POLS UNIT 4 Tests

A ___ is a tax-exempt group that is not subject to contribution limits and spending caps and that is formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts and issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate

527 organization

What document would a party use to craft its party platform?

A list of what issues to emphasize in the upcoming campaign.

Which one of the following is an example of a stronger economy befitting an incumbent president running for reelection?

Barack Obama in 2012

In what way were party that emerged around the times of the country's founding similar to parties today?

Both were created to enact policies their members like.

____ are shorthand ways of providing voters with information and cues about candidates?

Brand names

___ has 55 electoral votes in presidential elections.

California

The American political parties are

Decentralized organizations with loose coordination across groups

How are the number of electors for each state determined in the electrical college?

Each state receives an elector for every member of the House and Senate it has.

The ___ parties defined the first party system on the issue of the proper role and size of the national government

Federalist and Democratic Republican

If Albert volunteers for a presidential campaign immediately after reading about the spoils system, what motivated him to get involved?

He was hoping he would get a job if his candidate won.

What was significant about the disintegration of the Federalist Party?

It led to the Era of Good Feelings and eventually to the second party system.

What do we call the principal or main body in each party organization in America?

National Committee

Which states have the first primary and caucus in the nation every four years?

New Hampshire and Iowa

If you were to advocate for a system that encouraged as many people as possible to vote in a primary election, what type of primary would you suggest?

Open

What does it mean that people often form opinions on the spot?

People are sensitive to, and form their opinions based on, what they have recently seen or heard.

If you had to guess what party a white male from the South belongs to, you would predict he aligns with the ____ Party

Republican

Which one of the following is a limitation on soft money?

Soft money cannot be used to let or defat a septic candidate.

_______ is in charge of administering federal election laws.

The Federal Election Commission

How has the political landscape of the South changed in the last 50 years?

The South has gone from being solidly Democratic to solidly Republican.

What is one advantage of a confederal group structure?

The group can find out what members want more easily.

Which statement below BEST exemplifies the "paradox of voting?"

The likelihood that your vote affects the election outcome is tiny relative to the cost of voting.

Which statement BEST characterizes the nature of political action committees and 527s?

They are not part of the political party organization.

Why are swing states so important to a campaign strategy?

They can potentially be won by either major-party candidate

What is the BEST way to describe "fundamentals" in American elections?

Voters tend to utilize them a great deal, even if its not always fair to do so.

What will happen in 2020?

a presidential election

Which of the following individuals would be MOST likely to vote?

a white, middle-aged college graduate

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC)

are both unable to force state and local parties to share their positions on issues.

Inside strategies are actions taken

at the federal, state or local levels.

What is NOT an important role that parties play in fostering cooperation in governing?

candidate recruitment

In congress, the democrats are organized by ____, while the republicans are organized by a ____

caucus; conference

What type of primary has the fewest number of eligible voters?

closed

The National Independent Automobile Association (NIADA) comprises 50 largely independent state-level organizations that provide membership benefits to car dealers. NIADA is an exampled of a group with a ____ organizational structure.

confederal

During the last several decades, the number of ideologically moderate members in congress has

decreased significantly

Party platforms

describe differences between the major parties.

If the democrats control the senate and the White House and the republicans control the house of representatives, what is this an example of?

divided government

What is NOT a voting cue?

election rules

What is the electoral college?

electors from each state who cast ballots for president and Vice President.

The fact that people are socialized into politics by their family and community means that

events early in life can affects one's sense of civic duty into adulthood

When do nominating conventions happen?

every four years when a party must pick its presidential candidate

Why do lobbying firms often hire former members of Congress?

former members of congress can provide the group with important information such as what kinds of policies individual legislators will support.

A candidates efforts to mobilize voters all come together on Election Day through his or her

ground game

Coalitions sometimes present problems for groups because

groups may agree on general goals but disagree on specifics

Lobbying in general is anti-majoritarian because

groups tend to lobby for changes that help a small fraction of the population

Most Americans

have a mix of liberal and conservative positions.

_____ occurs when citizens view the world in a dichotomous, liberal-versus-conservative manner

ideological polarization

Direct lobbying

is usually focused on legislators and bureaucrats who agree with the interest group proposal

A runoff election is likely when a state uses ___ voting

majority

Runoff elections are usually found in combination with what other election rule?

majority voting

Minor-party candidates like Gary Johnson and Jill Stein have a difficult time winning office because

many people consider a vote for a minor-party candidate to be a wasted one because minor-party candidates almost never win.

The purpose of a mass survey is to

measure the attitudes of a particular population.

An important activity of any campaign is __________, which most directly involves __________.

mobilizing supporters; the ground game

The principal body in each party organization is the ________ which consists of representatives from ________.

national committee; state party organizations

Most people form their political opinions

on the spot as needed

Maine has a closed primary, meaning that

only registered party members can participate.

Mordor has just been added as the 51st state in the United States. When people go to vote in presidential primaries in Mordor, they get to decide on the day of the election if they are going to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary. This is an example of what kind of primary?

open

What is the MOST important method campaigns use today in America?

paid campaign advertising

The loyalty that people have to one party is called ____

party identification

win the party nomination, a candidate must win the

primary election

All Democratic primaries and caucuses (and some Republican primaries and caucuses) use a system where the number of delegates a candidate receives is determined by the percentage of the popular vote he or she received. This is known as what kind of system?

proportional allocation

When the United States goes from one party system to another, this is known as a

realignment

Which one of the following terms describes a situation in which the issues that divide the political parties change in a way that cuts across existing political coalitions?

realignment

A citizens judgement of an officeholder's job performance since the last election is called

retrospective evaluation

A lasting change in overall approval of the president would take

significant shifts in partisanship that are sustained over time.

Turnout in presidential elections is ____ when compared to midterm elections

significantly higher

The second party system ultimately split over the issue of

slavery

A 527 organization can accept unlimited amounts of ____ but cannot use that money on behalf of a specific ____

soft money; candidate

Most presidential candidates

spend all their money in the early primaries and caucuses.

A voter who votes for the Republican candidate for president and the Democratic candidate for her congressional district can be described as a(n)

split-ticket voter

Modern presidential campaigns are primarily conducted through what type of advertising?

television

Constitutional requirements are least stringent for ____

the House of Representatives

Why is social desirability bias a problem for surveys?

the answers from respondent are not truthful.

Who is the incumbent?

the current officeholder, running for re-election

What prompted the creation of the Democratic Party?

the election of Andrew Jackson as president.

What is the party principle?

the idea that parties are organizations distinct from their elected officials

___ is made up of politicians who were elected as candidates of a party, whereas ___ involves the structure of national, state, and local parties, including party leaders and workers

the party in government; the party organization

A women spends a year working on a candidates presidential campaign. Her candidate subsequently wins, and she is appointed to a federal job. This is an example of

the spoils system

An open-seat elections is one in which ____

there is no incumbent in the race

What marked the Era of Good Feelings?

there was only one political party, the democratic-republicans

The party in government compromises

those politicians who have been elected into office under a party label.

The party organization, the party in government and the party in the electorate are considered

three separate and largely independent pieces that compose American political parties.

An interest group is best defined as an organization that

tries to influence public policy for a a group of people with common interests.

Money that can be raised in ____ amounts can be spent on issue advocacy is known as ____ money.

unlimited; soft

According to political scientist, what helps make something. reasonable vote?

voting cues

Public opinion is best defined as

what the public thinks about government and politics

A caucus (or conference) is an organization

within government that meets to discuss party positions on issues