Review Two GOVT 2306

Children under what age cannot be prosecuted for a crime in Texas?

10

What is the "age of majority" in Texas with regard to civil and criminal responsibility before the law?

17

For incorporation to proceed in Texas, first a minimum population of________ citizens must be living within a two-square-mile area.

201

As of 2022, how many states, have adopted voter ID legislation?

35 including texas

To qualify for minor-party status, a party must have won at least________ of the votes in a race for statewide office in the last general election.

5%

Which of the following statements about television viewing patterns is accurate?

Between 2017 and 2018, viewership of most major networks declined.

What voting system is preferred by voting rights activists as a means of increasing minority representation?

Cumulative voting

Among the following voters, who is LEAST likely to vote?

Echo Montave, a 21-year-old high school dropout working at McDonald's

________ is the political principle that assigns different functions to different levels of government.

Federalism

What accurate prediction was made in 1969 by Paul Baran about the coming effects of "electrical communications"?

Greater choice of information would lead to a decline in dialogue within communities.

Which of the following is the key distinction between general law cities and home rule cities?

Home rule charters are created by the citizens.

What message is the text trying to impart with the examples of Clayton Williams and George Bush concerning media coverage?

Intense media coverage can backfire for candidates if they make public mistakes.

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways elections have changed?

Labor unions have become a stronger voice.

County governments in Texas

Lack general ordinance authority

Which of the following best describes what polling shows about Texans' attitudes regarding border security?

More than half of Texans (52 percent) polled were in favor of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico when polled in 2019, reflecting the popularity of a Republican president at the time.

Based on real-world developments, which of the following is a strong argument against the construction and commissioning of more private prisons?

Multiple incidences of abuse and neglect have been documented in private prisons.

What happened in Texas when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act?

New voter identification laws were put into effect.

By Texas law, special elections may be held in all of the following months EXCEPT

November

________ refers to the granting of forgiveness by the state for a conviction.

Pardon

What best describes the level of individual political participation nationally since the 2020 presidential elections?

Political participation in all forms nationally has been increasing. Political participation and its role in democracy have been hotly contested. Contributions of less than $200, which indicate more individual participation, have increased. Political participation in the form of community organizing, organization formation, and protests have increased. (All Correct)

Which of the following was illustrated by the actions of Public Opinion Strategies against 1996 Texas Attorney General Dan Morales in 1996?

Push polls can affect public opinion even though they can't measure it.

In order to vote in Texas, a person must

Register 30 days in advance of an election

The authority to regulate the health, safety and morals of its citizens lies with which level of government in a federal system?

State

Which of the following statements about elections in Texas is most accurate?

State and local elections are typically not politically competitive.

What link between education and recidivism was reported in a 2021 study of the Windham School District's Educational Programs?

Students who participated in the Career and Technical Education Program were 25.5 percent less likely to recidivate.

Which state leads the nation in the number of prisoners executed?

Texas

________ is the law in Texas that forbids candidates defeated in the primary election from filing to run as independents in the general election.

The "sore loser" law

A 2010 Supreme Court decision held that corporations and unions have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited funds on campaign advertisements under what condition?

The ads cannot be coordinated with any candidate.

Which of the following statements about citizens' levels of trust in the media is accurate?

The overall level of trust has decreased in most Western democracies.

Which of the following statements about special district governments in Texas is accurate?

The primary reason for their existence is to fill service gaps left by other units of government.

Which of the following is a restriction placed on broadcasters by the FCC with respect to political campaigns?

They cannot censor anything said by a candidate given air time.

Which of the following statements about race and gender in the criminal justice system is accurate?

Women commit crimes at a lower rate than men.

What change was noted when cities in Texas were forced to change to single-member districts for at least some city council seats?

a substantial increase in minority city council members

What voting practice was developed for the U.S. armed services?

absentee voting

Which of the following has characterized Texas elections since 2008?

all Texas counties using electronic voting systems

In 2020, Texas voters elected

all the members of the Texas House of Representatives and half the members of the Texas Senate.

Given your understanding of voter turnout in Texas, which scenario do you suspect would see the lowest turnout?

an incumbent Democrat state legislator running unopposed in the primary

Texas has which of the following types of primary systems?

an open primary system that could also be considered a semi-open primary system

San Antonio wants to expand and add new territory to the city and broaden its tax base by doing what, with regard to an upscale subdivision that borders the city?

annexing it

Municipal elections in Texas

are technically nonpartisan.

What function did the media serve in 2016 in relation to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services' Child Protective Services?

as an agenda setter, which changed public opinion and forced government action

How does Texas compare to the rest of the country in terms of the percentage of eligible voters who actually vote?

below average

Persons under the age of 18 who commit crimes

cannot be sentenced to death or to life in prison.

In which type of city government does the city council hire a person to be city manager?

council-manager

George Lakoff argues that once the media has framed a story for the audience,

counterarguments become less effective in swaying the audience.

Which is the oldest type of local government, adapted from a British unit of government, that is used in the United States?

county

Who is responsible for overseeing the collecting and disbursing of county funds?

county auditor

Who is responsible for maintaining property records and issuing marriage licenses?

county clerk

One strategy that Texas has used to alleviate prison populations is

creating a new category of felony offenses.

Which group was the primary supporter of the white primary in Texas?

democratic party

Enhanced punishments are intended to

discourage recidivism.

Based on emerging patterns in where civil lawsuits are heard, what kind of court is most likely to hear a civil suit over a divorce settlement?

district court

From what agent of socialization are people most likely to gain their first understanding of civics?

education

In what manner are county sheriffs chosen for service?

elected by county voters for a four-year term

Applying stricter sentences to those defendants who have been convicted previously is called

enhanced punishment

Which of the following types of polls would be considered somewhat legitimate but controversial and of relatively low scientific rigor?

exit poll

A local news outlet decides that it is important for the public to be informed about an upcoming vote on property taxes. It replays a short segment about the vote three times a day until voting day arrives. What processes are represented here?

gatekeeping, agenda setting, and priming

Which of the following elections would typically have a higher voter turnout?

general election

What has been a broad result of the 1996 Telecommunications Act?

greater concentration of media outlets under fewer owners

Texas's incarceration rate is

higher than that of most other states.

Opponents of excessive bail and pretrial confinement believe it conflicts with what core justice principle?

innocent until proven guilty

A major 1986 survey of journalists attributed liberal bias in traditional media to what factor?

liberal leanings of the journalists themselves

With the growth of the Internet, what has become one of the easiest ways to participate in politics?

making financial contributions

The danger of the "echo chamber" effect is most prominent in

news shared through social media

The style of ballot form in which candidates are listed by office with party affiliation listed by their name is known as the

office block format.

According to the text, to have a high-quality democracy, citizens must use their political power to guide the government, and this includes not only voting but also

participating after elections. knowing where to find election information and fact-check the information. volunteering in the community.

Which of the following helps increase voter turnout in an election?

party competition, closeness of the election, party competition in a district

Voting in another party's primary to intentionally nominate a weaker candidate is known as

party raiding

Which of the three measures for voter turnout consistently shows the higher figures?

percentage of registered voters who voted

Which of the following types of Texans would be most likely to vote?

person w/ a Ph.D.

The authority to regulate the health, safety and morals of citizens is called______.

police powers

Most of the money used in political campaigns comes from

political action committees.

Which burden of proof is used in civil matters?

preponderance of evidence

The primary source of revenue for counties is

property tax

What are the three broad functions that the media serve within their communities?

provide information, shape perception, link elected representatives and their constituents

Comparing changes in the public opinion of Texans regarding the legal status of marijuana with the actions of legislators and the judicial system in Texas indicates that

public opinion can lead the political elite to alter government policy.

According to a 2020 Pew Research survey, which of the following types of civil and political participation is most common?

publicly supporting a campaign on social media

Under the new Juvenile Justice Code, what is the primary goal?

rehabilitation

Which of the following is a rational reason for why some people choose not to vote?

satisfaction with the status quo, the so-called paradox of voting, & "good citizen" syndrome

Today, elections are dominated by issues of what type?

social/cultural

In which type of city government does the mayor control the budget?

strong mayor

Use of the Internet by politicians has increased the importance of

technically trained campaign consultants

What is the fourth largest law enforcement agency in the U.S.

the Texas Department of Public Safety

A "system of prohibitions, penalties, and correctional measures to deal with conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably causes or threatens harm to those individual or public interests for which state protection is appropriate" describes

the Texas Penal Code

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

What positive influence has evidence shown Facebook to have on the political process?

the creation of online communities that increase users' political participation

On what day do Texans vote for who will represent them in the United States Congress?

the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of all even-numbered years

What is an effect of self-selection of media sources by individuals based on their own ideological biases?

the formation of larger ideological gaps among citizens

Who oversees the administration of elections to ensure that the rules are followed?

the secretary of state

The weak mayor's formal powers most resemble those of which other government official in Texas?

the state governor

If the post office in Texas is unable to deliver a voter registration card, it will be returned to the voter registrar, and

the voter will need to re-register in order to vote in future elections.

What was the purpose of the constitutional amendment proposed by the Texas legislature and approved by voters in 1995?

to allow cities and school boards to cancel elections if all races are uncontested

A person sues Starbucks because they were burned by it's hot coffee. This is an example of

tort law

Texas has all of the following types of local government EXCEPT

townships

How often does Texas hold general elections?

twice a yr

Individuals who vote based on very strong feelings about social issues such as abortion, gay rights, and gun control, to name a few, are

value voters

What is the most common form of political participation?

voting

The annual registration system for Texas voters

was replaced by a permanent registration system.

The commission form of city government served as a transition from the

weak mayor form to the council-manager form.

In Texas, when is a runoff primary required?

when no candidate receives a majority of votes