5.4 Elections and Campaigns Pre-Test AP Gov

Which of the following is a consequence of candidate-centered campaigns?

Candidates' ability to appeal to voters can outweigh the importance of experience and policy positions

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

Caucus

Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliate to vote?

Closed

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

General elections in the US are based on the winner-take-all principle

When none of the presidential candidates receives a majority of the votes in the electoral college, the winner is chosen by the

House of Representatives

Which of the following is the most important factor in determining whether a candidate wins a congressional election?

Incumbency status

Which of the following statements is true of congressional incumbents who run for re-election?

Incumbents have a great advantage over challengers because they are better known and can raise campaign funds more easily

Based on the data shown in the table, which of the following statements is true about the electoral college?

It can work against the principle of popular sovereignty when a candidate wins without winning the most votes nationwide

The map shows the outline of a congressional district. Which of the following statements best explains the motivation behind the way in which it is drawn?

It has likely been drawn to pack together voters who are registered with the same party

Which of the following is a consequence of the way the district is drawn on the map?

It will likely lead to a less competitive general election, which could lead to increased partisanship

Which of the following statements is supported by the information in the table?

Partisanship was a good predictor of the way a person voted

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

The Green Party candidate

Which of the following best explains why the winner of a presidential election usually claims to have a mandate from voters?

The allocation of electoral votes in the winner-take-all system exaggerates the margin of victory

Which of the following describes the result in a winner-take-all, single-member-district plurality system?

The candidate who receives the most votes in the election wins.

Which of the following statements about the electoral college is correct?

The results of electoral college voting tend to distort the winner's margin of victory, when compared with the popular vote for president

Given the information in the graph, in which of the following states would an individual's vote likely have more influence?

Wyoming

The franking privilege is one example of

an incumbency advantage

The rules governing the electoral college make it especially important for presidential candidates to

concentrate their campaign on "battleground" states

A referendum can best be described as a vote to

determine whether citizens support an action by their state legislature

Typically, presidential candidates implement their campaign strategies by

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

When contributing to congressional campaigns, political action committees (PACs) are most likely to contribute to

incumbents of both major parties

The data in the graph best illustrate which of the following common criticisms of the electoral college?

individuals in small-population states have a greater impact on the electoral college than individuals in large-population states

Citizens who believe that their votes will have no effect on the outcome of an election have a

low level of political efficacy

An election in which there is a significant shift in the bases of electoral support from one political party to another is called a

realignment election

The concept of realignment refers to changes in

the social bases of the parties' voting support

The process known as front-loading refers to

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

When people vote for some candidates from one party and other candidates from another party, it is called

ticket splitting

The term "split-ticket voting" is most accurately described as

voting for candidates of different parties on the same ballot