political participation ap gov
Which of the following important functions of democracy would most likely be more difficult without political parties?
Educating voters on upcoming elections
Based on the data shown in the table and your knowledge about the Electoral College, which of the following statements best explains the distribution of electoral votes?
Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the higher percentage of votes within a state`
Which of the following statements accurately describes a barrier to the Green Party winning congressional seats or the presidency?
Incorporation of third-party issue positions or platforms by major political parties
Based on this election spending table for House races in 2016, which is the best conclusion one can make about the significance of this data?
Incumbent House members have an overwhelming advantage over challengers
Which of the following is a linkage function primarily associated with interest groups?
Lobbying policy-makers
Which of the following is an accurate statement about the information in the graph? Choose 1 answer:
Members of the House typically had higher incumbency rates than Senators in this period
Which of the following is a linkage function primarily associated with US political parties?
Mobilizing voters to elect a candidate advocating preferred ideological positions on political issues
Which of the following policies is an example of state action to improve voter turnout?
Motor voter laws
Which of the following statements best explains how national political campaigns have changed since the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)?
New "super PACS" can raise unlimited funds from virtually any source as long as the money is used as an independent expenditure for the campaign and is not given directly to the candidate
Which of the following terms accurately characterizes this election and political era? Choose 1 answer:
Party realignment
What term describes these politically contentious areas of the country?
Perennial swing states
Which of the following best explains why direct primaries have become a mainstay of American politics since the early 1900s?
The democratic merits of giving the electorate more influence in choosing candidates outweigh the benefits of depending on party leaders' expertise
Which of the following best explains a consequence of candidate-centered campaigns?
The party's role in nominating candidates has weakened
Which of the following statements describes why Ross Perot won zero electoral votes in the 1992 presidential election?
The winner-take-all system awarded electoral votes to the candidate who won the most votes in that state
Based on the above bar graph, which of the following best describes the trend in ideology/single-issue group contributions from 1990 to 2016?
There is a significant increase of ideology/single-issue contributions
Which of the following best explains why the 2004 election does NOT fit the label of a "critical election"?
There was little change in the two parties' major constituencies
Which of the following statements accurately summarizes what the National Rifle Association, American Association of Retired Persons, the National Right to Life Committee, Reproductive Rights Action League, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) all have in common? Choose 1 answer:
They all represent cause groups representing members that care intensely about a single issue or small group of related issues
Which statement best explains how midterm elections serve an important linkage function with the electorate?
They can alter the legislative agenda if the majority party changes hands in Congress
Which of the following best explains how third parties affect the US political system?
They can shift national attention to particular issues and influence the outcome of elections
Based on the table above, which of the following is an important conclusion that a third-party candidate could make when running for a Senate seat against both Republican and Democrat opponents?
They need to acquire at least 38% of the vote to win a contested election
The Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), organized to oppose any and all tax increases, would be considered which of the following type of interest group?
A cause group
Which of the following statements best explains how candidate-centered campaigns have weakened the influence of political parties on the political process? Choose 1 answer:
Candidates can raise campaign funds by appealing to voters and PACs directly
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of a closed primary and a caucus?
Comparison B Limited to registered members of a political party Party members choose nominees after hours of speeches and debates
Which pairing below correctly matches both a constitutional protection of voting rights and a past or current structural barrier to voting?
Comparison C The right of citizens who are 18 years or older to vote cannot be denied Poll taxes
Which of the following statements best explains the relationship between campaign contributions and the lobbying of members of Congress by interest groups?
Congressional members are willing to meet with lobbyists representing groups that provide them with campaign contributions
Which of the following scenarios is an example of a way that one of the major political parties can negatively impact a third party's chance of winning?
Add issues that concern third-party voters into their platforms
Which characteristic from this example best applies to being an effective lobbyist?
Integrity in public service
Which of the following accurately describes the term for this political activity?
Presidential caucus
In this scenario, which of the following would be the best-supported projection of the effect on US political parties?
The Democratic party is likely to benefit more than the Republican party from increased percentages of younger, more ethnically diverse voters
Between the years 1984 and 2014, which of the following best represents the range of differences in voter turnout between each presidential election and the following midterm two years later?
13-23%
Based on the above chart, approximately what percent was spent on elective defense or other elective federal programs in the 2016 federal budget? Choose 1 answer:
31%
Political scientists use the term "political realignment" to describe which of the following?
A profound shift in the balance of power between major political parties
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of an open primary and closed primary?
Comparison D
Of these six states, which of the following pairs would have swung the 2016 election the other way if they had both voted Democrat? Choose 1 answer:
Florida and Ohio
Which term accurately describes the presidential electoral change brought about by the permanent switch of many conservative white southerners from the Democratic party to the Republican party in the mid 1960s?
Party realignment
Which of the following statements best explains the Framers' rationale for this constitutional provision?
All members of the House must stand for reelection every two years in order to better serve the immediate needs of constituents in their districts
The rise of new issues no longer dominated by a single interest group, declining influence of congressional committee chairs, increasing media coverage of the policymaking process, and declining significance of iron triangles have all contributed to which of the following?
An increase in the importance of issue networks
Linkage institutions are best defined as which of the following?
Groups that connect people to the government and turn people's concerns into political issues
Which of the following statements best explains how the 17th Amendment increased democratic participation in the United States?
It changed the election process for US senators
On a political survey, Patrick Yang reveals that he rarely votes, because he does not believe the federal government listens to or responds to his needs, nor does he think the average citizen has much influence over political affairs.
Low political efficacy
Which of the following best summarizes the data presented in the table for the 2008 presidential election?
Party identification is a strong predictor of how a person voted in an election
Teddy Flood lives in Texas and is voting in the 2018 election. When he gets to the ballot box, he decides to do straight-ticket voting, in which he checks one box to cast a ballot for every candidate from the Democratic party.
Party-line voting
Tom Haverford has never voted in an election before, but is excited about Leslie Knope's campaign promises and decides to support her in the 2020 presidential election in hopes that she will be able to achieve those policy goals.
Prospective voting
Which constitutional change in the early twentieth century led to an increase in democratic participation in the United States?
The method by which US senators are elected was changed
Which of the following is a structural barrier to political participation enforced in certain states today?
Voter ID laws
Which of the following is an important structural barrier to third-party and independent candidate success in the United States? Choose 1 answer:
Winner-take-all districts
Based on the data presented in the graph, which of the following is the best conclusion one can make about the significance of presidential and midterm election turnout rates in this period?
With lower overall turnout in midterm elections, groups that are more likely to vote had more impact on their outcomes
Which of the following statements is the most valid criticism of voting for a third party in the US political system?
Your third-party vote may help a candidate that you disagree with
Which of the following scenarios is an example of how the media can act as a linkage institution?
A major newspaper organization publishes poll results indicating the percentage of the American public who support legislation to ban affirmative action programs
Which of the following describes the message in the political cartoon? Choose 1 answer:
A risk of incorporating a third party's agenda is that the third party's platform may eclipse the dominant party's platform
Which of the following combination of interest group tactics are most successful in influencing congressional policymaking? Choose 1 answer:
Applying public pressure from the district or home state, lobbying, and providing campaign contributions
Which comparison above correctly describes both political groups in terms of structure, purpose, or tactics?
Comparison D Civil rights organization employing litigation, lobbying, and publicity events Employs direct action to protest police brutality and systemic racism
Based on this information and current election rules, which of the following is the best strategy for the WFP to influence public policy in the United States? Choose 1 answer:
Concentrate on "grass roots" campaigns in local elections lacking two-party competition
Which of the following statements best explains the significance of the generation group trends in the graph above?
Downward trends in trust of the federal government among all generations between 1965-1980 indicate a corresponding decrease in citizen efficacy and health of US civil society
Which aspect of the 2016 presidential election has fueled a debate about how democratic the constitutional process is for electing US presidents?
Even though Democrat Hillary Clinton outpolled Donald Trump by nearly 2.9 million popular votes, Trump won with a majority of electoral votes
This scenario reflects which of the following political concepts? Choose 1 answer:
Free-rider problem
Referring to the years 1920 to 1940 on the graph, which of the following was a catalyst for the upward trend in the presidential popular vote as a percent of the population in that period?
Giving women the right to vote
Which of these statements best explains why the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been important to expanding political participation in the United States?
It enforced the Fifteenth Amendment by preventing states from using legal barriers to prevent African Americans from voting
Which of the following scenarios is an example of how an interest group can act as a linkage institution?
March for Our Lives conducts a letter-writing campaign to key members of Congress to gain their support for gun control legislation
Political parties are most inclined to use which of the following strategies in national general election campaigns today?
Matching polling responses to identifiable individuals in voter files to determine patterns
Which best explains why none of the third-party candidates received any electoral votes?
None of them acquired more votes than any other candidate on the ballot in each state
Which of the following best explains the function of the platforms of the two major US political parties?
Platforms are a set of general principles, goals, and strategies designed to give voters a sense of what candidates believe in and will address if elected
Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?
Political parties can use voter-data management systems to tailor their policies to fit their constituents best and maximize voter turnout
Which of the following political actors is NOT considered part of an iron triangle in developing public policy at the national level?
President
Which of the following best explains why the two election turnout trends differ?
Presidential elections are better publicized with a national audience than midterm elections
Priyanka Kumble votes for political candidates based solely on their platforms and the policies they and their party plan to implement once elected.
Prospective voting
Which of the following statements is best supported by the data in the chart?
Race influences which candidate voters support in an election
Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the table?
Registered voters are more likely to turn out for open primaries than for a caucus
Based on the above table, which information provides an example of individual interest groups maximizing their chances of creating influential relationships in Congress? Choose 1 answer:
Securities/Investment and Real Estate interest groups gave close to an equal percentage of nearly $50 million to each congressional political party
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the linkage function that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) would have with regard to a recently passed federal law protecting home buyers?
Sharing research and constituent preferences for enforcing the law at a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hearing
Which statement best explains the significance of this campaign strategy? Choose 1 answer:
Social media allows candidates to personalize outreach to a new generation of voters, bypassing reliance on political parties and platforms
Based on the data, how many years between 1995 until 2011 did the Republicans serve as the majority party in control of the Senate?
Ten years
Which of the following statements accurately summarizes why it is virtually impossible for third-party candidates to become president? Choose 1 answer:
The Electoral College uses a winner-take-all system
According to this Amendment, how is the president chosen if no candidate receives a majority of votes by the Electoral College? Choose 1 answer:
The House of Representatives votes on the top three vote-getters, with each state having one vote
Which of the following is the best explanation for the change in contributions from 2010 to 2016?
The Supreme Court's 2010 decision appears to have had a positive impact on soft/outside contributions to single issue or partisan recipients, leading to a significant funding increase
Which of the following scenarios best describes a candidate-centered campaign?
The candidate takes most of the initiative by hiring a professional campaign manager and soliciting contributions online
Which of the following statements best explains how the winner-take-all allocation of Electoral College votes works? Choose 1 answer:
The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state wins all of its Electoral College votes
Which of the following generalizations is best supported by data in the table?
The characteristics of the candidates can dictate who voters support in an election
Based on the information in the graph, which of the following statements is true about congressional elections over this period? Choose 1 answer:
The majority of incumbents in both houses won their races in every election
**Which of the following statements describes the role political parties within Congress to promote their party's public policy agenda?
The majority party selects committee chairs who promote the party's legislative priorities
Even with the Civil Rights Movement and legislation supporting the Fifteenth Amendment, it was widely reported that, throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, many southern states continued practices that prevented African Americans from voting. **GRAPH**
The percentage of voters in presidential elections during these years initially declined and then increased slightly
Based on the data shown in the table, which of the following statements is true about the Electoral College?
The person who is elected to office may win the majority of Electoral College votes, but lose the popular vote
Which of the following statements would the constitutional founders most agree with in regards to this excerpt from the Twelfth Amendment?
This indirect method prevents voters across the country from ignoring better qualified candidates outside their region, and allows less populous states greater influence in presidential selection
Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's argument on how political parties use voter data? Choose 1 answer:
To clarify political messages and enhance mobilization efforts
Which of the following statements accurately explains why a majority of states chose either a closed primary or caucus over an open primary?
To encourage party unity and prevent members of other parties from voting to nominate weak candidates
Looking at the chart from 1981 until 2011, which of the following is an accurate trend related to party control of the Senate? Choose 1 answer:
Transitions in party control of the Senate occurred most often following mid-year elections
Which of the following statements accurately describes a trend depicted in the graph?
Trust in government declined across all generations over the course of George H.W. Bush's administration
Based on the above graph, which of the following correctly summarizes how demographics of all voters changed between 1992 and 2016? Choose 1 answer:
Voters are significantly more diverse ethnically, significantly better educated, and slightly older
Which of the following statements is supported by the data shown in the graph?
Voters turn out at a higher rate for presidential elections than in midterm elections
At what point in the federal budget process does the Defense Department have the most input?
When executive branch agencies submit budgets for review before the president's proposal is submitted to Congress
Based on the table above, which of the following variables made the most difference in winning an election for a third-party or independent candidate in these 7 elections? Choose 1 answer:
Whether the candidate was an incumbent
