AP Gov Practice Exam
Which of the following describes the Twenty - Fourth Amendment ?
It eliminated poll taxes .
An important Senate race takes place in the state of Georgia . Rather than focus on the issue positions taken by the candidates , a 24 - hour cable news station instead focuses primarily on poll results and campaign strategies using a " big board " to show the counties where each . candidate has the most support . Which of the following is an effect of this type of new coverage ?
The electorate will be less able to accurately compare the policy platforms of candidates running in the election .
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a formal check on the power of the bureaucracy ?
The secretary of defense being called to testify before a congressional committee
Which of the following scenarios is an example of the trustee model of representation ?
A member of Congress votes to close a popular tax loophole based on the belief that the money would be better spent paying down the national debt .
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a member of Congress supporting pork - barrel legislation ?
A senator from an agricultural state amending legislation to establish a potato research institute in his or her state
Which of the following policies would the states most likely prefer according to the political cartoon ?
Block grants
A 2017 study in The American Economic Review found that watching Fox News during an election cycle increased a Democrat's chances of voting Republican by 28 percent . Conversely , by watching MSNBC Republicans were more inclined to vote Democrat by 8 percent . This scenario best illustrates which of the following about the media ?
Cable news programming is oftentimes ideologically driven and effective in persuading citizens to adopt their point of view .
Which of the following pair of Supreme Court cases best illustrates how views of federalism have shifted in the United States ?
Case 1: McCulloch v . Maryland ( 1819 ) Case 2: United States v . Lopez ( 1995 )
On February 9 , 2016 , President Barack Obama released his budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year. Facing a Republican Congress , many declared the plan " dead on arrival . " Among the cited issues was Obama's request for $ 582.7 billion in discretionary spending for defense , which many Republicans believed was not enough. Which of the following most accurately explains the interaction between the president and the Congress regarding the defense budget ?
Congress passes a budget for the entire federal government , including defense , but it must consider the president's proposal because the president may veto the bill .
Which of the following constitutional on amendments is most related to the issue shown on the map ?
Eighth Amendment
Which of the following Supreme Court decisions allows public school students to wear T - shirts protesting a school board decision that eliminates funding for high school arts programs ?
Engel v . Vitale ( 1962 )
Which of the following is generally the most important agent of political socialization ?
Family
Which of the following constitutional principles best explains why there is variation among states on the use of capital punishment ?
Federalism
Which of the following accurately compares the formal and informal powers of the president ?
Formal Power: Acting as commander in chief of the military, Informal Power: Signing executive agreements with foreign nations
Which of the following scenarios illustrates Washington's concerns ?
Ideological divisions within Congress can lead to partisan gridlock .
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 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 .
The majority party in the Senate is concerned that the Supreme Court has made a number of ideologically dangerous and controversial rulings . Which of the following could be actions taken by the Senate to limit the Supreme Court's power ?
Pass legislation already passed by the House that would limit the impact of the Supreme Court's recent rulings
Which of the following makes a correct comparison between political parties and interest groups in the United States ?
Political Parties: Political parties recruit and run candidates in elections. Interest Groups: Interest groups seek to influence public policy.
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 .
Which of the following explains President Johnson's motivation for the speech in relation to his role as the head of the executive branch ?
President Johnson is seeking to use the bully pulpit as a means of promoting his agenda on public education .
A new president has been elected after running on a campaign of lowering taxes and reducing spending on discretionary programs but now must work with Congress to ensure legislation passes which achieves those goals . Which of the leaders in the diagram plays the most crucial role in shaping the legislation that the president wants passed ?
Speaker of the House
Which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of the political cartoon ?
State governments prefer federal funding but do not want federal oversight over how the money is spent .
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 .
In what respect does the Constitution address Washington's concern regarding the " spirit of encroachment " expressed in the excerpt ?
The Constitution distributes power across national institutions .
Which of the following is most likely responsible for the increase in the number of southern African American state legislators between 1960 and 1992 as shown in the graph ?
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Two interest groups are competing for influence in Congress . One group represents banking institutions , while the other advocates for consumer protections . A critic of the influence of interest groups would make which of the following claims ?
The banking interest group likely has greater financial resources and access to policy makers than the consumer protection group .
A public school district implemented a policy that allowed students to vote on whether they wanted a student - led prayer to be read at football games . This policy was later found to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court . Which of the following clauses did the policy most likely violate ?
The establishment clause
In the 1780s , proponents of the new Constitution cited Shays ' Rebellion as an example in support of which of the following criticisms of the national government under the Articles of Confederation ?
The national government did not provide sufficient protection of individual rights .
Which of the following best explains a reason that a president might use a signing statement to express displeasure with a bill as opposed to issuing a veto ?
The president may have objections to provisions of a bill but does not want to risk Congress overriding a veto .
By using the phrase " creative federalism , " President Johnson is most likely referring to which of the following features of the American system ?
The relationship between the federal and state governments evolves over time and is flexible enough to permit new forms of interaction .
Based on your knowledge and the diagram , which of the following is true regarding the leadership structure of Congress ?
The role of the minority leader in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is to coordinate a strategy for the minority party .
Which of the following statements presents the most important limitation of the data in the graph ?
There is no information about the total number of state legislators .
Which of the following is a likely effect of the trend depicted in the bar graph on voting and elections ?
Voter turnout is likely to increase among non Whites .
Given the information in the graph , in which of the following states would an individual's vote likely have more influence ?
Wyoming
In The Federalist 70 , Alexander Hamilton states that " energy in the executive is a leading character in the definition of good government . " In this statement , Hamilton is arguing in favor of the need for
a single executive who can respond quickly to crises
A media organization is interested in reporting election results in a congressional election prior to the final tally of votes which will not occur until later in the evening . The organization randomly selects several polling places across the district asking voters whom they voted for . The type of poll being used in this scenario is known as
an exit poll
Which of the following is a true statement about the role of the media in providing citizens with information ?
Demand for instantaneous news reporting has led to the growth of 24 - hour news operations and a shift to online media consumption .
Which of the following is likely to occur as a result of new legislation regarding automobile safety ?
The Department of Transportation will be given discretionary authority to create auto regulations .
The clause of the United States Constitution that was used in the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v . Board of Education of Topeka ( 1954 ) was
The equal protection clause
A liberal response to the " strained resources " of local government most likely would include
an increase in federal spending on public education and more programs aimed at helping lower - income communities
Which of the following actions did President Johnson suggest he would take to address problems in public schools ?
Calling on experts to advise the federal government in finding ways to improve public education
Which of the following Supreme Court cases established that those accused of felonies who cannot afford legal counsel are entitled to legal counsel provided by the state ?
Gideon v . Wainwright ( 1963 )
Which of the following cases is most related to the quote ?
Marbury v . Madison ( 1803 )
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of rights protected and not protected by the First Amendment ?
Protected by the First Amendment: The right to burn a flag, Not Protected by the First Amendment: Obscenity
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
Which of the following is an example of how separation of powers creates friction between the executive and legislative branches in the policy - making process ?
The president threatens to issue an executive order for stricter gun control if Congress continues to refuse to take action .
Which of the following newspaper headlines best summarizes the excerpt from Washington's Farewell Address ?
Washington Warns of Dangerous Party Factions
In which of the following situations would the Supreme Court be most likely to utilize the doctrine of selective incorporation ?
When an individual claims that a right protected by the Bill of Rights is infringed upon by a state
Which of the following statements is most accurately supported by the data in the table ?
While President George W. Bush issued fewer signing statements than President Clinton his included more objections than President Clinton's .
Which of the following is the correct pairing of powers found in the Articles of Confederation and powers found in the Constitution ?
Articles of Confederation: Unicameral legislature, United States Constitution: Bicameral legislature
Which of the following sets of policies would most likely be supported by a libertarian ?
Legalization of the commercial sale of marijuana and a reduction in government spending on prisons
In a public opinion poll , a polling company used an online survey tool to randomly contact respondents who did not have telephone lines in addition to contacting people over the phone . Which of the following best explains this decision ?
The company wanted to ensure that the sample of the population was truly random .
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of concurrent powers ?
The federal government provides about 25 % of the total funding for highways and transit in the United States , while the other 75 % of the funding comes from states
During his confirmation hearing , Chief Justice John Roberts stated that Roe v . Wade ( 1973 ) " is the settled law of the land . " This statement suggests that in a future case that challenges the constitutionality of legislation restricting privacy and reproductive rights , which of the following should be a key factor in the court's ruling ?
Reliance on legal precedent
