Inquisitive Ch 5 Texas Govt

What are some of the qualifications for registering to vote in Texas?

- 18 years of age - U.S. citizenship - resident of Texas for 30 days

Examine the chart, and determine which of the following statements are accurate. Who votes in Texas Statewide Elections?

-Asian American voter turnout is slightly higher than Latino voter turnout. -African American turnout is only slightly lower than white turnout.

Evaluate the information in the table to determine which statements are best supported by the data. Table 5.2 Money raised by all candidates in Texas, 2018

-The dominance of Republican candidates in statewide races is reflected in their ability to raise funds. -Democratic candidates running for judicial office are more competitive than Democrats running for other offices.

What are some of the characteristics of primary elections in Texas?

-first elections held in an electoral cycle -held on the second Tuesday in March of an election year

Which of the following are the most likely reasons for low voter turnout in Texas?

-the voter identification law too many low-visibility offices too many elections and too many candidates a younger and less educated population

Although the poll tax was made illegal in federal elections by the passage of the (1) to the U.S. Constitution, it remained legal in state elections in Texas until (2), when it was ruled unconstitutional in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections.

1) Twenty-fourth Amendment 2)1966

In order to limit partisan (1) in the redistricting process, some states have taken the responsibility for drawing electoral maps away from (2) and given it to an independent (3).

1) gerrymandering 2) state legislatures 3) redistricting commission.

Label each campaign responsibility as belonging to either the individual candidate for office or the political party.

Candidate -raising money running campaigns campaign strategy Political Party -organizing phone banks get-out-the-vote drive

What is the greatest cause of turnover for Republican incumbents running for office today?

Challenges from Tea Party-supported candidates in the primaries.

Political participation is a measure of participation in voting.

False

The 2018 statewide elections in Texas showed that most voters are still more concerned about local issues rather than national issues, and vote accordingly.

False

Use the figure below and your knowledge of Texas as a one-party dominated state to decide which of the following statements is accurate. Figure 5.3 Turnout by registered voters in Texas Elections

In non-presidential election years, the person who wins the office of governor could be chosen by less than percent of the overall voters in the state.

Study the chart below, and determine which of the following statements accurately reflect the data. Table 5.3 Turnout by registered voters in Texas Elections

More voters participate in Republican primaries than in Democratic primaries. Statewide general elections in non-presidential years draw fewer voters than in presidential election years. Presidential general election turnout is higher than either party's presidential primary election turnout.

Match each of the following descriptions with the correct election type.

Special Election -Voters approve amendments to the Texas Constitution. -Voters approve or reject borrowing by government entities to assume long-term debt. -Elections called by the governor to fill vacancies. Primary Election -Voters determine the candidates who will run for office for each party. -The winner is the candidate who receives a majority of the votes.

Which of the following are the most likely causes for low voter turnout in Texas elections?

Texas holds its elections during nonpresidential election years. There are so many candidates for office that voters are simply overloaded with elections and candidates.

Watch the animation on ethnicity and voter turnout in Texas and determine which of the following statements are accurate.

Texas is a majority-minority state in which more Texans have a non-Anglo background.

What are the requirements for an independent candidate to get on the ballot in Texas?

The candidate must obtain a number of signatures equal to one percent of the total votes in the last governor's race. The candidate must obtain signatures on a petition from registered voters. The candidate must obtain signatures only from registered voters who did not participate in either party primary or runoff primary election.

The following excerpt from the opinion in Shelby County v. Holder makes what justification for the ruling of the Court in the case? The Voting Rights Act of 1965 employed extraordinary measures to address an extraordinary problem. Section 5 of the Act required States to obtain federal permission before enacting any law related to voting—a drastic departure from basic principles of federalism. And §4 of the Act applied that requirement only to some States—an equally dramatic departure from the principle that all States enjoy equal sovereignty.[...]Nearly 50 years later, they are still in effect; indeed, they have been made more stringent, and are now scheduled to last until 2031. There is no denying, however, that the conditions that originally justified these measures no longer characterize voting in the covered jurisdictions. By 2009, "the racial gap in voter registration and turnout [was] lower in the States originally covered by §5 than it [was] nationwide." ... Since that time, Census Bureau data indicate that African-American voter turnout has come to exceed white voter turnout in five of the six States originally covered by §5, with a gap in the sixth State of less than one half of one percent.

The court held that while remedy in the law was justified at the time, the new status of minority participation in voting no longer justified states being treated unequally.

The Supreme Court case Smith v. Allwright ended which election practice?

The white primary

Major, large city newspaper endorsements often carry important weight, especially in down ballot races for local offices.

True

Which of the following do opponents of voter ID laws in Texas argue?

Voter ID laws address a problem that does not exist. Voter ID laws minimize Democratic turnout in order to help state Republicans. Voter ID laws do not preserve the integrity of the electoral system.

Texas voters use elections to do which of the following?

authorize government borrowing select leaders authorize action by the government determine party candidates for office

Prohibited by federal courts in 1971, which voting requirement was most targeted at preventing migrant workers from voting?

early registration

Which of the following do voters primarily use in making their decisions about which candidates to support?

endorsements from large newspapers interest group endorsements party label incumbency

The intent of the framers of the Texas Constitution was to create strong popular control of government by making both government actions and offices subject to popular vote. What have been the effects?

low voter turnout reliance on cues