ap gov test- 2/14/24

amicus curiae

"friend of the court" is a person or organization offering the court additional information or perspective about the case. EX- used by interest groups to lobby courts

ESSAY- What are the flaws of the electoral college

1- Some states like Wyoming are over-represented because they are small states and they don't deserve the electoral votes they get 2- Faithless electors- electors who don't vote for the candidate that won their state 3- Unpopular president- when the popular people vote is a different president from the one that the electoral college picks. So the president was not picked by the people

If a researcher were interested in understanding how much the NRA spent in each state, what visual could be created to accurately display this information in the bar graph?

A map showing the dollar amounts spent by the NRA in each state since 1992

What is the result of the electoral college system?

Candidates focus on the states with the largest populations.

Which of the following Supreme Court cases is most related to the topic in the cartoon?

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)

Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliate to vote?

Closed

What would result from the direct election of presidential candidates?

Each vote would count equally in determining which candidate won the election.

What forms an iron triangle

Executive department, Congressional committee, interest group

What is true of the electoral college system?

It encourages candidates to concentrate their campaigns in competitive, populous states.

a consequence of the ruling in Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

PACs may spend unlimited funds on advertisements that are not coordinated with the campaign because they are protected by the freedom of speech.

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.

ESSAY- What are third party candidates and why do we have them

A candidate from a third, less popular party. They are safety valves for popular discontent and they bring new groups and ideas into politics

What activities by interest groups best illustrate attempts to educate members of Congress on public policy?

A green energy group sending a research report to congressional offices

Which of the following scenarios is most closely related to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

A labor union spends millions of dollars to independently run negative advertisements about a presidential candidate shortly before the election.

Which of the following arguments best supports a claim that the Electoral College does not fully support democratic principles?

At times, a candidate who receives the most popular votes may not win the presidential election.

The vice of the groupist theory is that it conceals the most significant aspects of the system. The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent. Probably about 90 percent of the people cannot get into the pressure system. The notion that the pressure system is automatically representative of the whole community is a myth fostered by the universalizing tendency of modern group theories. Pressure politics is a selective process ill-designed to serve diffuse interests. The system is skewed, loaded, and unbalanced in favor of a fraction of a minority. Which activities would the author most likely be concerned about interest groups engaging in?

Forming iron triangles with bureaucratic agencies and congressional committees

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?

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

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

The vice of the groupist theory is that it conceals the most significant aspects of the system. The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent. Probably about 90 percent of the people cannot get into the pressure system. The notion that the pressure system is automatically representative of the whole community is a myth fostered by the universalizing tendency of modern group theories. Pressure politics is a selective process ill-designed to serve diffuse interests. The system is skewed, loaded, and unbalanced in favor of a fraction of a minority. Which of the statements about interest groups would the author most likely agree with?

Interest groups tend to over-represent elite interests.

ESSAY- What is the electoral college

It is used to elect presidents. Each state gets electors based on its number of congressmen. Since most states use a winner-takes-all system a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the electoral college which can lead to candidates focusing on swing states.

ESSAY- What is the winner take all and what are its flaws

Legislative seats are awarded only to first-place finishers. An Electoral system in which the party that receives at least one more vote than any other party wins the election. Flaws- it doesn't fully represent the people and does not benefit minor political parties

Which of the following scenarios depicts the concept of an iron triangle?

Lobbyists from the energy industry provide information to the Department of Energy before the department head testifies before the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives.

Which of the following is the best interpretation of the political cartoon?

Members of Congress receive political contributions from many special interest groups.

Comparison between political parties and interest groups in the United States?

Political parties recruit and run candidates in elections. Interest groups seek to influence public policy.

A state has 11 electoral votes. In a presidential election, the Democratic candidate receives 48 percent of that state's popular vote, the Republican candidate receives 40 percent of the vote, and an independent candidate receives 12 percent of the vote.

The Democratic candidate will receive all 11 electoral votes.

What is a correct statement about political action committees (PAC's)?

The amount of money that PAC's can contribute directly to an individual candidate is limited by law.

ESSAY- Why is it hard for third party candidates to win elections

They are less popular and sometimes not even considered a party in the running

A primary election in which voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket is called...

a closed primary

The primary reason for the current existence of only two major political parties in the United States is that

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

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

banned soft money contributions to national political parties from corporations and unions

When party members meet to nominate a candidate for office, they participate in which of the following?

caucus

An electoral system based on single-member districts is usually characterized by

domination of the legislature by two political parties

presidential candidates implement their campaign strategies by...

focusing on larger, competitive states, because they might tip the balance of the electoral college

According to the decision in Citizens United v. FEC (2010) which part of the Constitution protects this action

freedom of speech in the first amendment

In the last thirty years, the single most important variable in determining the outcome of an election for a member of the House of Representatives has been,

incumbency

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ruling

independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions are protected by the first amendment

how are candidates recruited to run for office

political parties usually recruit and train people at the local level they believe are most fit to run for office

ESSAY- What are benefits of third parties

they draw attention to issues previosuly neglected by the major parties