Ch 11 P SC Voting, Campaigns, and Elections

In predicting the likely results in a presidential general election, the best indicator of success is which of the following:

-how voters respond to the competing campaign messages

Universal suffrage for women was achieved:

-in 1920 with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment

The assorted demographic and institutional influences on voting produce an electorate:

-in which wealthy, well-educated, older white people are overrepresented and poor, uneducated, young, and nonwhite people are underrepresented.

Presidential campaigns begin shortly after the midterm elections, if not earlier, because:

-it is important for the candidates to engage the public while the public is still excited about politics - like right after the midterm elections

Issue voting is:

-made easier by party labels because the typical positions of Republicans and Democrats differ in predictable ways on many issues

Broadly speaking, campaign finance operates through two parallel systems:

-money given directly to candidates, which is regulated, and money spent outside of the candidate's campaign, which generally is unregulated

One political consultant explained this campaign tactic by saying: "People say they hate _________________. But [this tactic] works. They hate it and they remember it."

-negative campaigning

The best single predictor of how someone will vote in federal elections is:

-party identification

The most important information shortcut voters use to make predictions is:

-party label

Voters who coalesce around causes such as gun control or gun rights are:

-single-issue voters

Turnout for the 2012 presidential election was about:

-sixty percent

Casting a vote is making a prediction about the future:

-that electing one candidate will produce a better outcome in some relevant sense than electing another candidate

The ultimate barrier to a more egalitarian campaign finance system is:

-the First Amendment to the Constitution as it is currently interpreted by the Supreme Court

When the goals, tactics, and resources of political entrepreneurs change:

-the level of electoral participation changes because turnout is directly affected by these activities

When candidates form relatively stable coalitions with other would-be leaders--that is, combine into political parties--the following is true:

-they narrow voter choices to a manageable number and simplify voters' choices across offices and over time

Party labels provide cues for performance voting so voters can easily:

-vote for the in-party when the voter thinks the government is doing well and vote for the out-party when the voter thinks the government is doing badly

The ___________ is the candidate's answer to the voter's question: Why should I vote for this candidate?

message

Elections allow ordinary citizens to, in aggregate,:

reward or punish elected officials for their performance in office

A focus group is:

-a small number of ordinary citizens who are observed as they talk with each other about political candidates, issues, and events

Elections work to ameliorate the problem of delegation of authority in which of the following ways:

all of the above