Chapter 8
Candidates for the House and Senate, combined, spent more than __________ on their campaigns in 2014, according to Federal Election Commission statistics.
$1.3 billion
How many electoral votes constitute a majority of the electoral college?
270
The Electoral college consists of __________ total electoral votes.
538
What is the approximate average voter turnout rate in recent presidential elections?
55%
The success rate for the thirty incumbent presidents who sought reelection has been about __________.
70%
What percentage of Democrats planned to vote for their party candidate in the 2016 presidential election, demonstrating their sense of partisanship?
89%
What percent of the members of the House of Representatives running for re-election in 2014 were successful?
95%
What is the most common method by which presidential electors are chosen by the political parties in the states?
A closed primary
Which of the following is known as a caucus?
A meeting of members of a political party
__________ is a situation when one party tends to win congressional elections in a district in virtually every election.
A safe seat
What are the two social characteristics that show the strongest relation to voting?
Age and education
The Federal Election Campaign Act does not do which of the following? a. Allow unlimited contributions to PACs b. Passed in 1971 and amended several times c. Regulate campaign financing d. Require full disclosure of sources and uses of campaign funds
Allow unlimited contributions to PACs
What was the result of the white primary?
Allowing only whites to vote in party primaries
All except which of the following are recent proposals to increase the number of registered voters in the United States? a.Registration at offices of state agencies b.Automatic registration when a person attains voting age c.Registration by mail d.Registration at the same time a driver's license is issued
Automatic registration when a person attains voting age
Who did most voters with family incomes under $15,000 annually vote for in the 2012 presidential election?
Barack Obama
What is not a requirement for a person to be president? a. Being a resident of the District of Columbia b. Being a resident of the United States for fourteen years c. Being at least 35 years of age d. Being a natural-born citizen
Being a resident of DC
With fifty-five electoral votes, what state has more than any other state?
California
The __________ is where you would find information about the Electoral College.
Constitution
What is the mainspring issue driving most electoral decisions?
Economic issues
__________ day is the time when citizens pay most attention to politics.
Election
What three factors do voters seem to rely on most when it comes to qualities of the candidates, according to your textbook?
Experience, leadership, and personal qualities
In order to maximize public exposure and issue formulation, long television ads are favored by candidates running for office.
False
The two-term limit for presidents was approved with ratification of the Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution after __________ was elected to the presidency four times.
Franklin Rooselvelt
Who is the most recent incumbent vice president to be elected to the presidency immediately after being vice president?
George H. W. Bush
When elected president, which of the following was true about Dwight Eisenhower? a. He had held no previous elective office. b. He was married. c. He was not a Democrat or a Republican. d. He ascended directly from the House of Representatives.
He had held no previous elective office.
Which of the following socioeconomic groups generally support Republican candidates?
Higher-income people who vote more often
If no candidate wins a majority of the electoral votes, then the __________ must decide the winner from among the top three vote getters.
House of Representatives
Where do the Electoral College electors actually meet to cast their ballots?
In their respective state capitals
Declining voter turnout is not caused by what?
Increasing political alienation and distrust
What is the one statement that is true about congressional campaigns?
Incumbents generally have a much easier time raising campaign funds.
The most significant campaign reform in congressional campaigns, according to the textbook, would be which of the following?
Instituting public funding
Which of the following is true of the media campaign for presidential elections in recent years?
It has been devoted to short television advertisements that focus on simple images and issues.
What happened to spending by super PACs due to the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case in 2010?
It has increased dramatically.
What is a true statement about the Electoral College?
It includes 538 electors.
What best describes the current campaign financing situation?
It includes political action committees that are legally, but not functionally, independent of candidates.
The amount spent for congressional campaigns in 2014 midterm election cycle did which of the following when it is compared to previous midterm election cycles?
It increased by 50 percent over the amount spent in the 2000 midterm election cycle.
Which of the following best explains the changing nature of television coverage of presidential candidates? a. It is becoming shorter per spot. b. It is becoming longer per spot. c. It makes less use of sound bites. d. It has not changed significantly in recent years in the length of spots.
It is becoming shorter per spot.
Which of the following statements is true of presidential popularity?
It was first referred to as "coattails" by then Congressman Abraham Lincoln.
Voting gains made by African Americans in the South after the Civil War were wiped out by __________.
Jim Crow Laws
Which of the following is not a factor in varying voter turnout? a. Knowledge of the candidates b. Circumstances of voting c. Psychological attitudes d. Social characteristics
Knowledge of the candidates
According to the textbook, all of the following except __________ were attractive and nice presidents, a prerequisite many Americans expect in their leader. a. Lyndon Johnson b. Ronald Reagan c. Dwight Eisenhower d. John Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
Which two states do not award all of their electoral votes to the candidate who wins a plurality in the state?
Maine and Nebraska
Which of the following refers to soft money?
Money that is raised by state and local parties for certain activities without any restrictions
Which of the following is false about congressional races?
Negative campaigning is less of a trend and an issue for congressional campaigns than for presidential ones.
Which of the following is the limit on individual contributions to a PAC per election in one election year?
No more than $5,000 to one political action committee per election per year
The only state in the United States today that does not require voter registration is __________.
North Dakota
The __________ is the pool of money collected from a $3 check-off on the federal income tax form for presidential campaign funding.
Presidential Election Campaign Fund
Voters tend to prefer candidates with all except which of the following qualities? a. Political experience b. Leadership qualities c. Attractive personal qualities d. Previous experience in the business world
Previous experience in the business world
Which of the following do congressional candidates NOT have access to for campaign finance purposes? a. PACs b. Public financing c. Money donated or spent by individuals d. Parties
Public financing
The Federal Election Campaign Act does which of the following?
Requires full disclosure of sources and uses of campaign funds
__________ were established by states that required citizens to reside in a voting district for a certain amount of time before being eligible to vote.
Residency requirements
Which statement below is true for about the first one hundred years after the creation of the United States? a. White males shared the suffrage with other males. b. Virtually any citizen over age twenty-one could vote. c. Elections were not held regularly. d. The majority of Americans could not vote.
The majority of Americans could not vote.
What is the major difference in running for president and running for a congressional seat?
The stage is much larger for a presidential candidate.
What is the primary reason voter turnout is lower in the United States than elsewhere?
There are more obstacles and fewer incentives in the United States.
What happened to term limits for members of Congress according to the Supreme Court's ruling in 1995?
They are constitutional only at the federal level.
Which of the following statements are true of midterm elections?
They are often viewed as a referendum on how the president is doing.
All except which of the following statements about party conventions are false?
They are stage-managed and sanitized for the home viewer.
What can be said about the media?
They create problems that stem especially from the great expense involved
What reason do Democrats have for generally favoring public funding for candidates for Congress?
They fear the wealth and fund raising potential of some Republicans.
In recent years, which of the following can be said about serious contenders for the presidency?
They have most often come from the successful side of mainstream America.
What is the least accurate statement about presidential debates?
They must be televised
Which of the following describe when or how the selection of a running mate is normally made? a. To balance the ticket geographically or ideologically b. On the basis of ideological and policy agreement with the presidential candidate c. Long before the party convention d. By the rules committee at the party convention
To balance the ticket geographically or ideologically
What was the purpose of the Jim Crow laws?
To limit African American voting
What is the purpose of term limits?
To restrict the number of terms an elected official may serve
A president running for re-election has the best assurance of being elected because he is already president.
True
Recently, considering political party affiliation when making voting decisions has become less important.
True
The __________ abolished the poll tax.
Twenty-fourth Amendment
Which of the following is not one of the three elements of Jim Crowism mentioned in the textbook?
Universal male suffrage
Which of the following was required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993? a. Voter registration at the state department of motor vehicles b. Absentee voter registration when overseas c. Voter registration by mail d. Voter registration by phone
Voter registration at the state department of motor vehicles
The first state or territory to grant women the right to vote was __________.
Wyoming
An election where only registered members of the party can participate is __________
a closed primary
Any voter, regardless of party affiliation, can participate in ________ primary election.
an open
Media __________ are experts hired by political candidates to give advice on the use of mass media.
consultants
Party __________ are regularly scheduled general meetings for the purpose of ratifying party policies and deciding on party candidates.
conventions
All of the following are factors that analysts determined influence how people vote except __________. a. issues b. candidates c. economics d. parties
economics
States with the minimum number of electoral votes total __________ when Washington D.C. is counted.
eight
Media conduct __________ as voters leave polling places to get an advance indication of voting trends.
exit polls
What is the term for an elector in the Electoral College who fails to vote for the candidate of the party that elected him/her?
faithless elector
Candidates for the House and Senate receive an adequate amount of public financing to run a successful campaign.
false
Candidates running for election to the House or Senate qualify for public financing.
false
Generally, political ads on television are longer today than in 1968.
false
In the United States, low voter turnout has been shown to be caused by increasing political alienation and distrust.
false
One of the leading civil rights activists in the 1960s was Jim Crow.
false
Studies have shown that in any given election, the number of young and old people voting is evenly divided.
false
The incumbent president has the most to gain in debating his opponent.
false
The last constitutional amendment passed to remove voting restrictions was the Nineteenth Amendment.
false
The president's party most often gains seats in Congress in midterm elections.
false
The proposal for a one-day national primary is supported primarily because it favors the little-known dark horse candidates.
false
To prevent a person from voting because of race was outlawed by the __________ Amendment.
fifteenth
Which of the following is not one of the major presidential campaign strategies discussed in the textbook?
finances
What type of election has the purpose of selecting the candidates who will actually serve in office?
general election
What has the trend in voter turnout done since the end of the nineteenth century?
gone down
Elections that the public finds interesting and important are referred to as __________ elections.
high stimulus
The use of __________ to determine voting ability was prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
literacy tests
The __________ Amendment provided women the right to vote.
nineteenth
What is the fewest number of electoral votes a state may have?
one
What is the single most important determinant of voting in congressional races, after incumbency?
party
A _______ primary is held across an entire geographic area rather than a single state.
regional
Which of the following reduced the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen?
the 26th amendment
What has been the most prominent target of advocates of electoral reform?
the Electoral College
The voting age was lowered from twenty-one to eighteen years of age by the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution which was ratified during __________.
the Vietnam War
What element of Jim Crow did the Supreme Court strike down in Smith v. Allwright in 1944?
the white primary
Balancing the __________ is the objective when a vice-presidential running mate is selected.
ticket
Because the number of voters in the Electoral College for each state equals the number of members that state has in Congress, small states are represented out of proportion to their population in the Electoral College.
true
Candidates for president, as required by the Federal Election Campaign Act, must make full disclosure of the sources and use of campaign funds.
true
Many suggestions to reform the media have been made, but most of them run counter to the First Amendment.
true
Members of the Electoral College never get together in one place for the purpose of casting their ballots for president.
true
Money that parties can raise and spend in unlimited amounts, or soft money, is a major loophole in campaign finance laws.
true
Postage fees are not paid by members of Congress because of the franking privilege.
true
The likelihood of a person voting is best determined by age and education.
true
The number of votes cast in an election is actually reduced by the requirement that people register to vote.
true
The odds of winning an election do not normally favor the candidate who has been clearest on the issues.
true
The percentage of voting-age population that actually vote ranks lower in the United States than in most other democratic countries.
true
The second most important determinant in congressional races is party affiliation.
true
The voting age dropped to age eighteen as a result of the Twenty-sixth Amendment.
true
The most direct stepping stone to the presidency is the office of __________.
vice president
If people have the right of suffrage, they have the right to __________.
vote
What was the original target of voter registration laws?
voter fraud
What is the defining act of democracy, according to the textbook?
voting