AP Gov Review Questions
A corporate lobbyist would be LEAST likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with which of the following?
A federal judge in whose court a case important to the corporation is being heard
Which of the following activities by interest groups best illustrates attempts to educate members of Congress on public policy?
A green energy group sending a research report to congressional offices
The process shown in the diagram is outlined in which of the following parts of the United States Constitution?
Article V
The primary responsibility for determining monetary policy in the United States rests with the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Which of the following criticisms of political campaigns is the author of the political cartoon most likely to agree with?
Candidates rely too heavily on professional consultants.
To enforce the Fourteenth Amendment more clearly, Congress passed the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliate to vote?
Closed
Which of the following would result from the direct election of presidential candidates?
Each vote would count equally in determining which candidate won the election.
Which of the following is NOT a core value of United States political culture?
Economic equality
Which of the following form an "iron triangle"?
Executive department, Congressional committee, interest group
Policy that describes the impact of the federal budget (including taxes, spending, and borrowing) on the economy is referred to as which of the following?
Fiscal policy
When none of the presidential candidates receives a majority of the votes in the electoral college, the winner is chosen by the
House of Representatives only
A member of Congress who advocates for a more Keynesian approach to solving a recession will likely support which of the following policies?
Increasing federal spending on infrastructure programs
Which of the following describes the Twenty-Fourth Amendment?
It eliminated poll taxes.
Which of the following is true of the electoral college system?
It encourages candidates to concentrate their campaigns in competitive, populous states.
Which of the following is an accurate statement about the voter turnout rate in the United States?
It is lower than in most other Western democracies.
Which of the following serves as an explanation for the differences between generations in voting patterns?
Major political events affecting political attitudes
Which of the following is an effect of the Seventeenth Amendment?
People could participate in the political process by directly electing the senators.
A person votes for Democratic candidates based on the belief that the policies of the Democratic Party will be personally beneficial. This type of voting matches which of the following voting behavior models?
Prospective voting
In Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the
Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel provision applies to those accused of major crimes under state laws
Which of the following arguments best supports a claim that the electoral college violates democratic principles?
Smaller states are disproportionately advantaged by the two additional electoral votes granted to each state for its senators.
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.
The United States Supreme Court has used which of the following to incorporate the Bill of Rights into state law?
The Fourteenth Amendment
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.
Of the following, which has been used most to expand the power of the national government?
The commerce clause of the Constitution
The Supreme Court has ruled which of the following concerning the death penalty?
The death penalty is not necessarily cruel and unusual punishment.
Which of the following is the most accurate statement about political parties in the United States?
The percentage of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans has been declining since the 1970's.
The graphic illustrates which of the following statements about political parties?
There is an ongoing debate between political parties over the power and scope of the federal government, even as economic and demographic changes have altered party coalitions.
Which of the following is true of amicus curiae briefs?
They are used by interest groups to lobby courts.
An election involving more than two candidates in which the person who receives the most votes is the winner is called
a plurality election
Since the early 1980s, the Republican Party platform has been increasingly influenced by
evangelical Christians
The reserved powers of the state governments can best be described as those powers
granted to states as part of the implied powers doctrine
When a child's parents both identify strongly with the same political party, the child will most likely
identify with the parents' party
An important change in political culture since 1950 is that United States citizens have become
less trusting of governmental institutions and leaders
One of the best strategies that interest groups can use to achieve their goals is
lobbying members of Congress to make small changes in existing policy
With respect to prayer in public schools, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that
state-sponsored prayer violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment
The process known as front-loading refers to
the tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calendar
Since 1960 the presidential election process has been affected by an increase in all of the following EXCEPT the
turnout of votes
Interest groups engage in all of the following activities EXCEPT
using the franking privilege
Voter turnout tends to be highest among
working-class voters
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the establishment clause and the free exercise clause?
Establishment Clause - Prohibits the federal government from promoting religion or creating a national religion. Free Exercise Clause - Protects an individual's religious beliefs and reasonable religious practices.
Which of the following is LEAST characteristic of the history of political parties in the United States during the twentieth century?
The splitting of the two major parties into a multiparty system
Critics of the winner-take-all aspect of the electoral college are most likely to make which of the following arguments?
The winner-take-all system of the electoral college encourages presidential candidates to focus their time and effort disproportionately on battleground states with larger populations.
Which of the following explains why any attempt to reduce Social Security benefits is difficult?
There are many voters who support Social Security.
Supporters of voting restrictions are most likely to make which of the following arguments?
Voting restrictions are needed to prevent voter fraud.
Many scholars argue that categorical grants-in-aid do which of the following?
Weaken the power of state governors and legislators
Since the 1960s, support for the Democratic Party has declined the most among which of the following groups?
White southerners
The activities of the Federal Reserve Board have the most direct influence on
bank interest rates
In 1987 the cooperation among the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Organization for Women (NOW), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to defeat Robert Bork's nomination to the United States Supreme Court was an example of
coalition building
In the process and structure of public policymaking, "iron triangles" refer to the
networks of congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that strongly influence the policy process
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
Which of the following most likely explains the difference in result of the two polls?
Question format
Which of the following is a likely effect of the trend depicted in the bar graph on voting and elections?
The Democratic Party will win more elections, based on current voting trends.