AP Gov Chapter 8 Practice AP Questions

Which of the following political parties would be most likely to oppose reduced sentencing for nonviolent felony offenders? a. The Green Party b. The Libertarian Party c. The Republican Party d. The Democratic Party

c. The Republican Party

Which of the following describes the result in a winner-take-all, single-member-district plurality system? a. The candidate who receives the most votes in the election wins. b. The candidate must receive at least 51% of the votes to win. c. The top two vote-getters compete in a run-off election. d. A political party must receive 51% of the votes to win all of the seats in the district. e. The party that receives the most votes in the election wins the seat and selects the party member who will fill the seat.

a. The candidate who receives the most votes in the election wins.

Based on the data in the chart, which of the following best explains a likely impact of third-party votes in the 2016 election? a. The third-party vote in the three states depicted in the chart helped Donald Trump acquire enough electoral votes to win the election. b. The third parties were able to gain seats in Congress because of the large number of votes they received in the three states depicted in the chart. c. The third-party vote counts in the three states depicted in the chart forced the election to a tie, forcing the House of Representatives to cast the deciding vote. d. The third-party vote counts forced the three states depicted in the chart into runoff elections to decide who would be the winner of each state.

a. The third-party vote in the three states depicted in the chart helped Donald Trump acquire enough electoral votes to win the election.

All of the following are functions of political parties EXCEPT a. dictating policies b. choosing candidates c. running campaigns d. giving cues to voters

a. dictating policies

A two-party system differs from a multiparty system in that it a. encourages moderation in policymaking and discourages change b. offers voters no choice among ideologies c. usually includes a liberal and conservative party d. relies on popular elections to change the party in power

a. encourages moderation in policymaking and discourages change

A citizen's personal affinity for a political party, which results in the citizen voting for candidates of that political party, is known as party a. identification b. registration c. alignment d. coalition

a. identification

Which of the following has led to ticket splitting in recent elections? a. partisan dealignment b. open primaries c. party realignemnt d. patronage system

a. partisan realignment

All of the following are examples of a linkage institution influencing the policy process EXCEPT a. the president delivering the State of the Union speech b. the Sierra Club lobbying the Environmental Protection Agency c. the outcome of a congressional election d. an exposé by the national media on the housing crisis e. the Republican Party pursuing a balanced budget amendment

a. the president delivering the State of the Union speech

Which of the following is true about an open primary? a. they allow crossover voting b. they receive high turnout c. they are the only system used to select a presidential candidate d. they require that voters be registered with the primary

a. they allow crossover voting

Which of the following best accounts for the lack of success generally encountered by minor political parties in electing members to the House or Senate? a. Political action committee (PAC) contributions are restricted by law to the two major parties. b. General elections in the United States are based on the winner-take-all principle. c. House and Senate rules exclude members of minor parties from organizing coalitions with the major parties. d. The public has great faith in the two major political parties. e. Some states outlaw minor political parties.

b. General elections in the United States are based on the winner-take-all principle.

Which of the following describes a fundamental difference between political parties and interest groups? a. Political parties are prohibited from sponsoring campaign advertisements, and interest groups are not. b. Political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas interest groups are more likely to focus on narrow sets of issues. c. Political parties are more likely to focus on national politics, whereas interest groups focus on local politics. d. Political parties tend to have strength in particular regions, whereas the power of interest groups is more consistent across states. e. Political parties are required to disclose their campaign finance activities, whereas interest groups are not.

b. Political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas interest groups are more likely to focus on narrow sets of issues.

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about political parties in the United States? a. Parties increasingly identify themselves with coherent ideologies to attract large blocs of voters. b. The percentage of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans has been declining since the 1970's. c. National party organizations are generally the strongest party organizations. d. It is increasingly difficult for third parties to gain more than two percent of the popular vote. e. Most candidates prefer to run as independents rather than as Democrats or Republicans.

b. The percentage of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans has been declining since the 1970's.

The top official of each of the two major parties is the a. national convention chair b. national committee chair c. national party chair d. national party leader

b. national committee chair

The even in which the parties formally nominate their candidate for the presidency is called a. critical election b. national convention c. open primary d. closed primarty

b. national convention

Many Americans do not associate with either major political party and instead claim to "vote for the ____ and not the _____" a. party; person b. person; party c. challenger; incumbent d. free-rider; political entrepreneur

b. person; party

Even though the United States has many minor political parties, it remains a. multiparty system b. two-party system c. third party system d. parliamentary system

b. two-party system

The primary reason for the current existence of only two major political parties in the United States is that a. the Constitution puts severe restrictions on other parties b. third parties are usually far to the right or left, and Americans are moderates c. a winner-take-all electoral system makes it difficult for new parties to emerge and survive d. voters naturally think of themselves as either liberals or conservatives e. presidential electors can vote for only two candidates

c. a winner-take-all electoral system makes it difficult for new parties to emerge and survive

A major difference between political parties and interest groups is that a. interest groups typically shift their positions on issues over time, while political parties tend to keep the same position on issues over time b. interest groups usually recruit candidates for office, while political parties usually limit themselves to making campaign contributions to candidates c. political parties seek to gain control of government, while interest groups seek to influence public policy d. political parties tend to have narrow coalitions of support, and interest groups tend to have broad coalitions of support e. political parties usually focus on one issue, while interest groups focus mainly on many issues

c. political parties seek to gain control of government, while interest groups seek to influence public policy

Political party platforms can best be described as which of the following? a. they are strictly followed by elected officials b. they are written by the president c. they are intentionally vague d. they are different from state to state

c. they are intentionally vague

The U.S. has a "single member, plurality" system, often referred to as a. direct representation b. proportional representation c. winner-take-all d. winner-take-most

c. winner-take-all

Which of the following statements about political parties is correct a. The U.S. has never had a third party b. The Democratic and Republican parties have been on the presidential ballot for every election since the presidency of George Washington c. third parties are prohibited by the Constitution d. White the Democrats and Republicans have dominated American politics, they have also seen competition from a wide variety of third parties.

d. White the Democrats and Republicans have dominated American politics, they have also seen competition from a wide variety of third parties.

Which of the following is the best definition of "realignment" a. the abandonment of citizens from the two major parties to be independent b. the requirement that members of a party vote together c. they party that controls the White House loses control in Congress d. a major ideological and demographic shift within a party

d. a major ideological and demographic shift within a party

The gradual disengagement of people form the political parties in order to become Independents is known as a. realignment b. misalignment c. party patronage d. dealignment

d. dealignment

The political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and the Congress is called a. gridlock b. dual federalism c. cooperative federalism d. divided government

d. divided government

Obstacles to third parties' success include all of the following EXCEPT a. the winner-take-all rule b. lack of funding from interest groups c. inability to participate in the debate d. inability to get media attention

d. inability to get media attention

All of the following are true of the party machine EXCEPT a. they were successful in creating party loyalists b. they provided jobs and favors for voters c. they were corrupt d. legislation has largely dismantled them

d. legislation has largely dismantled them

Which of the following is true of the Southern states? a. they have always leaned Republican b. they have always leaned Democratic c. they have no political leaning d. they were once loyal to the Democratic Party, but now are loyal to the Republican Party

d. they were once loyal to the Democratic Party, but now are loyal to the Republican Party

Which of the following was least likely to join the New Deal Coalition? a. minority voters b. blue-collar workers c. voters without a college education d. wealthy voters

d. wealthy voters

Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the two major political parties in the United States? a. Parties have no organization except at the national level. b. Parties are centrally organized to provide a smooth transition from one national campaign to the next. c. Parties are organized much like a large corporation, in that decisions flow from national to state and local levels. d. Local and state parties have virtually no power in the party system. e. Separate and largely independent party organizations exist at national, state, and local levels.

e. Separate and largely independent party organizations exist at national, state, and local levels.

Which of the following is LEAST characteristic of the history of political parties in the United States during the twentieth century? a. An increase in the number of organized interest groups b. An increase in the influence of political action committee (PAC) money in congressional elections c. State adoption of direct primary elections d. The loss of party patronage power e. The splitting of the two major parties into a multiparty system

e. The splitting of the two major parties into a multiparty system

An election in which there is a significant shift in the bases of electoral support from one political party to another is called a a. deviating election b. maintaining election c. dealigning election d. primary election e. realigning election

e. realigning election

Critical elections in the United States typically have occurred a. as a result of a temporary shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties b. whenever a third party has secured more than fifteen percent of the presidential vote c. each time a Republican has been elected President d. when voter turnout has declined significantly from the previous election e. when groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties

e. when groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties