Government chapter 13

Historically, the office of the Vice President has been considered what?

an office of little real consequence.

The vice presidential candidates do this by attracting voters from a particular region.

balance the ticket

Why do the political parties award bonus delegates to some states?

because those states have been strong party supporters

Early in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, most Framers favored selection of the President By who?

by Congress.

How did the Framers decide the President and Vice President should be selected?

by the electoral college

The President's salary

cannot be increased or decreased during a presidential term.

Besides having a primary, what other way is there for a state to choose delegates?

caucus-convention method

the President's role as director of the executive branch

chief administrator

the President's role as director of the executive branch-

chief administrator

the President as a representative of all the people

chief citizen

The President is the main architect of American foreign policy, making him or her the nation's

chief diplomat

the President's role as the one vested with the executive power of the U.S

chief executive

the President's role as principal author of U.S. public policy

chief legislator

the President's role as party leader controlling the executive branch

chief of party

the President's role as ceremonial head of the U.S. government

chief of state

the President as head of the armed forces

commander in chief

the President's role as head of the armed forces

commander in chief

What was the first method political parties developed to pick their presidential candidates?

congressional caucus.

What determines the number of delegates each State may send to a national convention?

each party's national committee

Proportional plan

each presidential candidate would receive a share of each state's electoral votes equal to his or her share of the state's popular vote; does not require a Constitutional amendment

In a State's presidential primary, What is the voter's role?

either choose convention delegates or express a preference for a candidate.

District plan

electors would vote how the state majority did; each district chooses electors and they vote how the district did; does not require Constitutional amendment

When a President fails in one of his roles, what can it lead to?

failure in another role

Which is not an option for the President if he or she is unhappy with the Vice President's work?

fire the Vice President

What is the role of the presidential candidate at a party convention?

giving an acceptance speech

the President as ceremonial head of the U.S.

Chief of State

Who determines the President's salary?

Congress

Why was the 22nd Amendment written?

Congress feared an upset in the balance of power and proposed it in the wake of Franklin Roosevelt's unprecedented third and fourth terms of office.

Which of the following is true about the President's pay?

Congress sets the pay of the President, and it cannot change during a President's term.

Which describes the purpose of a presidential primary?

Delegates are chosen for the national convention.

A national convention is held to accomplish what?

Each party's national convention meets to name its presidential candidate, hopes to unify the party behind its candidates and adopts the party's platform. Party delegates are not selected at the convention, however, and each party has its own rules governing delegate selection.

When and where do the electors cast their electoral votes?

Electors meet at their state capital after election and cast one electoral vote for President and Vice President

Direct popular election

abolishes electoral votes; the winner would be the choice of the majority of the population; requires a Constitutional amendment

A plan to fill a vacancy in the presidency

-presidential succession

A President that serve a maximum of two terms and no more than ___ years in office.

.8 Each President may serve a maximum of two full terms—eight years—in office. A President who succeeds to the office after the midpoint in a term could finish out the predecessor's term and then be elected to two full terms, for a total of 10 years in office.

What are the three main goals of a national convention?

1) naming the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates, 2) promoting party unity, and 3) adopting the party's platform.

The Constitution provides that the Vice President( 2 things)

1. President of the Senate and fill the vacancy of the President.

Name at least three arguments against the direct popular election.

1. a. weaken the federal system because the states would lose their role in the choice of President b. too great of a load on the election process c. spur voter fraud18.

What are three major strengths of the electoral system?

1. known process 2. identifies President-to-be quickly and certainly 3. helps promote the nation's 2-party system

What are the three major defects in the electoral college system?

1.the winner of the popular vote is not guaranteed the presidency 2. electors are not required to vote in accord with popular vote 3. any election might have to be decided in the House of Representatives

What are the two main reasons that the winner of the popular vote does not always win the presidency?

1.winner-take-all feature from the popular election 2. the way the electoral votes are distributed among the states

This says the Vice President will be President if the President dies

25th Amendment

A candidate receives 60 percent of all votes cast in a State's presidential primary. Suppose that State has 50 delegates. Under proportional representation, how many of that State's delegates will the candidate receive? 20

30

National popular vote plan

A direct popular election without changing the Constitution; all state's electoral votes go to the winner of the popular vote; all states enter an interstate compact that the candidate who wins popular vote wins the presidency; does not require a Constitutional amendment

Which describes a caucus?

A local meeting to select delegates to a local convention.

The role of the Vice-President if the President is disabled

Acting President

Which best describes how the President works with Congress as the chief legislator?

As the chief legislator, the President shapes public policy. The President may suggest, request, and insist that Congress enact laws he believes are needed.

the President as lawmaker

Chief Legislator

the President as political party leader

Chief of Party

the President as architect of U.S. foreign policy

Chief Diplomat

How is the role of presidential electors different today from the way the Framers envisioned it?

Framers envisioned voters to use their own judgment, but now electors are expected to vote for their party's candidates

The presidential election of 1800 was decided by who?

House of Representatives.

The election of 1800

Introduced three new elements into the electoral process: party nominations for the presidency and vice presidency; the nomination of candidates for presidential electors in the States pledged to vote for their party's presidential ticket; and the automatic casting of the electoral votes in line with those pledges.

When does the formal election of the President and Vice President take place?

January 3rd

Which is the correct line of presidential succession according to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947?

Know succession

party meeting to pick a presidential candidate

National Convention

What happens on that date?

President of the Senate opens the electoral votes from each state and counts them before a joint session of congress

A law setting the order of succession following the Vice President

Presidential Succession Act of 1947

When people vote in a presidential election, for whom are they actually voting?

Presidential electors

What is a true statement about primaries?

Primaries are difficult to describe. Each state has a different way of choosing its delegates.

Historically, few major party presidential candidates have been

Roman Catholics.

Who was the President the first time the disability provisions of the 25th Amendment came into play?

Ronald Reagan

When the Vice President's office is vacant, how is a new Vice President selected?

Same as 13

Who acts as President if neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect has qualified by Inauguration Day?

Speaker of the House

What are "battleground States," and what importance do they play in campaign strategy?

States in which the outcome of an election is too close to call.

On what type of voters do campaigns focus much of their efforts following the national conventions?

Swing voters

Prior to the 22nd Amendment, how many terms could a President serve according to the Constitution?

The Constitution did not limit the number of terms.Though the Constitution placed no limit on the number of terms a President might serve, several Presidents, beginning with George Washington, refused to seek more than two terms, thus establishing the "no-third-term" tradition that was finally broken in 1940 by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The President must be which of the following to qualify for office?

The Constitution says that the President must meet certain formal qualifications. He or she must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

What if no candidate for President has won a majority of electoral votes?

The House of Representatives chooses a president from the top three candidates

According to the Constitution, which procedure is followed if the office of the Vice President becomes vacant?

The President must nominate a new Vice President, and Congress must confirm the nomination

What reasoning did Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan use when calling for the repeal of the 22nd Amendment?

The people should determine how long a President should serve.

What was the one major change the 12th Amendment made to the electoral college?

The presidential and vice-presidential elections were separated.

What happens to the electors' ballots after they are cast?

The results are sent to Washington and tallied.

Before the 25th Amendment, what did the Constitution say about how the presidency should be filled if the President should become disabled?

There were no guidelines

How did presidential electors cause the election crisis of 1800?

They voted a tie for the presidency.

The Constitution says that Congress cannot change the President's salary while he or she is in office. Which is the most likely explanation for this?

This is because an increase or decrease would most likely be influenced by politics.

What caused the major parties to stop using congressional caucuses to nominate candidates?

Too few people were represented.

A candidate receives 60 percent of all votes cast in a State's presidential primary. Suppose that State has 50 delegates. Under proportional representation, how many of that State's delegates will the candidate receive?

Under proportional representation, any candidate who wins at least 15 percent of the votes cast in a primary gets the number of that State's delegates that corresponds to his or her share of that primary vote.

How and when are the electors chosen?

Usually, political parties nominate electors at their state conventions. Sometimes that process occurs by a vote of the party's central committee. The electors are usually state-elected officials, party leaders, or people with a strong affiliation with the Presidential candidates.

According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, which of these officers follows the Vice President in the line of presidential succession?

VP, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore, Secretary of State

In the Framers' original plan, each elector was to cast one vote for two different candidates for President. The person with the second largest number of votes was to fill which office?

Vice President

In the Framers' plan, a candidate would win which office with the second largest number of electoral votes?

Vice President

Person is a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Vice President

Why do some people think the presidency should be limited to a single six-year term?

Without the prospect of reelection, the President would be more likely to do what he or she thinks is right rather than what is politically popular.

Which description fits a person typically nominated for President?

a governor of a large state

Which of the following is among the benefits provided to a President?

a large expense account to spend as he or she likes

The characteristic most common among presidential nominees has been that most have

held public office.

The characteristic most common among presidential nominees?

held public office.

Opponents of the 22nd Amendment insist that it is undemocratic because

it places an arbitrary limit on the right of the people to decide who should be President.

What did supporters of the 22nd Amendment want to accomplish?

keep a President from getting too much power The Framers did not set a limit on the number of times a President could be reelected. During the 1940s, Franklin Roosevelt served four terms, or 16 years, as President. In 1951, the states ratified the 22nd Amendment to limit a President to no more than two terms in office. Those in favor of the 22nd Amendment claim that it prevents a single person from having too much power.

sets the tone at a party convention

keynote address

A speech given early at a party convention to set the tone for the convention and the campaign to come is called the

keynote address.

The purpose of the 25th Amendment

legally state that the Vice President shall become President upon the vacancy of that office.

Which determines the number of presidential electors for a state?

members of Congress

Which limit did the Framers set on how many times a President can be reelected?

no limit

What must the President do if the vice presidency becomes vacant?

nominate a Vice President

party's stand on major issues

platform

Which changed the Framers' plan for choosing a President?

political parties

Most of the Framers opposed choosing the President by who?

popular vote.

The 25th Amendment deals with

presidential disability.

In some states' primaries, voters are choosing the party's delegates to the national convention. They may also be expressing a preference for which of the following?

presidential nominee

During the nomination process, political battles are most likely to occur Where?

presidential primaries in the party out of power.

During the nomination process, political battles are most likely to occur in

presidential primaries in the party out of power.

allows the people to decide on candidates for President

presidential primary

gives candidates a percentage of state delegates

proportional representation

The election crisis of 1800 occurred because of what flaw?

rise of well-defined parties.

If the Presidency becomes vacant, presidential succession is determined by

the Constitution. (25th amendment)

What if no candidate for Vice President has won a majority of electoral votes?

the Senate decides between the top 2 candidates (majority vote)

A State's presidential electors are chosen by who?

the State legislature.

Who becomes Acting President if the President becomes disabled?

the Vice President

According to the Constitution, presidential disability can be determined by

the Vice President and the Cabinet.

The Cabinet member who is first in line for presidential succession is

the secretary of state.

An opponent of the 22nd Amendment would most likely argue that it is

undemocratic.

What are the three main objections to election by the House?

voting in such cases is by the states, not by the individual members 2. if the representatives from a state were so divided that no candidate was favored by a majority, that state would lose its vote 3. the Constitution requires a majority of the states for election in the House, if there was a strong 3rd party the House could not make a decision by Inauguration Day

gives all state delegates to one candidate

winner-take-all