Texas Government-Vasquez Exam 2

The Latino movement known as La Raza Unida occurred during the

1960's

Texas Democrats have been relegated to a minority status at the state level since

1994

Women were given the right to vote in the United States with the passage of the

19th Amendment

Know about women's suffrage in Texas.

19th amendment ratified in 1919, gave women the right to vote Anti-women rights activist- Joseph Bailey, Farmer Jim Ferguson Pro-women rights activist- Tinie Wells, wife of Jim Wells. William P. Hobby

When are elections for state offices held?

During even-numbered, nonresidential elections years

A(n) ____ occurs when the winner of a primary election fails to win an absolute majority of the votes cast.

Runoff Election

The main role of the precinct convention is to

Select delegates for the county convention and to submit resolutions to the party's state platform

Duverger's Law states that

Single-member district systems result in two-party systems.

In Texas, the highest level of temporary party organization is the

State Convention

Most of Texas's African American population is concentrated in all of the following areas EXCEPT

Suburban Dallas and Houston

Major statewide officials are elected in nonpresidential election years because

Such a system prevents popular presidential candidates from influencing state elections.

Texans are increasingly identifying themselves as

Independent

Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn ran for governor as __________ in 2006

Independent Candidates

According to political scientist Daniel Elazar, Texas's political culture is Traditionalistic and

Individualistic

What is the significance of the Supreme Court case Smith v. Allwright?

It announced that in primary elections states could not restrict voters on account of race.

How do campaigns attempt to reach voters?

Through print and electronic media, mail, door-to-door campaigning, speeches to large and small groups, coffee hours, and telephone solicitation.

_____ elections are elections in which the party affiliations of candidates are not listed on the ballot.

Non-Partisan

The most important role for political parties in Texas elections is to

Offer the candidates a label by which they can identify with the voters.

During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries, Texas was which political party?

One-party Democrat

The degree to which members of the Texas Republican Party have become more conservative, and members of the Texas Democratic Party have become more liberal, is referred to as

Partisan Polarization

The process by which our parents, teachers, and others influence our identification with a political party is referred to as

Political Socialization

Providing a label that helps voters identify those seeking office is an important function of

Political parties

A ____ was a tax charged to voters as a prerequisite for registration.

Poll Tax

Know the methods of disenfranchising many minorities before the 1960s regularly used in Texas.

Poll tax, early registration, white primary, Jaybird party.

The procedure by which certain states, such as Texas, are required to obtain approval every time they make changes to districts is called

Pre-clearance

The most local voting district is called the

Precinct

Which elections is voter turnout the highest?

Presidential Elections

The pattern, beginning in the 1950's, of Texans voting for a Republican president but sticking with conservative Democrats for state offices is called

Presidential Republicans

Know the types of elections found in Texas?

Primary Elections, Runoff primary, Open primary, Closed primary General Election, Special Election.

A system that allocates representation to legislatures that ensures a voice for minority parties is called a

Proportional representation system

Third parties are most likely to have electoral success under which system of elections?

Proportional representation system

Highly partisan legislation passed in 2011 now requires Texans to

Provide photo identification when voting

Texas was the first state in the South to

Ratify the women's suffrage amendment

The process of ____ involves recalculating how many congressional districts each state will receive based on the state's population.

Reapportionment

Which of the following is the purpose of special elections?

To fill vacancies in elected offices

Know the reasons why special elections are held in Texas.

To fill vacancies in office, to give approval for the state government to borrow money, or to ratify amendments to the state constitution.

In Texas, the ____ Party usually experiences high voter turnout than the ____ Party does.

Republican; Democratic

All of the following are principles generally supported by the Tea Party movement EXCEPT

Increased immigration

Know the function of political parties

1. The party label becomes the standard used in casting a ballot for a candidate. 2. Parties assist in raising money for candidates' campaigns and in helping candidates with legal requirements. They also train candidates for campaigns. 3. Parties sometimes recruit candidates. 4. Parties assist in getting out the vote. 5. The party helps organize the government once officials have been elected.

The poll tax was made illegal in federal elections with the passage of the

24th Amendment

Latinos currently represent __________ percent of population of Texas.

38

Approximately what percentage of the state's voting-age population is registered to vote?

70%

The 8F Crowd was

A group of extremely wealthy Texans who met in Suite 8F of the Lamar Hotel in Houston and controlled Texas politics for 40 years.

Early voting in Texas has been shown to produce

A moderate increase in voter turnout

The system of allocating representatives to Congress and the Texas legislature by individual districts, rather than by allocating votes proportionally, is referred to as

A single-membership district

Which demographic group delivers the vast majority of its votes to the Democratic Party?

African Americans

The Motor Voter Act of 1993

Allows citizens to register to vote while applying for a driver's license

Describe an interest group

An organization established to influence the government's programs and policies.

What are modern-day tactics for preventing certain groups from voting?

At-large system, reducing the number of polling places in certain areas, the presence of broken voting machines, misleading info provided by voters, and voter intimidation .

Which of the following is NOT a requirement to vote in Texas?

Being a resident of Texas for at least one year

The most recent renewals to the Voting Rights Act require

Bilingual ballots in areas where over 5 percent of citizens speak a language other than English

Conservative Democrats in Texas are also known as

Blue Dog Democrats

Name recognition often gives ________ a distinct advantage in Texas elections.

Candidates

One effect of the high cost of campaigns in Texas is that

Candidates are often very wealthy individuals willing to use their own money in campaigns.

The Dixiecrats abandoned the national Democratic Party in the 1948 presidential election of the issue of

Civil Rights

Officially, Texas has a

Closed Primary

In the 1950's, who were known as the Shivercrats?

Conservative Democrats who voted for Republican presidential candidates

The _____ is a meeting held by a political party following its precinct conventions for the purpose of electing delegates to its state convention.

County Convention

Which party dominated Texas politics throughout most of the twentieth century?

Democratic

When does redistricting in Texas occur?

Every 10 years

When intraparty disputes split members into different groups, these groups are referred to as

Factions

The Libertarian Party can be considered

Fiscal Conservatives and social Liberals

The _____ election decides who is elected to an office.

General

The first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years is the day for which election?

General Election

In the post-Civil War era, the only parts of Texas that showed significant Republican leanings were

German countries in the Texas Hill Country

The fastest-growing demographic group in Texas is _____, the majority of whom vote ______.

Hispanic; Democratic

In Texas, why were primary elections more important than general elections during most of the twentieth century?

In a one-party state, the winner of the primary will most likely win the general election.

General elections are held

In even-numbered years

The two most important factors that determine whether someone votes are

Income level and education

Why does Texas currently have low voter turnout?

Income levels are lower, age distribution is younger, and levels of educational achievement are below average.

The last democratic president that carried the state of Texas was

Jimmy Carter

Which of the following third-party movements had the most success in winning elections in the post-World War II era?

La Raza Unidad

_____ is the traditional start of the general election campaign in Texas.

Labor Day

One of the Republican Party's greatest weaknesses in Texas is its lack of support among

Latinos

Which demographic group is the fastest growing in Texas?

Latinos

Most Texas Democrats today would be classified as

Liberal

In modern-day Texas, control of state government

Lies solely in the hands of the Republicans

State and local party organizations do all of the following EXCEPT

Litigate against unfavorable policies

Parties at the state level have less power than at the national level because

Local issues are usually not ideological in nature

In Texas, primary elections are usually held in

March

The most costly item for most political campaigns is

Media advertising

In Texas elections, the ____ play(s) the largest role in running campaigns.

Money

One of the reasons why party politics in Texas differs from that of other southern states in because

Most other southern states have a historically larger African American population than Texas.

Runoff primaries are generally held

The 2nd Tuesday in April

The farmers' interest group that influenced the writing of the Texas Constitution of 1876?

The Grange

In Texas, ______ is/are responsible for redistricting.

The Legislature

The major competition for important statewide offices in present-day Texas happens at

The Republican Primary

Which movement has had the largest impact on state legislative races in recent years?

The Tea Party Movement

Pre-clearance is required by

The U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. district court for the District of Columbia.

In Texas, the most oppressive restriction on the franchise was

The White Primary

Independent candidates are rarely on the Texas ballot because

The signature/petition requirements are often too stringent

In Texas, which group is most likely to support the Republican Party?

The wealthy

What is the purpose of a primary election?

To select a party's candidate for the general election

Early voting increases the polling period from twelve hours to

Two weeks

The most important federal law involved in the expansion of the franchise in Texas was

Voting Rights Act of 1972

The Occupy movement is a political movement interested in limiting the influence of what in American politics?

Wall Street and Big Business

The mass exodus of more affluent whites from urban areas to suburban areas is sometimes referred to as

White Flight

Which demographic group has the largest percentage share of voters in Texas?

Whites

Today, the Texas Democratic Party's base is made up of all of the following EXCEPT

Whites in East Texas

____ was the first Republican to hold the office of Texas governor since the end of Reconstruction.

William R. Clements