test 6-10

If a state has nine elected officials in the U.S. House, how many electoral votes does it have in presidential elections?

11

Suppose a state has 50 delegates and a party's delegates are proportionally allocated. Candidate A received 50% of the votes; Candidate B received 30% of the votes; and Candidate C received 20% of the votes. Roughly how many delegates would Candidate A win in this state?

25

Voter turnout in the 2020 primaries was unusually high, with some states reporting over ________% turnout.

30

About what percent of recently retired members of Congress have become lobbyists?

50 percent

Typically, candidates for federal office spend about ________ percent of their budget on advertising.

80 to 90

Which of the following actions taken by a campaign would most likely be allowed based on the precedent established by Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)?

A private charity buys time for a televised event two weeks before a general election featuring celebrity speakers who criticize one of the presidential candidates.

Whose election prompted the creation of the Democratic Party that we have today?

Andrew Jackson

Three candidates are vying for a congressional seat under plurality rules. Candidate Jones received 44% of the votes; Candidate Smith received 32% of the votes; and Candidate Cooper received 24% of the votes. Who wins?

Candidate Jones is the winner because she had the most votes.

How might a candidate's issue positions in the primaries differ from those in the general election

Candidates tend to have more ideologically extreme positions during primaries.

Which of these describes the development of ideologies today compared with a generation ago?

Conservatives have become more alike/similar as far as identity

Members of "The Squad," including representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, are in favor of Medicare for All, which would expand the government's role in health care. Which of these groups is most likely to have members that support Medicare for All?

Democrats

Why is it useful for interest groups to lobby not only legislators but also members of the president's staff and bureaucrats from the executive branch?

Different officials play distinct roles in the policymaking process, including policy formulation, allocating funding to programs, and implementing laws.

As a result of the concern over "fake news" being posted and shared over social media websites such as Facebook during the 2016 election, lawmakers have recently proposed legislation aimed at regulating social media websites and imposing penalties for false political advertisements. Which agency would likely regulate the social media companies?

Federal Communications Commission

Which of these best explains why many Americans are not well informed about politics?

Few are willing to invest the work needed to be good consumers of political reporting.

Why do lobbying firms often hire former members of Congress?

Former members of Congress can provide the group with access and information.

Why do political analysts and pollsters care about group identity when it comes to politics and public opinion?

Group identity can be an influential predictor of individuals' attitudes about various policies.

Why do election rules and their implementation matter?

In close races, small changes to rules can change electoral outcomes.

What is one rationale for elected officials speaking to reporters on background?

It allows the elected official to release details of a new proposal to gauge public reaction without committing to a position publicly.

Which of these is true of ideology?

It is an example of a stable opinion.

What was significant about the disintegration of the Federalist Party?

It led to the Era of Good Feelings and eventually to the second party system.

Which of the following statements best characterizes the influence of interest groups?

Most groups are only successful some of the time, regardless of their resources.

Suppose that you are conducting a study of individuals' attitudes towards immigration. You solicit participation over Facebook and nearly 2,000 individuals respond as your family and friends share the link to your survey with their friends and family. Would this be a scientifically sound study of public opinion on immigration?

No, the survey is not scientifically sound because it lacks a random sample.

Which of these describes social desirability bias?

People give answers they think the interviewer wants to hear.

A diverse coalition of interest groups, including labor unions, civil rights groups, faith-based groups, and businesses, are joining forces in the push for criminal justice reform. What is an advantage of a diverse coalition of interest groups working together?

Policy makers are more likely to respond to large coalitions with a diverse membership.

How are presidential primaries different from presidential caucuses?

Primaries involve voting by ballot, whereas caucuses take place in a local meeting.

Which of these is true of sampling errors?

Sampling errors exists in every poll.

An investment firm, the Carlyle Group, plans to engage in direct lobbying of members of Congress and executive branch officials on provisions of the CARES Act (which would seek to provide relief to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic) that include airline industry payroll grants to sustain the industry. On whom should the Carlyle Group focus lobbying efforts?

The Carlyle Group should focus on lobbying influential legislators and executive branch leaders who are already sympathetic to the industry's position.

Why is social desirability bias a problem for surveys?

The answers from respondents are not truthful.

Which of these should you conclude if a poll has a large sampling error?

The conclusions are questionable.

What was a reason for the rise of the Republican Party?

The issue of slavery split the second party system.

Which one of the following statements is accurate?

The media and politicians each have something to offer the other.

Which of these is true about politicians' use of the media?

The media can be used strategically by politicians through leaks.

Which of the following statements is accurate about the media?

The media give Americans the coverage they want.

Despite the fact that data on homicides generally show a stable rate or even a decline in many cities, the public often believes that homicide is on the rise. What explains this disparity between perceptions and reality of homicide rates?

The media's framing of homicides without the broader context of overall trends can lead individuals to believe homicide is much more prevalent and on the rise.

Two mayoral candidates are competing under majority voting rules. Candidate A received 49% of the vote; candidate B received 47% of the vote with the remaining votes spread across various write-in candidates. Who won the election?

The winner must be determined by a runoff election.

How did political parties in the first party system differ from modern political parties?

They lacked the party organization and the party in the electorate.

Which of these is the most accurate characterization of journalists?

They often act as watchdogs in the political system.

How can campaign advertisements be beneficial to the democratic process?

Those exposed to campaign ads tend to be more interested in the campaign and to know more about the candidates.

How do parties' strategies differ when they are operating under unified government versus divide government?

Under unified government, discussions focus on finding common ground within the party, and under divided government, discussions focus on finding common ground with the other party or blocking the other party's initiatives.

What is the primary difference between a traditional political action committee (PAC) and a 527 organization?

Unlike PACs, 527 organizations are not subject to contribution limits and spending caps.

The Republican Party formed when the ________ Party dissolved.

Whig

Suppose that Americans for Prosperity, a conservative-leaning social welfare organization, seeks to spend $6 million in political advertisements against legislation proposed by a prominent Democratic Socialist candidate. Can a 527 organization engage in this type of campaign activity?

Yes, 527 groups can raise unlimited funds for advertisements and are permitted to run campaign advertisements on political issues.

For a group to take advantage of grassroots lobbying, which one of the following characteristics is essential?

a large number of members

If legislators in a state put a tax increase on the ballot, this is an example of ________.

a referendum

Which of these is likely to lead to a wave election?

a weak economy

The media's focus on Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as Secretary of State during the 2016 election is an example of

attack journalism.

Concerns about media concentration and cross-ownership are based on

beliefs that democracy thrives if the press espouses many different views.

About three-quarters of all spending on lobbying represents

business interests.

When policy mood leans in a liberal direction, how does government tend to respond?

by expanding the federal government's role in different programs

The main way that American candidates reach the electorate is through

campaign ads

Which of the following groups is most likely to run positive campaign advertisements?

candidates

The group of Democratic legislators in the U.S. House is called a ________, whereas the Republicans call their group a ________.

caucus; conference

Which of these best characterizes the news media in America?

comprised mostly of profit-seeking businesses

Senator Ted Cruz opposed the Affordable Care Act bill because he felt that the legislation provided for too much government involvement in health care. Senator Cruz's position is based upon what ideology?

conservative

The issues minor parties support are usually _______ relative to the issues that the two major parties support.

distinct

Changes in opinion, generated by an event or some other piece of new information, are more likely when the individual

does not have a set of preexisting principles through which to interpret the event.

Lobbyists contact executive branch bureaucrats because

executive branch bureaucrats change the ways regulations are written and policies are implemented.

The Walt Disney Company owns the ABC Broadcast Network, Vice Media, Marvel Studios, FiveThirtyEight, and ESPN, among many other media holdings. One potential implication of the rise of media conglomerates is

fewer perspectives being presented by the media.

MSNBC's decision to focus its broadcast on the Trump impeachment hearings while Fox News decided to broadcast news about Chick-Fil-A severing its ties with the Salvation Army is an example of

filtering

If you were reading an article and asked yourself, "What is the purpose of this article?" you would be looking at how the issue is

framed

In 2017, some news stories emphasized how well Democratic candidates performed in the off-cycle elections. This is an example of

framing

How do politicians actively create public opinion?

framing how they put forward proposals to try and sway the public

In 2018, Lizzie Fletcher defeated nine-term incumbent John Culberson in Texas's seventh congressional district. Her focus on canvassing activities intended to mobilize voters, such as knocking on doors to talk to voters, is known as

get-out-the vote.

Lobbying, in general, works against majority rule because

groups tend to lobby for changes favoring segments of the population.

Andrew Jackson was important to the development of American political parties because

his election initiated both the party principle and the spoils system.

Political parties can most benefit democracy by

holding elected officials accountable.

Which of these are likely to increase the impact of partisanship on an individual's opinions?

ideological polarization

If a person describes themselves as "moderate," they are expressing their ________.

ideology

A state decides to elect all members to its U.S. House delegation from one at-large district through proportional voting, instead of the previous practice of winner-takes-all. For example, a party that receives 20 percent of the votes will get 20 percent of the House seats. This change is likely to do which of the following to the state's congressional delegation?

increase minor party representation

Permanent campaigns are run by

incumbents

When an interest group puts a policy proposal on a general election ballot at the state level, it is using the ________ process.

initiative

The theory that America is an interest group state suggests that

interest groups are almost always involved whenever public policy is made.

One of the practical reasons that virtually all prominent candidates for the presidency and Congress run as Democrats or Republicans is that

it is easier to get on the general election ballot as a major-party candidate.

Interest groups have ________ influence when an issue has high salience.

less

The Internet has ________ the barriers to publication, while leading to an increase in ________ reliable sources.

lowered; less

Generally, it is easiest for interest groups to

maintain the status quo.

Interest groups like the National Rifle Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving have large, dues-paying memberships and are examples of

mass associations.

Which of these is likely to result from a low level of trust in the government?

more difficulty making public policy

Despite some Republicans' dislike of Donald Trump, their strong dislike of the Democratic Party led them to vote for Trump in 2016. This type of behavior is a concept known as

negative partisanship.

An Independent voter wants to participate in the Democratic primary but does not want to register with the party. In which types of primary elections would this be permitted?

open and semi-closed primaries

The most competitive elections are generally for a(n)________.

open seat

An interest group organizing a grassroots phone campaign to pressure undecided members of Congress to support a bill would be using a(n)

outside strategy.

One view of American government is that Americans participate in politics primarily through interest groups, an expression of

pluralism

Unlike agenda-setting, which focuses on ________, party platforms focus on _______.

primaries; elections

If a federal official sues to stop the publication of a top-secret memo about an ongoing military conflict, and a judge agrees and prohibits publication, this is an example of

prior restraint.

What kind of poll is used to affect, rather than measure, public opinion?

push polls

A voter lacks information on the candidates' policy position but instead relies upon the party affiliation of the candidate to decide whom to support. Which of these is illustrated?

reliance on voting cues

When members of Congress are making policy decisions, they generally

respond to what those with the most intense opinions on an issue want.

Katherine is running for Congress. She spends a lot of her time attending town halls and meeting with individual voters to talk about their concerns. These are examples of

retail politics.

A party platform influences voters by

simplifying a party's agenda.

When there is strong, divided public opinion on an issue, what are the chances of an interest group being successful?

slim

Media coverage of President Trump's nicknames for political foes is an example of

soft news.

Suppose that you want to get your college to sell only fair trade, ethically sourced coffee on campus. Your environmental policy classmates agree to form an interest group with voluntary participation. What selective incentives drive membership in this group?

solidary and purposive benefits

Members of Congress try to cultivate a personal connection with their constituents to insulate themselves from an unpopular presidential candidate of their own party in the hope that voters may engage in ________ voting.

split-ticket

When there is a popular president on the ballot, congressional candidates of the president's party hope that voters will engage in ________ voting, which will give the congressional candidate a ________ advantage.

straight-ticket; coattails

Which of these measure policy mood?

support for bigger government

Which one of the following is an example of an issue or event that caused a realignment?

the civil rights movement in the 1960s

Which of these is responsible for the hostile media effect?

the consumers' bias

In the last several decades, which of these has consistently ranked in the top three policy priorities for the American public regardless of current events?

the economy

The use of the label "fake news" can be said to be an extreme example of

the hostile media effect.

If a woman spends a year working on a candidate's presidential campaign and her candidate subsequently wins and she is appointed to a federal job, this is an illustration of

the spoils system.

Reporters have an influential role in politics because

their decisions about what stories to cover influence the information available to the public.

George Wallace and Ross Perot are examples of

third-party candidates who attracted significant numbers of votes.

Although newspapers are limited in the ________ of their coverage, the ________ of their coverage means that they can provide more detailed knowledge to their readers.

timeliness; depth

Why were direct primaries introduced into the American political process?

to further empower voters

What is the purpose of a focus group?

to gain deep insights into why people hold the opinions they do