18th Century Test

A primary election in which voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket is called

A closed primary

Which of the following represents a consequence of candidate-centered electoral campaigns?

A decrease in the role of political parties in campaign management

A corporate lobbyist would be LEAST likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with which of the following?

A federal judge in whose court a case important to the corporation is being heard

When party members meet to nominate a candidate for office, they participate in which of the following?

Caucus

Which of the following Supreme Court cases is most related to the topic in the cartoon?

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)

The practice of "microtargeting" described in the passage is an even more powerful campaign tool for parties if they are able to

Collect and manage large databases of information on specific groups of voters

Which of the following statements about voting behavior in the United States is correct?

College graduates are more likely to vote than are those who have at most a high school diploma

Which of the following is a correct statement about political action committees (PACs)?

FIND ANSWER

Typically, presidential candidates implement their campaign strategies by

Focusing on larger, competitive states, because they might tip the balance of the electoral college

A CEO of a corporation believes that the Republican candidate for president will enact policies that are more beneficial to her business. The CEO donated the maximum amount allowed by law directly to the candidate's campaign fund. To increase the candidate's chances for election, the CEO also directed her corporation to donate funds to an independent political action committee to create ads criticizing the opposing candidate. According to the decision in the United States v. Federal Election Commission (2010), which provision of the Constitution protects her actions?

Freedom of speech in the First Amendment

Which of the following best accounts for the lack of success generally encountered by minor political parties in electing members to the House or Senate?

General elections in the United States are based on the winner-take-all principle.

Which of the following describes the activities represented by data in the table?

Groups in American society form political action committees (PACs) so they can influence policy.

The advantages of incumbency in congressional elections include which of the following? I. Incumbents receive more campaign contributions than to challengers. II. Incumbents are able to provide important services for individual voters. III. The government provides campaign funds for incumbents. IV. The President usually endorses incumbents for reelection. V. Most American voters believe Congress does a good job.

I and II only

The use of direct primaries instead of the convention system in selecting presidential candidates results in which of the following? I. A weakening of party control over nominations II. A reduction in the costs of election campaigns III. An increase in the number of people involved in the choice of candidates IV. An increase in voter turnout in midterm elections

I and III only

Which of the following is a significant trend in the presidential nominating process over the past three decades?

Increasing importance of presidential primaries rather than state conventions

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did which of the following?

It banned soft money donations to national parties.

Which of the following is an accurate comparison between the relative functions and electoral successes of the two major political parties (Democratic and Republican) and third parties?

Major parties: The rules of the electoral college favor the major-party candidates in presidential elections. Third parties: Winner-take-all voting districts hinder the electoral success of third-party candidates.

In which of the following ways do political parties primarily rely on to finance their election activities?

Parties solicit funds from private donors who oftentimes contribute large sums of money

Which of the following best explains why delegates to both the Republican and Democratic Conventions in 1996 were much more likely to have college and postgraduate degrees than was the rest of the voting population?

Political activism increases with education levels

Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the graphs?

Political efficacy is a major factor in shaping political views about government, but political ideology also plays a role

Which of the following makes a correct comparison between political parties and interest groups in the United States?

Political parties recruit and run candidates in elections. Interest groups seek to influence public policy.

How is a president chosen when none of the candidates receives a majority of the electoral college vote?

The House chooses a new president by a majority vote of its state delegations

Over the past 20 years, reforms of the presidential nomination process have had which of the following effects?

The number of female delegates and minority-group delegates at Democratic national conventions has grown substantially.

The concept of realignment refers to changes in

The social bases of the parties' voting support

Which of the following is LEAST characteristic of the history of political parties in the United States during the twentieth century?

The splitting of the two major parties into a multiparty system

Critics of the winner-take-all aspect of the electoral college are most likely to make which of the following arguments?

The winner-take-all system of the electoral college encourages presidential candidates to focus their time and effort disproportionately on battleground states with larger populations

Which of the following is true of amicus curiae briefs?

They are used by interest groups to lobby courts.

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?

To study the expansion of voting rights

Critical elections in the United States typically have occurred

When groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties

The main intent of "motor voter" laws is to

increase voter registration

In the process and structure of public policy-making, "iron triangles" refer to the

networks of congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that strongly influence the policy process

The franking privilege refers to the

right of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents at the government's expense

The development and persistence of the two-party system in the United States is best accounted for by

single-member legislative districts

The process known as front-loading refers to

the tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calendar