AP GOV UNIT 5 TEST BANK
Between the years 1984 and 2014, which of the following best represents the range of differences in voter turnout between each presidential election and the following midterm two years later?
13-23%
Based on the data above, which group has the highest percentage of those responding that they go online "almost constantly"?
18-29 year olds
Based on the above chart, approximately what percent was spent on elective defense or other elective federal programs in the 2016 federal budget?
31%
Which of the following is the main reason interest groups are often successful in getting legislation passed to benefit their members?
A narrow constituency derives the benefits from such legislation but the costs are spread broadly across the population.
Which of the following is a potential consequence of the trend in the chart?
A potential consequence is increased uncertainty among consumers over the credibility of news sources and information.
Political scientists use the term "political realignment" to describe which of the following?
A profound shift in the balance of power between major political parties
Which of the following scenarios would most likely be considered a violation of the Twenty-fourth Amendment?
A state institutes a fee to vote in a presidential election
Which of the following generalizations about group voting tendencies is true?
African American Democrats tend to support the more liberal candidates within their party.
"The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States . . ." -Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution Which of the following statements best explains the Framers' rationale for this constitutional provision?
All members of the House must stand for reelection every two years in order to better serve the immediate needs of constituents in their districts
Read the passage and answer the question below. "We advocate abolishing the term 'citizen journalist.' These people can call themselves "citizen news gatherers," but it is no more appropriate to call them citizen journalists than it would be to sit before a citizen judge or be operated on by a citizen brain surgeon. Because of declining revenues, newspapers, magazines and TV stations actually think they can get these 'volunteers' to replace the professionals . . . that they can abandon their print editions, and have bloggers post without covering stories as they happen. Yes, there are a million news blogs, but only one New York Times. But to continue its reputation, the Times must uphold traditional editorial principles. So must we all." -Editorial, The Digital Journalist, 2009 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?
Although bloggers can cover stories as they happen, they do not have the training to provide good quality news coverage.
". . . without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed—and no republic can survive . . . that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment--the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution . . . " -President John F. Kennedy, The President and the Press: Address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association, April 27, 1961 Source: jfklibrary.org Based on the excerpt above, which of the following statements would Kennedy have most likely agreed with in terms of both the ideals of, and challenges for, the US republic?
An independent media must provide accurate information and commentary that uphold democratic principles and civil society
Which of the following combination of interest group tactics are most successful in influencing congressional policymaking?
Applying public pressure from the district or home state, lobbying, and providing campaign contributions
"Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes." -Article I, Section 3, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution What is the constitutional purpose of assigning US senators to one of three classes?
By gradually changing membership, rotations encourage deliberate debate and leadership continuity after major elections
Which of the following best explains the danger that "attack journalism" poses to political participation?
By treating government officials and candidates as targets to be stalked in pursuit of scandal, attack journalists create the impression that all politicians are ineffective and untrustworthy.
Which of the following is a result of the electoral college system?
Candidates focus on the states with the largest populations.
Which statement accurately summarizes how constituencies affect the campaign strategy of candidates running for the US Senate or House of Representatives?
Candidates for House districts must consider specific needs and critical issues that characterize a relatively small number of voters
The NAACP was formed as an interracial organization in 1909 to advance justice, while Black Lives Matter began in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of African American teen Trayvon Martin. Which comparison above correctly describes both political groups in terms of structure, purpose, or tactics?
Comparison D civil rights organization employing litigation, lobbying, and publicity events & employs direct action to protest police brutality and systemic racism
Like the old Progressive Party, a new generation third-party called the Working Families Party (WFP) has successfully competed in specific geographies in recent years, forging opportunistic alliances with either of the major parties while building a precinct-level organization and support. Based on this information and current election rules, which of the following is the best strategy for the WFP to influence public policy in the United States?
Concentrate on "grass roots" campaigns in local elections lacking two-party competition
Which of the following statements best explains the relationship between campaign contributions and the lobbying of members of Congress by interest groups?
Congressional members are willing to meet with lobbyists representing groups that provide them with campaign contributions
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.
Referring to the years 1920 to 1940 on the graph, which of the following was a catalyst for the upward trend in the presidential popular vote as a percent of the population in that period?
Giving women the right to vote
Use the text below to answer the following question. "If you start from the understanding that important party decisions are made before the voters weigh in, the question 'who's winning?'—or, alternately, 'who is the party choosing, and which people are making that choice?'—becomes one of the best ways to give ordinary citizens who want to become more active political participants the information they need. (If you're not a party member, meanwhile, knowing the process by which the party made its choice—rather than just the outcome it arrived at—can still help inform your own political participation.)" -Greg Marx, "In Defense of (the Right Kind of) Horse Race Journalism," Columbia Journalism Review, September 6, 2011. Regarding the above excerpt, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?
Horse race journalism is a more effective tool for informing voters and attracting their participation when applied to primary elections instead of general elections.
Use the text below to answer the following question. "The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves . . . and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote . . ." -Excerpt from Amendment XII of the US Constitution According to this Amendment, how is the president chosen if no candidate receives a majority of votes by the Electoral College?
House of Representatives vote for the top 3 candidates and each state gets 1 vote.
The data displayed in the table above best support which of the following statements?
House seats are safer from election turnover than are Senate seats.
The table above supports which of the following conclusions? A plurality of the people has consistently supported the Democrats. Support for the two major parties increased slightly between 1952 and 1994. The largest percentage increase in political identification between 1952 and 1994 occurred among independents.
III only
Which of the following can be concluded from the figures in the table above?
In terms of support for Reagan, the gap between Black people and White people grew between 1980 and 1984.
Which of the following is a significant trend in the presidential nominating process over the past three decades?
Increasing importance of presidential primaries rather than state conventions
Based on this election spending table for House races in 2016, which is the best conclusion one can make about the significance of this data?
Incumbent House members have an overwhelming advantage over challengers
Which of these statements best explains why the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been important to expanding political participation in the United States?
It enforced the Fifteenth Amendment by preventing states from using legal barriers to prevent African Americans from voting
Which of the following is NOT an explanation for low voter turnout?
Laws protecting minority voting rights
Which of the following most accurately describes media coverage of elections?
Network news coverage is usually dominated by reporters who offer relatively short sound bites from the candidates.
Which of the following statements best explains how national political campaigns have changed since the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)?
New "super PACS" can raise unlimited funds from virtually any source as long as the money is used as an independent expenditure for the campaign and is not given directly to the candidate
vBased on the election results table as well as the margin of victory map, the third-party candidates for president collected over 6.5 million popular votes altogether in the 2016 national election. Which best explains why none of the third-party candidates received any electoral votes?
None of them acquired more votes than any other candidate on the ballot in each state
Which of the following is the most important influence on the choice made by voters in presidential elections?
Partisan identification
The table above supports which of the following statements about partisanship and the 1984 presidential election?
Partisanship was a good predictor of the way a person voted.
Which of the following statements is supported by the information in the table?
Partisanship was a good predictor of the way a person voted.
Which of the following best explains the function of the platforms of the two major US political parties?
Platforms are a set of general principles, goals, and strategies designed to give voters a sense of what candidates believe in and will address if elected
Which of the following accurately describes a limitation of the visual representation of the data?
Predicting trends or making generalizations based on two data points is unreliable.
"If Mr. Rove, the embodiment of the species, was responsible for elevating the consultant's status to ever new heights, he may prove responsible for its diminishment as well. Hailed as the genius behind Mr. Bush's presidential victories and the Republican gains in 2000 and 2004, Mr. Rove now carries the burden of a 2006 election that cost his party control of Congress and called into question the political theories that are his stock in trade. And his unorthodox decision, for a consultant, to play such a prominent role in the White House means that he is now integrally linked to the travails of the second-term Bush presidency." -Excerpt from "Strategists as Stars," Adam Nagourney, The New York Times, July 15, 2007 Which of the following statements would the author of the above excerpt most likely agree with?
Professional consultants are a fixture in modern campaigns, but they are no replacement for the candidates themselves
Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the table?
Registered voters are more likely to turn out for open primaries than for a caucus
Which of the following is most frequently reported in the media during a presidential election?
Results from public opinion polls that indicate which candidates are most likely to win
Based on the above table, which information provides an example of individual interest groups maximizing their chances of creating influential relationships in Congress?
Securities/Investment and Real Estate interest groups gave close to an equal percentage of a combined just over $55 million to each congressional political party
Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the two major political parties in the United States?
Separate and largely independent party organizations exist at national, state, and local levels.
Imagine that a party analyst looks at the graph above in 2016, and assumes the demographic trends will continue in the same direction for the 2020 presidential election. In this scenario, which of the following would be the best-supported projection of the effect on US political parties?
The Democratic party is likely to benefit more than the Republican party from increased percentages of younger, more ethnically diverse voters
Based on the results shown in the table, who won the election?
The Republican Party
Which statement best summarizes a central criticism in the ongoing debate surrounding the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)?
The Supreme Court has extended First Amendment protection of political speech at the expense of election fairness
Which of the following best explains why the winner of a presidential election usually claims to have a mandate from voters?
The allocation of electoral votes in the winner-take-all system exaggerates the margin of victory
Which of the following scenarios best describes a candidate-centered campaign?
The candidate takes most of the initiative by hiring a professional campaign manager and soliciting contributions online
Which of the following describes the result in a winner-take-all, single-member-district plurality system?
The candidate who receives the most votes in the election wins.
Considering all elections at all levels of government, which of the following best describes electoral behavior in the United States?
The majority of the electorate does not vote in most elections.
Based on the data shown in the table, which of the following statements is true about the Electoral College?
The person who is elected to office may win the majority of Electoral College votes, but lose the popular vote
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
Which of the following is true of voter turnout in the United States?
The voter-participation rate is one of the lowest of any industrialized nation.
Which of the following took place after presidential candidates Truman in 1948, Nixon in 1968, and Clinton in 1992 won only pluralities of the popular vote?
The winning candidate took office after receiving less than 50% of the popular votes cast.
Of the following groups of eligible voters, which is LEAST likely to vote?
The young with low education levels
Of the following, which best predicts the likelihood that citizens will vote?
Their educational level
Which of the following best explains why the 2004 election does NOT fit the label of a "critical election"?
There was little change in the two parties' major constituencies
Which of the following statements accurately summarizes what the National Rifle Association, American Association of Retired Persons, the National Right to Life Committee, Reproductive Rights Action League, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) all have in common?
They all represent cause groups representing members that care intensely about a single issue or small group of related issues
Based on the Federal Election Commission's chart, how do contribution limits from non-multicandidate political action committees compare with those from individual donors?
They are the same as those for individual contributors across all types of recipient
Which statement best explains how midterm elections serve an important linkage function with the electorate?
They can alter the legislative agenda if the majority party changes hands in Congress
Which of the following best explains how third parties affect the US political system?
They can shift national attention to particular issues and influence the outcome of elections
Which of the following is true of political action committees (PACs)?
They make campaign contributions to gain access to legislators.
During the 2016 Democratic and Republican presidential nomination process, more than half the states used the closed primary or caucus instead of an open primary. Which of the following statements accurately explains why a majority of states chose either a closed primary or caucus over an open primary?
To encourage party unity and prevent members of other parties from voting to nominate weak candidates
Which of the following statements would the cartoon's author most agree with even in the context of today's news coverage?
To ensure accountability by government and news outlets, citizens must learn to distinguish objective and truthful news from biased and false reporting.
Which of the following is an accurate statement about the information shown in the chart?
Trump and Clinton voters consumed most of their campaign news from different sources.
Which of the following statements accurately describes a trend depicted in the graph?
Trust in government declined across all generations over the course of George H.W. Bush's administration
Which of the following inferences is best supported by the graph?
Trust in information from national news media is increasingly related to partisan affiliation.
Based on the above graph, which of the following correctly summarizes how demographics of all voters changed between 1992 and 2016?
Voters are significantly more diverse ethnically, significantly better educated, and slightly older
Which of the following statements is supported by the data shown in the graph?
Voters turn out at a higher rate for presidential elections than in midterm elections
At what point in the federal budget process does the Defense Department have the most input?
When executive branch agencies submit budgets for review before the president's proposal is submitted to Congress
Which of the following is an important structural barrier to third-party and independent candidate success in the United States?
Winner-take-all districts
Based on the data presented in the graph, which of the following is the best conclusion one can make about the significance of presidential and midterm election turnout rates in this period?
With lower overall turnout in midterm elections, groups that are more likely to vote had more impact on their outcomes
The Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), organized to oppose any and all tax increases, would be considered which of the following type of interest group?
a cause group
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
An election involving more than two candidates in which the person who receives the most votes is the winner is called
a plurality election
The three points of an iron triangle include
an administrative agency, an interest group, and a congressional committee
Since 1972, voters in presidential elections have
become more focused on individual candidates
The agenda-setting function of the media refers to the power to
decide which issues are important enough to bring to public attention
Six states changed from Democrat to Republican between the 2012 and 2016 elections. Of these six states, which of the following pairs would have swung the 2016 election the other way if they had both voted Democrat?
florida and Ohio
The main intent of "motor voter" laws is to
increase voter registration
When contributing to congressional campaigns, political action committees (PACs) are most likely to contribute to
incumbents of both major parties
An interest group is most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake
is narrow in scope and low in public visibility
Interest groups and political parties both promote United States democracy by
linking citizens to the political process
On a political survey, Patrick Yang reveals that he rarely votes because he does not believe the federal government listens to or responds to his needs, nor does he think the average citizen has much influence over political affairs. A political scientist would characterize these attitudes as representing which of the following?
low political efficacy
Which of the following policies is an example of state action to improve voter turnout?
motor voter laws
The presidential election of 1968 was conducted against a backdrop of assassinations, race riots, widespread demonstrations against the Vietnam war, and violent confrontations between police and anti-war protesters at the Democratic National Convention. It also included a strong third party effort by former Alabama Governor George Wallace, a pro-segregation Democrat running as independent. The election outcome was a victory for GOP candidate Richard Nixon, with Wallace receiving 46 electoral votes from southern states. Which of the following terms accurately characterizes this election and political era?
party realignment
Teddy Flood lives in Texas and is voting in the 2018 election. When he gets to the ballot box, he decides to do straight-ticket voting, in which he checks one box to cast a ballot for every candidate from the Democratic party. Which model of voting behavior does this best represent?
party-line voting
The free rider problem occurs when
people benefit from an interest group's efforts without making any contribution
A major difference between political parties and interest groups is that
political parties seek to gain control of government, while interest groups seek to influence public policy
Tom Haverford has never voted in an election before, but is excited about Leslie Knope's campaign promises and decides to support her in the 2020 presidential election in hopes that she will be able to achieve those policy goals. Which model of voting behavior does this best represent?
prospective voting
Rumana Modi votes for political candidates whose rhetoric and policy initiatives while serving in office align with what she wants to be done in the future. Which model of voting behavior does this best represent?
retrospective voting
The franking privilege refers to the
right of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents at the government's expense
Priyanka Kumble votes for political candidates based solely on their platforms and the policies they and their party plan to implement once elected. Which model of voting behavior does this best represent?
rospective voting
One reason for the persistence of a two-party system in the United States is
the single-member district electoral system
The concept of realignment refers to changes in
the social bases of the parties' voting support
When people vote for some candidates from one party and other candidates from another party, it is called
ticket splitting
Interest groups engage in all of the following activities EXCEPT
using the franking privilege
After the three debates between Romney and Obama in the 2012 presidential race, the polls were effectively tied; after the Clinton/Trump debates in 2016, Clinton had a slight lead. Based on these two campaigns, which of the following is an essential campaign strategy once most voters have made up their minds?
voter mobilization
Critical elections in the United States typically have occurred
when groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties