GOVT 2306 Quiz 9

The poll tax was made illegal in federal elections in ________ but remained legal in state elections in Texas until ________

1964; 1966

Texas ranks _________ in the nation in voter participation

50th

Approximately what percentage of the state's voting-age population is registered to vote?

70%

Following the 2010 Census, _________ states gained new congressional districts, while __________ states lost congressional districts in the reapportionment process.

8; 10

The day after the election, which of the following was the approximate vote differential between candidates Gore and Bush in the state at issue?

Bush was ahead by approximately 2,000 votes.

Gimpel and Schuknecht indicate that ___ explanations for differences between states have generally been understood "in terms of local communication and socialization patterns that disrupt or otherwise alter the usually smooth linkage between ... traits and political attitudes and behavior"

Contextual

In 2011, the Texas legislature passed a voter identification law that requires a photo identification in order to vote. Which form of photo identification is acceptable?

Department of Public Safety-issued concealed handgun license

The Supreme Court, in Bush v. Gore, determined that the recount scheme involved was unconstitutional as it violated the _______ clause

Equal Protection Clause

The primary purpose of state and congressional legislative redistricting is which of the following?

Equalizing the population across legislative districts

The concept of Gerrymandering adds which of the following to the concept of redistricting?

Gerrymandering intends to advantage one group over another while drawing district lines

For an independent candidate to get on the ballot in Texas, which requirement must he or she must?

He or she must get petition signatures from registered voters who did not participate in any political party primary election

What is the significance of the Supreme Court case Smith v. Allwright?

It announced that in primary elections states could not redistrict voters on account of race.

In Texas, primary elections are usually held in

March

In what case did the Supreme Court rule that a key section of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional, thereby affecting new districts being approved by the U.S. Department of Justice?

Shelby County v. Holder

According to Tom Hoffeller, which state's congressional district maps drawn after the 2010 census were too reckless, standing in contrast to other states' who he helped engineer?

Texas

Candidates for state office and lobbyists have to file quarterly reports detailing their spending and donations with which agency?

Texas Ethics Commission

How much can an individual donate to a campaign for a state-level, nonjudicial office, such as for governor?

There is no limit

The general election is held the first

Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years

Gimpel and Schuknecht use presidential votes as the focus for their study primary because

Using presidential votes allows us to consider each state on the same dimension because they each face(d) the same choices as one another

The most important federal law was involved in the expansion of voting rights and protections in Texas was the

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Which statement concerning women's suffrage is correct?

Women were permitted to vote in all elections in Texas with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The Motor Voter Act of 1993

allows citizens to register to vote while applying for a driver's license

By allowing voters to make decisions on changes to the state constitution, Texas lets voters

alter public policy within the state

A closed primary allows only those individuals who _________ to participate

are a registered member of their political party

In order to vote in Texas, you must meet which of the following requirements?

be a resident, a U.S. citizen, and at least 18 years of age

The Voting Rights Act has been renewed several times since 1965, and new provisions have been added since then. For example,

bilingual ballots are now required in certain areas where more than 5 percent of voters speak another language

When deciding how to vote, people will use mental shortcuts. Political scientists call these shortcuts

cues

The next census will be conducted in 2020, with a reapportionment completed soon after based on its results. Assuming the Texas population will increase from its 2010 total, as a result of this reapportionment, Texas will most likely

gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives

The two most important factors that determine whether someone votes are

income level and education

Major state officials are elected in non-presidential years because

it prevents popular presidential candidates from influencing the outcome of Texas races

Which of the following is the largest expense for most campaigns?

media ads

Political campaigns tend to spend the most money on which of the following?

media advertising

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) focuses on

monitoring changes in electoral law that may suppress the votes of minorities

Which of the following tends to lower voter turnout?

most elections are for low-visibility offices

One of the advantages incumbents have when running for reelection is

name brand and visibility

What type of primary allows a voter to choose on Election Day which party they will vote for?

open primary

A __________ was a state-imposed tax on voters as a prerequisite for voting

poll tax

The _________ requirement was included in the Voting Rights Act to ensure that states that had previously restricted the political participation of minorities could not use redistricting for partisan gain and against the interest of minority groups.

preclearance

In Texas, special elections are used to

ratify amendments to the Texas Constitution

Texas was the first state in the South to

ratify the women's suffrage amendment

The process of ______ involves recalculating how many congressional districts each state will receive based on the state's population.

reapportionment

Which offshoot of the Democratic Party preselected candidates for the Democratic primary and prohibited African Americans from participating?

the Jaybird Party

Which of the following allowed the federal government to oversee the operation of elections at the state level until a Supreme Court ruling in 2013?

the Voting Rights Act

In Grovey v. Townsend (1935), the U.S. Supreme Court found that the political parties could limit membership to white citizens only because

the equal protection clause of the Constitution only applied to state action and not action by private groups

Which portion of the Texas government is responsible for redistricting in Texas?

the legislature

The requirements for getting on the ballot are set by

the state

What is the main purpose of a primary election?

to select a party's candidate for the general election

What is the most basic and fundamental duty citizens have in a democracy?

voting

Prior to the 1970s, how often did voters have to register to vote?

yearly

Early voting in Texas has been shown to produce _________ in voter turnout

a modest increase