she already holds (page 383)
The 2016 presidential election was decided more by _____ than by any other factors.
a huge shift of working-class voters from the Democrats to Republicans
proportional representation
a multiple-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote (page 373)
caucus (political)
a normally closed political party business meeting of citizens to select candidates, elect officers, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters (page 375)
party platform
a party document, written at a national convention, that contains party philosophy, principles, and policy positions (page 379)
To win the presidency, a candidate must receive ____ of electoral college votes.
a plurality
Primary elections are held to select
a political party's presidential candidate for the general election.
open primary
a primary election in which the voter can wait until the day of the primary to choose which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election (page 372)
closed primary
a primary election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates but only of the party in which they are enrolled for a period of time prior to primary day (page 372)
political action committee (PAC)
a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns (page 395)
recall
a procedure to allow voters to remove state officials from office before their terms expire by circulating petitions to call a vote (page 382)
ballot initiative
a proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote (page 381)
general election
a regularly scheduled election involving most districts in the nation or state, in which voters select officeholders; in the United States, general elections for national office and most state and local offices are held on the first Tuesday in November in even-numbered years (every four years for presidential elections) (page 372)
delegate
a representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency (page 378)
majority system
a type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in the parliament or other representative body, a candidate must receive a majority of all the votes cast in the relevant district (page 372)
plurality system
a type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in the parliament or other representative body, a candidate need only receive the most votes in the election, not necessarily a majority of the votes cast (page 372)
campaign
an effort by political candidates and their supporters to win the backing of donors, political activists, and voters in their quest for political office (page 383)
What is a closed primary?
an election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates, but only of the party in which they are enrolled for a period of time prior to Election Day
majority-minority district
an electoral district, such as a congressional district, in which the majority of the constituents belong to racial or ethnic minorities (page 375)
town hall meeting
an informal public meeting in which candidates meet with ordinary citizens; allows candidates to deliver messages without the presence of journalists or commentators (page 388)
Political Action Committees (PACs) are organizations established
by corporations, labor unions, or interest groups to channel the contributions of their members into political campaigns.
Who or what initiates the process that ultimately gets a ballot initiative onto the ballot for a popular vote?
citizens
midterm elections
congressional elections that do not coincide with a presidential election; also called off-year elections (page 371)
Midterm elections are congressional elections that
do not coincide with a presidential election.
primary elections
elections held to select a party's candidate for the general election (page 372)
The federal courts have established ____ as a critical factor in establishing the boundaries of legislative districts.
equal populations
Leading the concept of ______, Iowa and New Hampshire play a disproportionate role in selecting presidential candidates because they are the first states to cast votes.
front-loading
State legislators routinely seek to influence electoral outcomes by manipulating the organization of electoral districts. This strategy is called
gerrymandering.
In 2003, Californians voted out Governor Gray Davis. This election was unusual because
he lost in a rare recall effort.
The ____ is a candidate running for re-election to a position that he or she already holds.
incumbent
In MOST congressional elections, ____ outspend ____.
incumbents, challengers
Americans with a high school diploma are ________ likely to donate than a person with a college diploma.
less
Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election despite having
lost the popular vote.
When a congressional election is held that does not coincide with a presidential election, it is called a(n)
midterm election.
Which of the following factors have studies indicated likely matters least in generating long-term support for a presidential candidate?
national debate performance
In the case of Buckley v Valeo, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
no limits can be placed on candidates' expenditure of their own funds, since such spending is considered free speech.
501(c)(4) committees
nonprofit groups that also engage in issue advocacy; under Section 501(c)(4) of the federal tax code, such a group may spend up to half its revenue for political purposes and donors do not have to be identified, hence the name dark money (page 395)
527 committees
nonprofit independent groups established specifically to receive and disburse funds to influence the nomination, election, or defeat of candidates; named after Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, which defines and provides tax-exempt status for nonprofit advocacy groups (page 395)
The number of a state's electoral votes is determined by the
number of members it has in both houses of Congress.
Citizens United permitted individuals and organizations to form committees, called ________, which can raise unlimited amounts of money to run political advertising.
political action committees
grassroots politics
political campaigns that operate at the local level, often using face-to-face communication to generate interest and momentum by citizens (page 376)
"Free media" during an electoral campaign refers to
positive news and feature coverage initiated by the media themselves.
The electoral college is
presidential electors from each state who cast ballots for president and vice president.
These individuals have taken the place of the old-time party bosses who once controlled political campaigns.
professional political consultants
Citizens basing their presidential choice by focusing on future behavior of candidate is called
prospective voting.
Virtually all contemporary campaigns make extensive use of opinion polling, and to be competitive a candidate must use ______ polls to gauge public support.
random sample public-opinion polls
A(n) ____ allows voters an opportunity to remove state officials from office before their terms expire.
recall election
Which of the following is the best example of direct democracy in practice in the United States today?
referendum
straight-ticket voting
selecting candidates from the same political party for all offices on the ballot (page 373)
In the American federal system, which level of government is largely responsible for managing elections?
state and local government
After the Supreme Court decision that effectively reversed Florida's recount order in the Presidential election of 2000, Congress passed ______ in 2003, requiring states to introduce computerized voting systems.
the Help Americans Vote Act
In which region of the United States did Donald Trump get the most electoral support?
the South
gerrymandering
the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party (page 375)
When there is a presidential election and the Consumer Confidence Index has a score of over 100, then
the candidate of the party in power is likely to win.
Who is the incumbent?
the current officeholder, running for re-election
In the United States, national elections occur on fixed dates, with presidential elections occurring every four years, and Congressional elections every two years, and both occurring on
the first Tuesday of November.
In 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that
the government cannot restrict independent expenditures by corporations or unions to political campaigns.
referendum
the practice of referring a proposed law passed by a legislature to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection (page 381)
electoral college
the presidential electors from each state who meet after the general election to cast ballots for president and vice president (page 379)
redistricting
the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives; this happens every 10 years, to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges in existing districts (page 374)
prospective voting
voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate or political party (page 398)
retrospective voting
voting based on the past performance of a candidate or political party (page 398)
Most national campaigns in America are conducted through which kind of politics?
wholesale