ap gov Unit 5b
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
A 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures.
Which of the following types of PACs cannot give money directly to a candidate/campaign?
A. Connected PACs B. Non-Connected PACs C. Leadership PACs D. Super PACs
Which of the following statements concerning the Federal Elections Commission is incorrect? A. It has six members B. Its members are appointed by the president. C. Its members serve two-year terms. D. No more than three of its members can be from the same party.
C. Its members serve two-year terms.
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 criticisms of political campaigns is the author of the political cartoon most likely to agree with?
Candidates rely too heavily on professional consultants.
Congressional Vs. State elections
Congressional elections - Happens every 2 years, national State election - have their own congress, states have to elect governors
Types of PACs (4)
Connected PACs (Form around a certain Issue) Nonconnected PACs (Collect and distribute) Leadership PACs (Support specific office holders/candidates) Super PACs (unlimited donations and spending)
Which of the following provides the most accurate explanation of how consumer-driven media increases partisan polarization?
Consumer-driven media reinforces existing political biases in individuals
How has new coverage changed as technology as enabled media to pass along information with greater speed
Coverage is less thorough
The agenda setting function of the media refers to the power to
Decide which issues are important enough to bring to public attention
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 statements is true regarding political advertisements in 2012 based on the information graphic?
Few advertisements appealed to positive emotions.
Purpose of the FEC (federal election committee)
Forces limits on campaign contributions Monitors campaign spending Manages federal action funds
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
Different types of Primaries
Open Primary (Any voter regardless of party affiliation can vote for whomever they choose), Closed primary (Must register and vote with your party), Blanket Primary (Any candidate regardless of party will emerge in the genera election)
Pros and Cons of electoral college
PROS - Gives states power in our federal system encourages person-person campaigning recounts confined to a state or two rather than national CONS - Can lose popular vote and still be president Disproportionate weight to small states concentrate attention and time to a handful of battleground states
While the central goal of political parties is to win elections,, parties can also support democracy. Which of the following scenarios best illustrates this relationship.
Political parties use the social media site site Instagram to reach out to younger voters to inform them about upcoming elections and encourage them to register to vote
The media and the government have a "love-hate" relationship. Which of the following statements best reflects that label?
Politicians are often unsatisfied with what journalist print or broadcast but still need journalists on their side
The America First Action is a super PAC led by former administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon. Which of the following best explains how the organization can operate to influence elections, according to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) ?
The super PAC can spend unlimited money on issue-advocacy advertisements that are not coordinated with the campaign.
Which of the following is most directly related to the large amount of money spent by outside groups in the 2012 election? ***COMMONLY MISSED QUESTION!!***
The use of super PACs as a mechanism to raise money and influence elections
Which of the following best characterizes the influence of the news media on public opinion in the United States
They affect which issues the public thinks are important
They are allowed to contribute to only one candidate in any election.
They make campaign contributions in hopes of gaining access to legislators.
What do public officials often leak to reporters to see what the political reaction will be
Trial balloon
The largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns is devoted to
day-to-day campaign activities
Which best describes a likely reason for the information depicted in the graph
A increase in concerns over media bias
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 is NOT a way in which the federal government regulates campaigns? A- By requirements for disclosure of campaign donations B- By establishment of federal agencies to regulate campaign finance activities C- By limits on the distribution of soft money D- By limits on individual donations to campaigns E- By prohibitions on negative advertising
E. By prohibitions on negative advertising
Which of the following describes a consequence of the growing concentration of ownership of the news media A. Newspaper prices have gone down B. Coverage of political events has gotten more liberal over time C. Prices for televised campaign ads have gone down D. Candidates get more free airtime E. There is increased similarity of network news coverage
E. There is increased similarity of network news coverage
Which of the following explains how The Federalist 10 relates to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ?
In both, a limited approach to government regulation was argued for.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did what
It banned soft money donations to national parties.
Which of the following statements about Americans' trust in the mass media is best supported by the data in the graph
It generally decreased over time
Linkage institutions
LINK us to officials
Which of the following portrays an accurate example of horse race media coverage
News media outlets report the results of public opinion polls that show the relative popularity of presidential candidates
Which of the following describes the potential impact on the electorate when daily media coverage of elections focuses primarily on the newest poll results
The electorate will be more likely to have expanded knowledge of the electoral process
When contributing to congressional campaigns, political action committees (PACs) are most likely to contribute to
incumbents of both major parties
In response to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act), the United States Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), ruled that
independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions are protected by the First Amendment
Caucuses
meetings where political parties chose their candidates. Only the people there can vote
The primary function of political action committees (PAC's) is to
raise campaign funds to support favored candidates
