Fast Track Chapters 17-20 Study Guide

In addition to nominating candidates to run, which of the following is the other major responsibility of major parties on election day?

Ensuring that party members get out and vote.

Traditional news media is best described as

Newspapers, television, and radio.

When considering groups of voters, what is the determinant of whether hose voters have to have photo IDs to cast ballots?

The laws of the state in which they live.

A recent study has shown that voters are much more likely to vote for a candidate with a similar demographic background as themselves. This means that younger candidates, following in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt and Barack Obama, would likely benefit most from the rights granted in the

26th Amendment.

Which of the following illustrates a violation of the 15th Amendment?

A Latino being denied a ballot on election day for "likely not being American."

Which of the following is most likely to be passed over by a presidential campaign?

A medium-sized state with a solidly liberal or solidly conservative population.

Which of the following describes an open primary?

A primary in which all registered voters may participate.

The 17th Amendment expanded voting rights by doing which of the following?

Allowing citizens to vote for an office they previously could not.

Chapter 18: Which of the following illustrates establishing a party platform?

Announcing policies party nominees will seek to enact if elected.

Which of the following represents the largest advantage for a given candidate?

Being an incumbent.

Which of the following is an accurate description of bias in the American news media?

Bias has always existed in the media but has gotten much worse lately.

Which of the following best describes the attitudes of the Democratic and Republican parties as they relate to current campaign spending and fundraising practices?

Campaign spending is concerning, but both parties know they need to play along.

Which of the following best represents the issue before the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC (2010)?

Can Congress limit the spending of corporations and organizations on political ads?

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of caucuses and direct primaries?

Conducted through a series of small group meetings/Often conducted through a mall-in ballot.

The Libertarian Party was established in 1971 to act as a third party, seeking to limit the size and scope of government as much as possible. Which of the following is the most realistic hope that the Libertarians have of getting their policy initiatives enacted?

Convincing one of the major two parties to adopt some of their ideas.

In 2016, the Republican Party won the Presidency and secured majorities in both houses of Congress. Which of the following would be the party's next major task?

Coordinating policy goals among all the elected Republicans.

In a presidential election year, Democrats shock the country by taking back both Congress and the White House, collecting votes from a new political coalition that includes Latinos, Evangelical Christians, the very rich, and elderly white Americans. This turn of events would be known as a(n)

Critical election.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is lobbying hard to defeat a bill in Congress that would greatly expand government surveillance powers. Which of the following accurately describes a free rider problem in this scenario?

Defeating a bad law would benefit everyone, whether they help the ACLU or not.

Based on the information in the graph, which group is likely to suffer setbacks at the polls considering voter ID laws?

Democrats and liberals.

Which of the following is a potential consequence of the data in the chart?

Democrats will likely focus more energy on campaigning via social media.

The NRA regularly sends out report cards to its members, "grading" policymakers on their support of the 2nd Amendment. Which of the following is the NRA seeking to achieve with this specific behavior?

Educating their members as to who they should vote for.

The Framers of the Constitution were notoriously suspicious of popular rule and included many parts in the Constitution designed to limit such rule. Which of the following was included in the Constitution and then later changed through the amendment process?

Electing Senators by state legislatures rather than directly.

Which of the following best describes the approach of most modern media outlets when attempting to attract viewers?

Focus on a specific outlook or bias as a way to ensure viewer loyalty.

Which of the following describes the relationship between bureaucratic agencies and interest groups?

Interest groups and bureaucratic agencies could be allies or enemies, depending on this issue.

Which of the following marks the distinction between an interest group and a political party?

Interest groups do not run candidates for office.

Which of the following best describes the reason many news outlets tend to shy away from investigative journalism?

Investigative journalism costs too much money and takes too much time to be profitable.

Senate Majority PAC, a liberal political action committee, raised nearly $54 million in one election cycle. Which of the following restrictions apply to that money?

It can only be spent on federal elections but not on state and local elections.

A Pew Research Center poll found in 2018 that 55% of Americans would prefer to switch to a direct popular vote for president rather than using the electoral college. Which of the following is the primary impediment that happening?

It would take a constitutional amendment, which would be too difficult.

Based on the data shown in the chart, what weakness of the Electoral College was revealed in this election?

Its potential to be undemocratic.

A major cable TV news station spends three hours a day covering upcoming elections. What will most of those three hours be spent on?

Looking at polling data to determine who is currently winning.

Chapter 17: Which of the following statements is best supported by the chart?

Midwestern states likely have easier voter registration laws then the Northeast.

The Midwest clearly has a higher percentage of people over 65 registered to vote. This will probably result in Midwest states voting

More conservatively than Northeast states.

Which of the following typically happens during mid-term elections?

Overall voter turnout decreases noticeably.

Which of the following explains the impact of political commentary in the news media?

Political commentary presents a biased take on an issue, influencing voters.

The difference between men and women shown in the chart can largely be explained by the Democrats' support of

Pro-choice initiatives.

A key plank in Republican Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was appealing to unionized coal miners and steelworkers, two groups who typically vote Democrat. Trump spent considerable time explaining how the Republican Party understood them and their issues better than the Democrats. The Trump campaign was hoping that many of those workers were

Rational-choice voters.

Which of the following statements reflects the data in the chart?

Republicans and independents feel similarly about social media.

Recent changes in campaigning have seen many candidates start to employ which of the following for the first time?

Social media experts.

Chapter 19: Based on the results shown in the table, which candidate won the election?

The Republican Party candidate.

Which of the following has had the largest impact on the function of parties in campaign during the 21st century?

The collection and management of large amounts of voter data.

Which of the following accurately describes political efficacy?

The degree of confidence that one voter's individual vote will matter.

Which of the following describes a "coalition," as the term applies to political parties?

The demographic groups that tend to support a particular party.

Which of the following best describes what the chart is trying to illustrate?

The existence of the gender gap.

President Trump has prepared a forty-minute speech about the need to reform tariffs and trade policies, to be given at a steel plant in Pittsburgh. Which of the following best describes how the media will likely cover this event?

The forty-minute speech will be chopped up into much smaller soundbites.

Which of the following is most likely to unseat an incumbent running for re-election?

The incumbent being involved in a scandal.

Chapter 20: How do American media outlets differ from the media in most other countries?

The majority of American radio and television stations are privately owned.

Which of the following explains media's role as a linkage institution?

The media provides an avenue for voters to learn about what the government is doing.

Which of the following adequately describes conglomeration?

The number of news outlets is going up, even as ownership is more concentrated.

Which of the following characteristics of interest groups would Madison point to as a way of backing up his claim?

The unequal economic power of various interest groups.

Someone who opposes Madison's views on factions and interest groups would likely make which of the following arguments?

The wide variety of interest groups helps ensure that no one can become too powerful.

Which of the following has happened to the election cycles in the past 30 years?

They have become significantly longer, now being almost non-stop.

Which of the following is a direct result of American elections using a winner-take-all plurality system?

Third parties have difficulty attracting voters.

What is the role of a linkage institution?

To connect voters with policymakers.

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 included a "Stand by Your Ad" provision, forcing candidates to openly endorse official campaign advertisements. Which of the following best describes the intent of this provision?

To reduce the frequency of attack ads in presidential campaigns.

The 2020 presidential election will likely see social media play an extensive role in every major campaign. Which of the following effects will this most likely have on traditional news media?

Traditional news media will likely lose some of its audience.

In 1932 Republican President Herbert Hoover ran for re-election despite having been in office for the start of the Great Depression. In this election, a retrospective voter would likely

Vote for a Democrat, as the Republicans have recently failed.

Based on the information in the graph, which of the following arguments would an opponent of voter ID laws likely make?

Voter ID laws may be constructed as infringing upon the 15th Amendment.

Which of the following is true for voter turnout in primaries?

Voter turnout is usually even lower than for the general election.

The Internet news media is unique in that it allows consumers to almost entirely control their news media consumption by choosing which sites to visit and which articles to read. This has had which of the following effects on the electorate?

Voters tend to seek out only websites that reinforce their current ideals.

Which of the following best describes the focus of horse-race journalism?

Who happens to be favored to win an election at this time.