us gov unit 4
What is the largest amount of money a Political Action Committee can contribute, per candidate, per election?
$5,000
amicus curiae brief
"friend of the court" brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision
What is the term for laws that require citizens to vote?
. Compulsory voting laws compel (or require) all eligible citizens to vote.
What determines the outcome of presidential elections? Select the two correct answers.
1. Electoral votes 2. Swing states
How does the district method for distribution of electoral votes differ from the winner-take-all method? Select the two correct answers.
1. It allocates two electoral votes to the winner of a state's popular vote. 2. It allocates one electoral vote to the popular vote winner of each congressional district.
Which are true regarding presidential electors? Select the two correct answers.
1. Nominated by the candidates or political parties. 2. Pledged to support the candidate or political party that nominated them.
The Incumbency Effect or Advantage. Describe advantages: #3
1. Parties usually prefer to back an incumbent 2. People are more likely to vote for someone familiar 3. Donors are more likely to give to a proven winner.
What will you need to accomplish if you decide to run for president? Select the three correct answers.
1. Seek to acquire a majority of your party's national convention delegates 2. Manage 50 separate state campaigns 3. Compete in caucuses and primary elections
3 arguments that are often expressed by critics of the electoral college:
1. The Electoral College undermines majority rule. 2. The Electoral College violates the one-person, one-vote expectation. 3. The Electoral College lessens political participation in "safe" states.
2 statements that are true regarding the "king caucus"
1. The king caucus is a reflection of the emergence and rise of political parties. 2. The king caucus is made up of party operatives from state legislatures.
What statements are true regarding the process for nominating a presidential candidate in recent decades? Select the two correct answers.
1. The process for nominating a presidential candidate has brought about a longer nomination process. 2. The process for nominating a presidential candidate has shifted the power for nominating candidates to state party primary elections.
House term
2 years
Prior to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, what was the required age to vote?
21 years of age
Senate term
6 years
Over the past half-century, at what rate have House incumbents been re-elected?
85%
Citizens United v. FEC
A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering (Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow)
the difference between a political action committee (PAC) and a Super PAC?
A PAC can give money directly to a candidate but a Super PAC cannot.
An entity formed by an interest group to raise money and make contributions to political candidates and parties is known as a
A Political Action Committee PAC is the legal entity through which an interest group can legally make contributions.
What must a candidate do to be successful in the primaries?
A candidate must align and commit him- or herself to the ideology of the party. Candidates who want to succeed in the primary contests seek to align themselves with committed partisans, who are often at the ideological extreme.
What must a candidate win when seeking a state's electoral votes?
A candidate must win a plurality of the state's popular vote.
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns.
indirect lobbying
A form of lobbying in which lobbyists build support for their cause through the media, rallies, and other ways of influencing public opinion, with the ultimate goal of swaying legislators to support their cause.
Federal Election Campaign Act
A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.
Whom does a lobbyist represent?
A lobbyist can represent an individual, a company, a group of companies, unions, or a great variety of groups.
Who or what is represented by a membership interest group?
A membership interest group represents a large number of people, usually paying dues, in support of common policy goals.
poll tax
A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote
Swing State
A state that could go either way in a presidential elections (unlike "safe states"). Target of a lot of attention in elections. Also known as "battleground states" or "purple states" (Ohio, Florida in 2008)
in the House of Representatives is allocated among the states, roughly proportional to state populations.
A states representation After each state receives one representative, additional representatives are allocated by population.
Bundling
A tactic in which PACs collect contributions from like-minded individuals (each limited to $2000) and present them to a candidate or political party as a "bundle," thus increasing the PAC's influence.
example of an interest group that follows an electoral strategy for making campaign contributions?
An interest group gives to a candidate who is a firm believer in the group's cause to try to push the candidate over the top to victory, thereby avoiding the need for much direct lobbying.
example of outside lobbying?
An interest group runs television commercials encouraging citizens to call their senator and request support of a particular bill. This is a good example of influencing public opinion as a means of influencing public officials.
interest group
An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy
n what ways are the three components of socioeconomic status--occupation, education and income--are similar when it comes to voting behavior?
As each of these components increases, there is a higher likelihood that a person will vote.
outside lobbying
Attempt to influence governmental officials such as legislators or their aids indirectly, by influencing public opinion
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
Banned soft money donations to political parties (loophole from FECA); also imposed restrictions on 527 independent expenditures (issue ads only, not direct advocacy for a candidate). Declared unconstitutional by Citizens United case. Also known as McCain-Feingold Act.
Before a voter can cast a ballot, what is he or she required to do in virtually all states?
Before a voter can cast a ballot, she must register to vote.
What characteristic do PACs and Super PACs share?
Both PACs and Super PACs can spend money on behalf of a candidate in an election. The can buy campaign ads and undertake other activities as long as they do not coordinate these efforts with the candidate.
Suppose a fundraiser went out and asked several of her friends to contribute to a political candidate. Instead of collecting the money and writing a single check herself, she has her friends all make their checks out directly to the candidate but delivers all the checks to the candidate herself, in one package. What is this fundraising tactic?
Bundling Bundling involves collecting a large number of checks to raise a large amount of money, but each of the checks is from a separate individual and is for an amount below the legal contribution limit.
soft money
Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.
Why is voter turnout in caucuses generally lower than voter turnout in primaries according to opponents of caucuses?
Caucuses take more time for the voter than primaries.
Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)
Changed the legal voting age from 21 to 18.
Who benefited the most from the decision in the Citizens United case?
Corporations, long considered "legal persons," had much greater freedom to participate in politics after the Citizens United case since previous restrictions limited their freedom of speech.
How has the cost of political campaigns for Congress changed?
Costs have rapidly increased, making campaigns more expensive.
PACs (Political Action Committees)
a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns
Caucus
a private meeting of party leaders to choose candidates for office
How many electoral votes is the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) entitled to?
D.C. is allowed no more electoral votes than the least populous state. This was established by the Twenty-Third Amendment
What was an outcome of the rise of primary systems during the Progressive Era?
Decreased the control of political parties over the candidate nomination process.
Faithless Elector
Elector who does not vote for the candidate they promised to vote for. These have never determined outcome of presidential election but is a major problem with electoral college system
The goal of a presidential candidate is to win the majority of the _______ ________.
Electoral vote.
The number of presidential Electors for each state is:
Equal to the sum of the state's Representatives and Senators.
What established the requirement that candidates disclose the source of campaign contributions?
Federal Election Campaign Act
Imposes limits on individual contributions to a campaign
Federal Election Campaign Act?
Requires candidates to report who donates to their campaigns
Federal Election Campaign Act?
Which president received fewer popular votes but won the Electoral College?
George W. Bush, who won over Al Gore
"hard" money vs. "soft" money
Hard money directly relates to the candidate or campaign, whereas soft money is spent by PACs. Soft money is unprotected by the FECA, party organizations have right to unfettered independent spending. Hard money is raised and spend under FECA's limitations.
The key argument in support of the 26th Amendment was
If an 18-year old could be conscripted to fight, they should be allowed to vote.
Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that required that certain states with a history of voter discrimination obtain federal approval of any changes in voting laws.
How do general elections differ from primary elections?
In general elections, it's easier to raise money, and you will also face new groups of voters who were not involved in the primary process.
Super PACs
Independent expenditure-only PACs are known as Super PACs because they may accept donations of any size and can endorse candidates. Their contributions and expenditures must be periodically reported to the FEC.
Who was taxed by a poll tax?
Individuals who voted paid poll taxes.
Which demographic characteristic would make an individual less likely to vote than someone without that characteristic?
Individuals with lower levels of education are less likely to vote.
What is usually the basis for inside lobbying?
Information Exchanging information is the key to persuading members of Congress and earning their support.
What are interest group ratings and candidate score cards designed to do? Select the one correct answer.
Interest group ratings and candidate score cards are intended to inform group members and the public about a candidate's positions on issues the group cares about. Interest groups produce these guides to help their members (and the general public) understand a candidate's positions.
How do interest groups attempt to influence political outcomes?
Interest groups attempt to influence political outcomes by contacting government officials and politicians and trying to influence the general public.
Besides making campaign contributions, what can interest groups do to influence elections on a large scale?
Interest groups can inform voters and the public (perhaps through voter guides with candidate ratings) to make them aware of the candidates' positions on key issues. Interest groups can inform voters to try to influence their choices in elections.
In their quest to influence the federal government, who do interest groups lobby?
Interest groups can target all three branches of government through targeting executive agencies, members of Congress, or through filing amicus briefs with the courts.
Which branch of government is not a target of interest group lobbying?
Interest groups lobby all three branches of government
What is a common relationship involving interest groups, congressional committees, or federal agencies?
Interest groups provide campaign funds for committee members.
Who are the lawmakers interest groups are most likely to target?
Interest groups want to first target lawmakers who already support their policies and who are likely to introduce a piece of legislation, and most legislation is shaped in committees, so interest groups want to influence members of relevant committees.
What was the purpose of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993?
It allowed citizens to register at the same time they applied for a driver's license.
Following the Citizens United decision, how likely is it that limits will be placed on election spending?
It is unlikely because campaign costs have steadily risen and candidates need support.
Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)
It outlawed taxing voters, i.e. poll taxes, at presidential or congressional elections, as an effort to remove barriers to Black voters.
Which branch of government is an interest group lobbying when it files an amicus brief?
Judicial Branch Amicus briefs are designed to give groups that are not parties to a case a way to share their opinions about a case.
compulsory voting laws
Laws that require citizens to vote in elections.
_________ also target the executive and judiciary branches.
Lobbyists
A brokered convention occurs when:
No candidate acquires a majority of a party's delegates before the start of its convention.
When interest groups use candidate grades or ratings system to influence voters, which strategy are they implementing?
Outside strategies involve messaging the public to gain support.
Money from _____has been on the increase as a proportion of campaign contributions.
PACs
A consumer rights group advocating for mandatory seat belt laws. Is an example of what type if interest group?
Public interest group Mandatory safety belts help advance public safety, which is a public good that benefits most citizens. Public interest groups pursue public goods.
hard money
Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.
Twenty-fourth Amendment
Prohibits poll tax in federal elections
What is an effect of gerrymandering districts?
Safe seats are created due to unnatural boundaries.
Who largely organizes and pays for elections in the United States?
State governments The constitution gives most responsibilities for elections to state governments.
What is the term applied when a voter selects a candidate from the same party for each office on the ballot?
Straight-ticket voting
What are lobbyists attempting to influence when they submit amicus briefs?
Supreme Court decisions
What was the effect of the Citizens United decision on spending?
The Citizens United decision reversed the restrictions of the McCain-Feingold Act. The McCain-Feingold Act had placed major limitations on soft money spending and other creative ways of providing support for candidates.
advantage of the Electoral College system?
The Electoral College system, with its runoff procedure, has always worked.
reason that states may legally use to deprive a citizen of the right to vote, under the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution?
The Fifteenth Amendment does not allow voting rights to be denied on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, but it doesn't prohibit states from taking voting rights from felons
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State.
What happens if no candidate for president receives a majority of the electoral vote?
The House of Representatives is called upon to choose who will be president.
What was an outcome of the Motor Voter Law that was passed in 1993?
The Motor Voter Law increased voter registration but had only a modest effect on voter turnout.
Breedlove v. Suttles (1937)
The Supreme Court upheld poll taxes as constitutional in the 1937 case
What improvement did the Twelfth Amendment make in the operation of the Electoral College?
The Twelfth Amendment required separate votes for the president and the vice president
Which Constitutional Amendment prohibited the poll tax?
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment was passed in response to Breedlove v. Suttles, a court case that had declared the poll tax as constitutional.
What was the objective of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
The Voting Rights Act intended to remove the discriminatory practices of states, limiting the right to vote because of race. The VRA was passed to end discriminatory practices that negatively impacted racial minorities.
How is a president selected if no one receives a majority vote in the Electoral College?
The choice goes to the House of Representatives to determine who of the top three finishers will be elected with each state having one vote.
Nineteenth Amendment
The constitutional amendment adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote.
Three things that influence presidential campaign strategies?
The factors that influence presidential campaign strategies include those states a campaign can count on, those states a campaign is sure to lose, and those states a campaign feels it has a chance of winning.
_______ Deals with popular/fleeting demands faster
The house
________ Answers to constituents' demands regularly
The house
________ Requires stronger structured leadership
The house
________ seeks narrow interest of smaller groups of constituents
The house
__________ Disagrees with same party because of specific district demands
The house
What is a consequence most House districts now considered "safe seats"?
The only election that matters occurs during the primary. The decision on which political party candidate to support in the primary usually determines the outcome in the general election.
The voter participation of African Americans did not increase significantly until which event?
The passage of the Twenty-fourth Amendment that banned poll taxes, along with the implementation other laws like the Voting Rights Act, led to significantly increased participation by African American voters.
The requirement of photo identification to vote has had what type of outcomes on voter turnout?
The people most adversely affected were young, less educated, or racial minorities. Photo identification requirements tend to negatively impact these groups.
What is the primary goal of interest groups?
The primary goal of interest groups is to influence public policy.
Fifteenth Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
_______ Slows down or stops legislation
The senate
_________ Maintains a broader view to retain majority support from constituents across a state
The senate
___________ Takes longer time before they answer to constituents
The senate
What is an advantage incumbents have when competing for votes against political opponents?
They have greater name recognition among voters.
What is generally true of primary voters?
They tend to be on more extreme ends of the political spectrum.
Why was the Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC so important?
This court case allowed interest groups, corporations, and unions to spend unlimited sums of money as long as they don't coordinate their spending with a candidate.
How was the political party caucus initially used?
To allow a political party's congressional legislators to decide on the party's nominees for president. Initially, political party's used caucuses to select presidential candidates.
statistic about voter turnout that will generally be larger than any of the others?
Turnout as a proportion of registered voters
literacy test
a requirement that citizens show that they can read before registering to vote
Which of these events occurred after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment?
Women gradually began voting in larger numbers until their level of turnout matched or exceeded that of men.
What are the constitutional requirements to serve in Congress?
You must be a citizen and meet the age requirement 30 yrs old. Education and wealth are not requirements.
What was the result of the Twenty-sixth Amendment?
Young people have maintained relatively low rates of participation. While initial turnout was higher right after the Twenty-sixth amendment was passed, voter turnout by young eligible voters tends to be around 35-39%.
public interest group
a group that pursues policies or goods that members perceive to be useful for most or all citizens.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage
amicus brief
a legal written argument(that is, a "brief") filed with a court by an individual or group who is not a party to a case but has an interest in the cases outcome.
Which election cycle event do delegates assemble at to select a presidential candidate?
a nominating convention
district method
a state divides itself into a number of districts, allocating one of its state-wide electoral votes to each district. The winner of each district is awarded that district's electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the state's remaining two electoral votes.
Super PACs
a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.
Online Voter Registration
a voter registration process that can be completed over the internet without a paper application or signature.
Motor Voter Law
allows citizens to register to vote at welfare and motor vehicle offices
public interest group
an organization that supports causes that affect the lives of Americans in general
inside lobbying
attempts to directly influence governmental officials such as legislators or their aides.
direct lobbying
attempts to influence a legislator's vote through personal contact with the legislator
McCain-Feingold Act
ban soft money contributions, increase amount that individuals could give candidates from $1000 to $2000, prevented issue ads within 60 days of general elections
prospective voting
basing voting decisions on well-informed opinions and consideration of the future consequences of a given vote
Which election-cycle event allows registered party members to participate in the selection of a congressional nominee?
closed primary
Many young Americans attend a college that is not in the district where they are registered. This contributes to what for young voters
contributes to low political participation of young Americans in local elections?
Legislative Liaisons represent
government institutions to other decision-makers in government. example: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Political Action Committee (PAC)
groups organized to collect funds from donors and distribute them to political candidates.
As each of these components increases, there is a higher likelihood that a person will vote. will help ____________ voter turnout
increase
Lawmakers rely on ______ ______ and __________ to provide them with information about the technical details of policy proposals, as well as about fellow lawmakers' stands and constituents' perceptions, for cues about how to vote on issues, particularly those with which they are unfamiliar.
interest groups, lobbyist
Citizen vs Federal election commission
led to the removal of spending limits on corporations.
States showing the greatest improvement in voter turnout have adopted what
mail only voting systems
Presidential nominations are usually controlled by _______ _________.
political parties.
Increased spending on infrastructure projects. would be most likely supported by which interest group
public
Which type of interest group would lobby for increased accountability of congressional members?
public
incumbent
the current officeholder
congressional district
the geographic area that is served by one member in the House of Representatives
_________ requires less structured leadership
the senate
disenfranchise
to deprive of the right to vote
independent voters
voters who are not members of a political party
prospective voting
voting for a candidate because you favor his or her ideas for handling issues
retrospective voting
voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office
