Chapter 13
What are organizations that are independent of any party or candidate, and thus not regulated by the FEC as they advocate publicly for or against specific candidates, parties, or policies?
527s FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. This is the definition of a 527 group, and the term is based on Section 527 of the tax code, under which these groups operate. Money spent by 527s is considered soft money and therefore is not subject to FEC regulation. As with all soft money, though, 527 groups may not legally promote or oppose a specific candidate, party, or policy. The groups carefully stay within these boundaries while disseminating information they believe will help their preferred candidates and policies.
What is the name of the federal agency that regulates campaign donations to and spending by candidates for Congress and the presidency?
Federal Election Commission FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. This is the role of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Established through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, it serves to make campaign finance information publicly available and prevent violations of rules about campaign contributions.
Which of the following countries does NOT conduct elections in single-member districts with plurality rule?
Germany FEEDBACK: In Comparison: Elections. Overall, single-member plurality (SMP) elections are rare in the world. Germany, for example, uses multimember districts with proportional representation. The countries that tend to use SMP are Great Britain and its former colonies. Canada, India, and the United States are all examples of former British colonies that fit this mold.
Which of the following observations would suggest that the median voter theorem is accurate?
In general elections, politicians often argue in favor of compromise between partisan proposals on policy. FEEDBACK: What Do Elections Accomplish?. The median voter theorem argues that if voters are arrayed along a line ideologically, the candidates' policy positions will become more moderate as they converge on the median voter. "In general elections, politicians often argue in favor of compromise between partisan proposals on policy" fits with this theory because trying to argue in favor of compromise is likely to appeal to moderate voters in a general election. The other options, by contrast, would support the arguments laid out by divergence theory.
When thinking about campaigns in other countries, which of the following statements is true?
It is common for other countries to limit the campaign period to several months before the election. FEEDBACK: In Comparison: Elections. Countries often do constrain campaigning to a narrow time period. Consequently, the U.S. presidential campaign cycle is one of the longest in the world, making "The presidential campaign cycle in the United States is relatively short compared to the campaign cycle of other nations' elections" false. Several countries also ban campaigning in the last few days before the election, making "No country with free and fair elections bans campaign commercials in the last few days before votes are cast" false. All of this, plus restrictions against character-based campaign commercials in nations like South Korea, imply that "Democracies value free speech, so campaigning is unrestricted in countries with free and fair elections" is also false.
Which of the following is NOT true about the Australian ballot?
It was designed to strengthen the major political parties FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. The Australian ballot is a secret ballot that lists the names of all candidates, not just one party's candidates, running for office. It became widely used during the Progressive Era and cut down on voting coercion. It became easier for voters to split a ticket using this ballot, reducing party strength.
Which of the following is true about initiatives and referendums in the United States?
Some states allow referendums, some states allow initiatives, some states allow both, and some states allow neither. FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. States differ on what kinds of direct democracy they allow. Some states hold referendums, some hold only initiatives, some allow for both, and some do not permit either. The national government does not hold referendums or initiatives.
Supreme Court decisions in Citizens United (2010) and other cases since the 1970s have said what about political spending and free speech?
Spending by corporations constitutes free speech and thus cannot be regulated. FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. Beginning in the 1970s and in Citizens United (2010), the Supreme Court sided strongly with the view that political speech, including spending money to broadcast that speech, deserves protection from government regulation. Spending by corporations constitutes free speech, but donating to political candidates and political parties is not considered speech and is still regulated.
Plurality rule is a method for determining an election's winner, in which
The candidate who receives the most votes wins, regardless of whether he or she wins a majority. FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. "The candidate who receives the most votes wins, regardless of whether he or she wins a majority" defines plurality rule. Most (but not all) elections in the United States take place in single-member districts, where the winner is determined by plurality rule. This means that sometimes a candidate will win an election with less than 50 percent of the vote because the election is close and there are also third-party candidates. The other options refer to voting methods often used in other countries: "parties are allocated seats in the legislature in proportion to the share of votes they received" describes proportional representation, "the two candidates with the most votes face each other in a second election unless someone wins a majority of votes in the first election" describes a majority runoff, and "voters may rank-order candidates based on their preferences, and votes are automatically reallocated as last-place candidates are eliminated one by one" describes a transferable vote.
Candidates often express regret after they air negative campaign ads. Further, in an election with two candidates, both generally would be happier if neither had run negative ads as opposed to both running them. Why, then, do strategic candidates air negative ads?
The incentives favor running negative commercials regardless of what the other candidate does because if only one candidate runs negative ads, that candidate will have an electoral advantage. FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. In a two-candidate election, candidates face a prisoner's dilemma in deciding whether to air negative ads. If you were seeking office and your opponent did not run negative ads against you, then you could probably win by running negative ads against the opponent. On the other hand, if your opponent did run negative ads, then you will probably lose if you do not run any such ads yourself. Thus, strategic candidates will fall into the equilibrium of both candidates airing negative ads, even though they would be better off if neither had run negative ads.
Those who argue that elections serve to keep competent and noncorrupt leaders in office believe that they do this through selection and accountability. Which of the following is an example of accountability serving this purpose?
a politician choosing not to accept a bribe for fear of losing reelection if the public found out FEEDBACK: What Do Elections Accomplish?. Accountability refers to public pressure preventing politicians from engaging in corrupt activity for fear of losing their job. To refuse a bribe for fear of electoral repercussions fits this description exactly. The cases described in the other options are all examples of selection, which refers to electing noncorrupt politicians and actually voting out those who are corrupt.
Each state has two senators but elects each senator separately. What kind of district is a senator elected in?
a single-member district FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. Despite the fact that there are two senators representing the same group of voters, a senator is elected in a single-member district. The fact that a district (a state, in this case) holds an election that only one person can win is the critical factor in determining what kind of electoral district is holding an election.
An election in which citizens vote directly on a ballot proposition that was proposed by a group of individuals is called
an initiative. FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. This is the definition of an initiative. A referendum and an initiative each involve the public voting directly on policy. The key distinction is that in a referendum, the state legislature crafts the policy for the public to consider, while in an initiative, ordinary citizens place a measure on the ballot by obtaining enough signatures in support of the measure.
In Connecticut, a voter may only vote in the Democratic primary if registered as a Democrat. Similarly, only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary. What kind of primaries does Connecticut conduct?
closed primaries FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. Closed primaries are primary elections in which only voters registered with the party can vote. Because registered Democrats and Republicans are the only people eligible to vote in the respective primaries, Connecticut conducts closed primaries. Open primaries, by contrast, allow any registered voter to participate, regardless of party affiliation.
Emily's List is an organization that raises money to donate to election campaigns of pro-choice candidates. What kind of organization is Emily's List?
political action committee (PAC) FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. A political action committee (PAC) is an organization regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that raises money from donors to support the election campaigns of federal political candidates. PACs are different from 527s because the donations PACs make to campaigns are considered hard money (which is regulated by the FEC), while 527s spend soft money to make their own commercials. Hence, Emily's List is a PAC because it actually donates money to campaigns.
In May 2014, David Perdue finished first among seven candidates in the Georgia Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat with about 30 percent of the vote. Jack Kingston finished second, receiving about 26 percent of the vote. However, since no candidate received a majority, Perdue and Kingston faced off against one another in a July election and Perdue won the election with just under 51 percent of the vote. What type of election is this?
runoff election FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. This is an example of a runoff election. Some states, particularly in the South and West, hold runoff elections. If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election is held between the top two candidates.
The Constitution mandates that elections are regulated and operated by the
states FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. Each of these institutions does have some control over elections. For example, Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission enforce these laws. However, Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution declares that the states shall determine the times, places, and manner of holding elections. Therefore, the primary responsibility is left with the states.
In 1978, a study by George Rabinowitz showed that moderate voters gave better evaluations to extreme candidates on their own side of the ideological spectrum than to moderate candidates on the other side. Which model of voter decision making does this finding offer evidence of?
the directional model FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. The directional model of voting proposes that voters are more interested in which direction parties will shift policy. Since this study shows that voters are happier with candidates on their own side than with candidates who are ideologically similar but on the other side, it offers evidence of the directional model. As a contrast, the spatial model would have predicted the opposite finding in this case, with moderate voters preferring moderate candidates, even if those candidates are on the other side.
Laurie considers herself an Independent. When deciding which candidate to vote for in 2016, Laurie considers her own issue positions and the issue positions of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. After careful evaluation, she determines that ideologically and on the issues she is closer to Trump than Clinton and so she decides to vote for Trump. Which model of voting is Laurie operating under?
the spatial model FEEDBACK: American Electoral Campaigns. This is a description of the spatial model because Laurie considers issues or ideology to be the most important factor in deciding her vote, and she voted for the candidate closest to her positions in ideological space. The directional model also focuses on ideology, but it places more emphasis on the direction in which the parties will shift policy. The partisan model contends that partisanship is the most important factor in voter decision making, and the retrospective voting model contends that voters rely on politicians' past performance.
Which institution is responsible for redrawing congressional district lines?
the states FEEDBACK: American Electoral Institutions. While each congressional district must be of roughly equal population size, the states are given the power to draw the congressional lines, though there is some federal supervision.
