Chapter 7b: campaigns

A citizen can currently give no more than ________ per candidate for federal office per election in a given two-year election cycle. -$1,000 -$2,700 -$5,000 -$25,000

$2,700

Who wants to make it more difficult for working class and poor people to vote? -Democrats -Republicans -Socialists -No one -- Americans of all political parties encourage everyone to vote

Republicans

A major drawback of purely electronic voting is -The possibility of computer error -The lack of a paper trail -The possibility of manipulating the computer program -All of these are correct

all of these are correct

The condition in which voters grow tired of the campaign (as illustrated by the crying girl, Abby) is called -voter fatigue -voter ennui -absentee voting -Bronco Bama syndrome -rational abstention

voter fatigue

A state's electoral votes can be calculated by: -Dividing the number of eligible voters that it has by ten -Counting the number of senators that it has -Counting the number of members that it has in its own legislature -Adding together the number of representatives and senators that it has

Adding together the number of representatives and senators that it has

________ is the practice of tailoring campaign messages to individuals in small, homogenous groups. -Micro-targeting -Winnowing -Message bundling -Redlining

Micro-targeting

Which of the following is the best example of direct democracy in practice in the United States? -gerrymandering -retrospective voting -referendum -issue advocacy

Referendum

Private groups that raise and distribute funds for election campaigns are called -corporations. -political parties. -political action committees. -political consulting firms.

political action committees.

All of the following are factors cited by some scholars as disadvantages of voting by mail EXCEPT -that it decreases voter participation. -a lack of access to late information about candidates. -that chances of fraud are increased. -that it leads to a reduction of privacy.

that it decreases voter participation.

Which of the following would be an example of a ballot initiative? -A vote on whether recreational marijuana usage should be legalized in Missouri.. -A vote on whether the governor should be recalled from office. -A vote on who will serve on the St. Peters city council. -A vote on whether to overturn a law passed by the Missouri General Assembly and signed by the governor that imposes higher taxes on wealthy residents.

-A vote on whether recreational marijuana usage should be legalized in Missouri.

Which of the following would be an example of a referendum? -A vote on whether recreational marijuana usage should be legalized in the state of California. -A vote on whether the governor of the state of Wisconsin should be recalled from office. -A vote on who will serve on the Los Angeles city council. -A vote on whether to overturn a law passed by the New York state legislature and signed by the governor of New York that imposes higher taxes on wealthy residents.

-A vote on whether to overturn a law passed by the New York state legislature and signed by the governor of New York that imposes higher taxes on wealthy residents.

Which of the following was NOT a factor in Donald Trump's 2016 win over Hillary Clinton? -Trump spent significantly more money on TV ads during the campaign -FBI director Comey announcing an investigation into Clinton 11 days before the election -Russian government interference in the election -Trump's use of sophisticated social media data mining operations -Trump's massive advantage in free TV time

-FBI director Comey announcing an investigation into Clinton 11 days before the election

Generally speaking, turnout in the United States is: -Much higher than in most other democracies -Slightly higher than in most other democracies -Lower than in most other democracies -About the same as in most other democracies.

-Much higher than in most other democracies

Who selects the president if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote? -The House of Representatives -The Senate -None of the above -The Supreme Court

-The House of Representatives

What has been a common way for interest groups, corporations, and political parties to indirectly aid a candidate while avoiding campaign finance laws? -use spot advertisements. -All of the above. -using independent expenditures to engage in issue advocacy. -fund money through the unregulated PACs.

-fund money through the unregulated PACs.

When citizens are allowed to put questions of public policy on a ballot for voters to decide, this is called a(n): -Initiative -Referendum -Nonbinding resolution -Ballot question

-initative

Donald Trump got 56% of the votes in Missouri in the 2016 race (Hillary got 38%). Missouri has 8 representatives in Congress. How many electoral votes from Missouri did Trump win? 5 10 12 6 8

10

527 committees are different from 501(c)(4) organizations because -there are strict limits on the amount of money 527 committees can raise and spend. -there are not strict limits on the amount of money 527 committees can raise and spend. -527 committees do not have to publicly report who their donors are and how much they gave. -501(c)(4) organizations do not have to publicly report who their donors are and how much they gave.

501(c)(4) organizations do not have to publicly report who their donors are and how much they gave.

"Dark money" comes from -527s. -501(c)(4)s. -PACs. -Super PACs.

501(c)(4)s

A proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote is called a -ballot initiative. -grassroots amendment. -people's compact. -popular directive.

Ballot initiative

Under the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002, soft money contributions to national parties are: -Not addressed -Limited to $25,000 per election year -Unlimited -Banned

Banned

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the Supreme Court ruled that -The FEC cannot limit individual spending, but can limit corporate spending -Corporations are people and can therefore spend as much as they want on political campaigns -Government can place limits on corporate spending, but the limits must be "reasonable" -The FEC does not have legal authority over corporations, only individuals -Any limit on corporate donations is constitutional

Corporations are people and can therefore spend as much as they want on political campaigns

What is the MOST important factor in predicting whether an individual votes? -sexual orientation -race -education level -religious affiliation

Education level

Roesler (and others) support purely electronic voting since it is more secure and transparent. True False

False

Stephen Colbert's reason for forming his SuperPAC (based on the clips from the lecture) was to promote the idea that all people (including corporations) should be treated equally. True False

False

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) is a powerful watchdog that has successfully kept US elections free from the influence of wealthy donors. True False

False

Trump's financial advantage was key to his 2016 election win. True False

False

In 1971, Congress passed the ____, which created a federal bureaucratic structure to monitor and set limits on campaign contributions by individuals as well as provide public financing for presidential campaigns. -Federal Communications Commission -Federal Election Campaign Act -Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act -McCain-Feingold Act

Federal Election Campaign Act

The winner of the electoral college vote has NOT won the popular vote ________ time(s) in American history. -One -Four -Ten -thirty-four

Four

What is the major significance of the Supreme Court's ruling in Buckley v. Valeo? -Independent expenditures are consided protected speech. -PACs can legally coordinate expenditures with political campaigns. -A PAC's contributions to a political candidate cannot be limited. -Congress can limit overall campaign spending.

Independent expenditures are consided protected speech.

Who typically sponsor initiatives, or initiative petitions? -interest groups -county governments -state legislatures -Congress

Interest groups

Some people say that money buys elections. A more realistic statement would be that money: -Is necessary but not sufficient for victory -Doesn't count in American politics -Only buys television time, and that's not enough -Helps only the incumbent

Is necessary but not sufficient for victory

What was the legal question before the Supreme Court as a result of the 2000 presidential elections? -Should ballots with hanging chads be counted? -Should Florida continue to manually recount ballots? -Who won the popular vote in Florida? -Was it legal to count overseas ballots that were postmarked after Election Day?

Should Florida continue to manually recount ballots?

In modern political campaigns, ____ has/have recently emerged as a valuable tool in reaching the public. -mass mailings -social media -virtual rallies -newspaper editorial support

Social media

Contributions to political parties designated for so-called "party-building" activities (not to directly promote a candidate) are known as -soft money. -PAC donations. -grants-in-kind. -extra-campaign contributions. -corruption.

Soft money

In the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Court: -Allowed the plaintiff to bypass the Bipartisan -Campaign Finance Act altogether and directly give campaign contributions to all desirable candidates -Changed its previous decision on election advertising -Allowed the defendants to recover campaign spending costs -Struck down a part of the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act, thus allowing corporations and unions to spend money in support of candidates

Struck down a part of the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act, thus allowing corporations and unions to spend money in support of candidates

_____ may raise unlimited contributions from corporations, unions, professional and business associations, and individuals for the purpose of making unlimited expenditures in favor of or against a candidate running for the presidency or for -Congress. -Political parties -Super PACs -Politicians -Political action committees

Super PACS

Who selects the president if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote? -The Senate -The Supreme Court -The House of Representatives -None of the above

The House of Representatives

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act initially prohibited corporate, union, or trade associations from sponsoring candidate-targeted ads; however, this was later changed by: -House legislation -The Supreme Court -Certain lobbyists -PACs

The Supreme Court

In general elections for Congress, how many votes must a candidate receive in order to win? -the most votes -50 percent of the vote -a majority of the vote -a preponderance of the votes

The most votes

What was Stephen Colbert's reason for forming his SuperPAC? Hint: recall the Herman Cain rally -To promote Herman Cain's candidacy for President -Because he thought he had a good shot at becoming a Senator -He wanted to promote the idea that all people are equal -To poke fun at our campaign finance system of undisclosed amounts of money coming from undisclosed sources -In order to funnel money into his sister's House campaign

To poke fun at our campaign finance system of undisclosed amounts of money coming from undisclosed sources

Which of the following statements about age and political participation is true? -Young people are far less likely to participate in politics than older people. -Young people are just as likely to participate in politics as older people. -Neither young people nor older people participate much in politics. -Both old people and young people participate in politics at a very high level.

Young people are far less likely to participate in politics than older people.

Which of the following has an impact on the outcome of elections? -campaign rules (laws) -electoral system (First Past the Post) -Voter ID laws -voter registration requirements -all of these can affect the outcome of an election

all of these can affect the outcome of an election

527 committees are an important part of the American political system because they -operate the caucuses of each of the two main political parties. -work closely with political parties to coordinate election campaign strategies and fund-raising efforts. -are charged with enforcing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. -are able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they do not coordinate their activities with a political party.

are able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they do not coordinate their activities with a political party.

Presidential candidates who accept federal funding for their general election campaigns -are subject to strict expenditure limits. -can spend unlimited amounts of their own money but cannot spend any money donated to their campaign through a political action committee. -can spend unlimited amounts of money donated to their campaign through a political action committee but cannot spend any of their own money. -face no limits on their expenditures.

are subject to strict expenditure limits.

In order to win the presidency, a candidate must win -at least 270 electoral votes. -a majority of the popular vote. -at least 26 state-level presidential elections. -at least 300 electoral votes.

at least 270 electoral votes.

The McCain-Feingold Act -banned most soft money contributions. -passed over the veto of George W. Bush. -has so far withstood every court challenge. -ended public financing of presidential campaigns.

banned most soft money contributions.

Contributing to the campaigns of candidates is basically a strategy of -buying access -buying bitcoins -buying congresspersons -buying votes -buying insider information

buying access

Both 527s and 501(c)(4)s -are not required to disclose where they get their funds. -are required to disclose where they get their funds. -are limited to spending $100,000 per candidate per election. -can spend unlimited amounts on political advocacy as long as their efforts are not coordinated with those of any candidate's campaign.

can spend unlimited amounts on political advocacy as long as their efforts are not coordinated with those of any candidate's campaign.

The campaign funds raised and spent by 501(c)(4) organizations are called "dark money" because -they are technically illegal under an unenforced provision of federal campaign finance law. -donors and amounts contributed do not have to be made public. -they can only be used during nonelection years. -they are only used to support candidates from relatively unknown third parties.

donors and amounts contributed do not have to be made public.

The right of candidates to spend their own money on running for office -is limited by a cap of $50 million. -is protected absolutely by the Constitution according to the Supreme Court. -was forbidden by the Campaign Reform Act of 1974. -is protected only if the candidate can match every personal dollar with a dollar from outside donations.

is protected absolutely by the Constitution according to the Supreme Court.

Voter turnout in state and local elections is generally -much higher than turnout in national elections. -slightly higher than turnout in national elections. -much lower than turnout in national elections. -about the same as turnout in national elections.

much lower than turnout in national elections.

Explain how campaign rules & laws can affect the outcome of close elections. Illustrate your point by using examples, such as why parties differ on the issue of registration rules like Voter ID, motor voter, and/or how the caucus/primary system affected the Bernie Sanders/Hillary Clinton democratic nomination battle. Relate this to the "how" in Lasswell's definition of Politics. (1 paragraph; 6 points)

my answer: (1.5 out of 6 points) In a closed election, campaign rules and laws can affect the outcome. For example, if you take a look at which party prefers caucus', you can see why one party may receive more votes than the other in that particular type of election. Republicans tend to prefer caucuses because the majority of Republican voters are white men with some education. Caucuses are very long and mostly take place during work hours, so they want to try to prevent working women and mothers from voting, because the majority of the time they will vote Democrat. This is how Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders. Clinton is Republican, so she chose to hold caucuses in order to win the most votes. This relates to Lasswell because his definition of Politics is who gets what, when, and how. Lasswell explains that if one thing changes or is put into effect, it can affect the outcome. We can see this in how the campaign rules and laws affect the outcome of close elections.

In Buckley v. Valeo (1976), the Supreme Court: -ruled that limiting personal spending of a candidate violated the First Amendment. -declared the entire Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 unconstitutional. -invalidated contribution limits on PACs. -limited the Federal Election Commission's enforcement authority.

ruled that limiting personal spending of a candidate violated the First Amendment.

In order to qualify for public funding in a presidential primary, a candidate must -gather signatures from at least 50,000 people in each of 20 states. -gather signatures from at least 100,000 people in each of 40 states. -run as a major party candidate and raise at least $5,000 in individual contributions of $250 or less in each of 20 states. -run as a major party candidate and raise at least $1 million in individual contributions of $250 or less in each of 40 states.

run as a major party candidate and raise at least $5,000 in individual contributions of $250 or less in each of 20 states.

A serious candidate for a U.S. House of Representatives race must raise at least ________ while a serious candidate for a U.S. Senate race must raise at least ________. -several thousand dollars; several hundred thousand dollars -several hundred thousand dollars; several thousand dollars -several hundred thousand dollars; several million dollars -several million dollars; several hundred thousand dollars

several hundred thousand dollars; several million dollars

Presidential elections are always held on what day? -the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November -whatever day is set by the Supreme Court for that specific year -the last Tuesday before the last Wednesday in October -the last Tuesday in October -the second Tuesday in November -the first Tuesday after a Monday after GroundHog Day

the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November