PS Chapter 11; Elections

Traditional voting blocs in the United States, which included a coalition of urban and other support for the Democratic Party and rural or farm support for the Republican Party, began breaking up in the __________.

1960s

The peak of U.S. voter turnout was in 1960 at __________ percent.

63

Which of the following is a consequence of the Electoral College?

A candidate cannot win the presidency without winning the national popular vote.

How was voter turnout essential to the outcome of the 2012 U.S. presidential election?

Democrats boosted the participation rates of their traditional voters and pushed voter registration for those favorably disposed to the Democratic Party, while the Republicans paid less attention to grassroots work, concentrating instead on television advertising.

How does education affect the likelihood that people will vote?

Education increases the sense of participation, which makes people more likely to follow political news and more likely to vote.

Which of the following is true of a secular electoral realignment?

It happens gradually.

What is one reason that the Index of Consumer Confidence is politically significant?

It indicates which party will likely win the election.

Which of the following is true about the average ballot in Europe?

It only offers a choice of party.

Which of the following groups has the lowest voter turnout rates in America today?

Latinos

What are the likely reasons for middle-aged and older people being more likely to vote than the young?

Middle-aged people are at their peak earning levels, and older people are concerned with Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Why do Americans vote so little compared to the voters in other democracies?

Most nonvoters are not satisfied with the two major parties or their candidates.

__________ regions may resent economic and cultural dominance by a distant capital.

Outlying

What is the core argument of Anthony Downs's landmark 1957 work, An Economic Theory of Democracy?

People vote if the returns outweigh the costs.

4. If a "first-past-the-post" country has three viable political parties, but no one ever reaches 50 percent of the vote, what is the most likely result over time?

The two parties that share the most ideologically will merge into a single political party.

What happened to McCain's and Obama's respective positions on Iraq during the 2008 presidential campaign?

They moved toward the center.

Why did most 18- to 29-year-old voters vote for Obama in 2008 and 2012?

They were more open on race and worried about their jobs during the financial crisis.

What is one potential downside of relying on independent voters to win an election?

Truly independent voters do not vote as often as voters with a party affiliation.

What is one reason that in most of the world, cities have higher voter turnouts than rural areas?

Urbanites tend to be better educated.

How is voter turnout most likely affected by negative campaigning?

Voter turnout is likely lower, because many potential voters conclude that all politicians are dirty.

If Nixon's 1968 election was indicative of realignment, then Carter's victory in 1976 would be considered __________.

a deviating election

Which of the following individuals is least likely to perceive a difference between candidates or a correlation between who wins an election and their financial status?

a factory worker in a small town

What is a deviating election?

a party shift that is only temporary, with voters going back to their long-term party ID

What is American voters' general response to ballots?

amusement, because the ballots usually feature political cartoons

As young people begin to pay income or property taxes, they tend to __________.

become more interested in elections

In American presidential elections, a _________ personality may be even more important than effective policy proposals and ideology.

cheerful, optimistic

What are people with weak party ID more likely to do?

consider candidates of another party

People with more __________ and higher __________ are more likely to vote and participate in politics.

education; incomes

Black voting rates have increased over the last 50 years thanks in part to __________ and Barack Obama's candidacy.

federal civil rights legislation

2. Another way of describing single-member districts with plurality win is to use the phrase __________.

first past the post

When you consider the marriage gap and the gender gap together, married men are significantly more likely to vote _________ than single women are.

for a Republican

Which of the following has significantly contributed to increased partisan polarization in the United States?

gerrymandering

6. Most FPTP systems are also called majoritarian systems because they __________.

give a clear parliamentary majority to one party

People who live __________ tend to embrace conservative values and vote for conservative parties.

in rural areas

When people generally think the government and the economy are doing well, the __________ will have an advantage in the next election.

incumbent

Which of the following is a significant reason that some working class people vote for conservative parties, and some professional people vote for liberal parties?

individual convictions on particular issues

Americans must __________ sometimes months before the election and before campaign excitement mounts.

lobby

Which of the following would be most likely to motivate a voter to self-identify as an independent?

major national scandals involving members of both parties

Which of the following would you expect to see in a country with routinely high voter turnout?

mandatory voting or automatic voter registration

The Supreme Court's 1972 "one person, one vote" ruling led to __________.

many states redistricting after every census

In 2012, Democrats won the presidential election partly because they focused on __________.

microtargeting likely supporters

In the United States, the white vote is __________ than the black vote.

more divided

Voter turnout in Sweden, Italy, and Germany has __________.

occasionally reached 80%

3. Single-member districts produce winners on the basis of __________.

plurality

United States turnout seldom falls below 40 percent in __________ elections.

presidential

Divided government would most likely appeal to voters who are concerned about __________.

presidential overreach

Which two factors are the strongest predictors of voting in the United States?

race and religious affiliation

5. If you were interested in designing a country with moderate, centrist, and pragmatic politics, what feature would you be most likely to support?

single-member districts

7. The fact that the Soviet Union ceased to exist by the end of 1991 is indicative of __________.

the collapse of communism as a system

Which of the following supports the view that America is going through gradual dealignment?

the rise in voters identifying as independent

1. First-past-the-post (FPTP) countries tend to have __________ systems.

two-party

Which of the following is typical of the partisan polarization we see in America today?

vicious partisan attacks online and in the media

More women than men have voted in recent U.S. elections, which reflects the fact that __________.

women are now more highly educated than men are