AP unit test 5
Which of the following demographic groups has voted most consistently for the Democratic Party in national elections over the last three decades?
(A) African Americans
Which best describes a likely reason for the information depicted in the graph?
(A) An increase in concerns over media bias
Which of the following statements about voting behavior in the United States is correct?
(A) College graduates are more likely to vote than are those who have at most a high school diploma.
Which of the following best explains how parties link citizens to the electoral process?
(A) Parties send volunteers to knock on doors to register voters.
Which of the following is the most important influence on the choice made by voters in presidential elections?
(A) Partisan identification
Which of the following is most frequently reported in the media during a presidential election?
(A) Results from public opinion polls that indicate which candidates are most likely to win
Senator Hoffman is campaigning for reelection in her state. Her campaign message emphasizes how the policies she has supported have benefited her constituents. She has spotlighted job creation and an overall improvement in the standard of living in the state in the past six years. Senator Hoffman is hoping to appeal to which of the following voting behavior models?
(A) Retrospective voting
The largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns is devoted to
(A) day-to-day campaign activities
The main intent of "motor voter" laws is to
(A) increase voter registration
All of the following are examples of a linkage institution influencing the policy process EXCEPT
(A) the president delivering the State of the Union speech
Which of the following provides the most accurate explanation of how consumer-driven media increases partisan polarization?
(B) Consumer-driven media reinforces existing political biases in individuals.
Considering all elections at all levels of government, which of the following best describes electoral behavior in the United States?
(B) The majority of the electorate does not vote in most elections.
Which of the following best characterizes the influence of the news media on public opinion in the United States?
(B) They affect which issues the public thinks are important.
A political science professor is researching the effects that the Fifteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments have had on the American political system. Which of the following is the most likely reason the professor is researching these amendments?
(B) To study the expansion of voting rights
In the United States, which of the following is a rule on voting found in the Constitution or its amendments?
(B) You cannot make someone pay a tax so that they can vote.
The term "horse-race journalism" refers to the tendency of the media to
(B) cover campaigns by emphasizing the relative standings of the candidates in the polls rather than the issues they discuss
In response to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act), the United States Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), ruled that
(B) independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions are protected by the First Amendment
Tom believes that the government should be limited in its regulation of the economy, but he wants to find out more about economic policy. As he researches the topic, he increasingly relies on a well-respected conservative blog as his main source of information. Tom's actions demonstrate the tendency of individuals to seek out information from sources that
(B) reinforce existing political beliefs
Which of the following scenarios is most related to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment?
(C) An eighteen-year-old votes in a presidential election.
Based on the data about Gerrymandering, which of the following is the most likely consequence for the legislative process in Congress
(C) An increase in gridlock and failure to compromise on legislation
Which of the following scenarios illustrates Washington's concerns?
(C) Ideological divisions within Congress can lead to partisan gridlock.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did which of the following?
(C) It banned soft money donations to national parties.
Which of the following statements about gerrymandering is true?
(C) It can be used by a political party to draw boundary lines to control as many districts as possible.
Of the following, which is the most important reason that voter turnout is lower in the United States than in most other industrial democracies.
(C) It has traditionally been more difficult to register to vote in the United States than in most other industrial democracies.
Which of the following is a correct statement about political action committees (PAC's)?
(C) The amount of money that PAC's can contribute directly to an individual candidate is limited by law.
The America First Action is a super PAC led by former administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon. Which of the following best explains how the organization can operate to influence elections, according to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) ?
(C) The super PAC can spend unlimited money on issue-advocacy advertisements that are not coordinated with the campaign
The primary reason for the current existence of only two major political parties in the United States is that
(C) a winner-take-all electoral system makes it difficult for new parties to emerge and survive
The media's effect on public opinion can best be described as
(C) influencing which issues the public sees as important
Explanations for low voter turnout include all of the following EXCEPT
(C) laws protecting voting rights for minorities
Interest groups and political parties both promote United States democracy by
(C) linking citizens to the political process
The most widely performed act of political participation in the United States is
(C) voting in presidential elections
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC, has raised over $50 million dollars, which it plans to spend on advertising in the next midterm election. It plans to target its spending in competitive districts in the days leading up to Election Day. Which of the following court cases decision is most likely to protect the right of the group in the scenario?
(D) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Which of the following Supreme Court cases is most related to the topic
(D) Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)
Political parties serve which of the following functions in the United States? ------------ I. Informing the public about political issues ------------ II. Mobilizing voters and getting them to the polls ------------ III. Organizing diverse interests within society ------------ IV. Establishing the rules governing financial contributions to political candidates
(D) I, II, and III only
Which of the following best describes the concept of political efficacy?
(D) It is the belief that one can make a difference in politics by expressing an opinion and acting politically.
In which of the following ways do political parties primarily rely on to finance their election activities?
(D) Parties solicit funds from private donors who oftentimes contribute large sums of money.
An important Senate race takes place in the state of Georgia. Rather than focus on the issue positions taken by the candidates, a 24-hour cable news station instead focuses primarily on poll results and campaign strategies using a "big board" to show the counties where each candidate has the most support. Which of the following is an effect of this type of new coverage?
(D) The electorate will be less able to accurately compare the policy platforms of candidates running in the election
Which of the following describes the potential impact on the electorate when daily media coverage of elections focuses primarily on the newest poll results?
(D) The electorate will be less able to accurately compare the policy platforms of candidates running in the election
Citizens who believe that their votes will have no effect on the outcome of an election have a
(D) low level of political efficacy
Which of the following factors best accounts for the rise of interest groups and the decline of political parties in recent years?
(E) Interest groups are better able to articulate specific policy positions than are political parties.
Which of the following statements about political parties and the United States Constitution is true?
(E) The issue of political parties is not addressed in the Constitution.
Which of the following describes a consequence of the growing concentration of ownership of the news media?
(E) There is increased similarity of network news coverage.
The agenda-setting function of the media refers to the power to
(E) decide which issues are important enough to bring to public attention
Compared to voters in a general election, voters in presidential primary elections are
(E) more likely to be affluent
Candidate-centered politics means that
A candidate's appeal can outweigh the importance of experience or their policy positions
Which of the following scenarios is an example of the trustee model of representation?
A member of Congress votes to close a popular tax loophole based on the belief that the money would be better spent paying down the national debt.
Which of the following represents a barrier to third parties participating in elections
All of these
which of the following accurately compares the 15th and 19th amendment?
B
Which of the following statements accurately summarizes the reasoning for the decision in Baker v. Carr (1962) ?
Because rural districts had fewer people, representation was unevenly distributed; thus, Baker was denied equal protection under the law
which of the following accurately compares rational choice voting and prospective voting?
C
hich of the following best reflects the holding in the case Baker v. Carr (1962) ?
Created a one-person, one-vote standard for reviewing congressional districts.
Created as a direct the result of a court case
Created as a direct the result of a court case
Can only run issue ads and not electioneer
Dark Money
Their "primary" function is not political
Dark Money
Which of the following describes the Twenty-Fourth Amendment?
It eliminated poll taxes.
Which of the following portrays an accurate example of horse race media coverage?
News media outlets report the results of public opinion polls that show the relative popularity of candidates
A number of states, including Georgia and Ohio, have passed laws that revoke voter registration if a person did not vote in recent election cycles. Which of the following is a likely consequence of these laws?
Occasional voters will not be able to vote on election day, which could influence election results.
Can run issue ads independent of a candidate
PACs, SuperPacs and Dark Money
Can engage in electioneering
Pacs and SuperPacs
In the Shaw v Reno case, the attorney general tried to get North Carolina to redo its district lines based upon the legal right of preclearance which was from
The 1965 Voting Rights Act
The eight magic words of Buckley v Valeo apply to these
The eight magic words of Buckley v Valeo apply to these
Baker v Carr decision was based upon
The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment
The electoral college has a winner take all system because
The most power political parties in states realized that this would help the candidates they wanted elected the most
Who draws the lines of gerrymandered maps
The state legislatures
Gerrymandering is MOST closely related to a rise in
Voter alienation
Which of the following scenarios explains how demographic factors affect voter participation in elections?
Wealthier individuals are more likely to become involved in campaigns because they believe that their actions may influence the candidates.
Each of the following are examples of linkage institutions in action EXCEPT
a. a congressional committee forces the FBI director to testify in a closed-door hearing
Which of the following is typically the most important factor influencing voter choice?
a. party identification
Which of the following statements best reflects the framers' intent when establishing the Electoral College?
a. the framers didn't trust the people to popularly elect the president
Which of the following policies has contributed most strongly to the continuation of a two-party system in the United States?
a. winner-take-all congressional districts
which of the following is an accurate comparison of PACs and SUPER PACs?
b.
Which of the following constitutional amendments did NOT make the United States more democratic?
b. 22nd Amendment
Social media has affected how many people receive their news by
b. allowing people to selectively receive news from sources that confirm their biases
Which of the following constitutional principles is at the heart of the debate over Super PACs?
b. freedom of speech allows a person to spend her money as she wishes
As our access to news sources has increased,
b. misinformation has become a bigger issue
Which of the following examples of voting behavior is correctly identified?
b. party-line voting: Tashaun, a Democrat, votes for Don Draper because he is a Democrat, even though there are some troubling allegations about his behavior towards women
Opponents of voter photo ID laws would most likely argue that
b. the real goal of photo ID laws is to suppress minority and urban voter turnout
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were investigative journalists at the Washington Post who were instrumental in gathering evidence of Nixon's involvement in the coverup of the Watergate break-in. Which role of the media is best exemplified by this?
b. watchdog
which of the following is an accurate comparison of winner-take-all and proportional representation congressional districts?
c.
The message of the political cartoon is that
c. Modern candidates have become reliant on Super PAC contributions
Identify the constitutional basis for the argument that voter photo ID laws are unconstitutional.
c. for people who don't have a state-issued photo ID, the money and effort required to obtain one amounts to a poll tax
Modern political campaigns in the United States
c. involve a heavy reliance on political consultants like pollsters, strategists, and media communication professionals
Which of the following statements is true about the U.S. election system?
c. parties officially nominate a presidential candidate at the party's national convention
Proponents of the Electoral College would most likely point out that
c. the Electoral College helps ensure that rural areas aren't overlooked in presidential elections
What is the most likely explanation for how a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote?
c. the candidate won large victories in some states and lost very close races in other states
Which of the following requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 led to the Supreme Court case, Shaw v. Reno (1993)?
c. the requirement that states with a history of voter discrimination get approval from the federal government for any changes to their electoral policies
Which of the following statements is most consistent with this political cartoon?
c. women more often support Democratic candidates than Republican candidates
Up until the year, Gerrymandered maps would be unconstitutional if which of the following is occurring?
d. A racial group is being disenfranchised
The Constitution, as it was originally made in the late 1700s,
none of these
The rise in independent voters that has happened over the last fifty years can be attributed to
party dealignment
In Shaw v. Reno (1993), the Supreme Court held that
racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional
Baker v Carr decided that
that courts had jurisdiction to determine if district population sizes were fair
