Chapter 9: Elections
Which of the following are examples of split tickets?
Correct Ans: - Karl votes for a Republican for president and a Democrat for the U.S. Senate. - Destiny votes for a Democrat for the state Senate and a Republican for the U.S. Senate. Incorrect Ans: - Henrietta votes for a Republican for president but does not vote for any other offices. - Lewis votes for a Democrat for president and a Democrat for the U.S. Senate.
Which of the following statements about the 2018 midterm elections are correct?
Correct Ans: - Many voters weighed their approval or disapproval of President Trump in deciding how to vote in 2018. - The Democrats had an advantage in enthusiasm among their supporters. - An unusually large number of Republican incumbents retired rather than run for reelection. Incorrect Ans: - The Democrats won back control of both houses of Congress in 2018.
Which of the following statements are supported by the figure? Based on given image
Correct Ans: - The Electoral College tends to magnify the winning candidate's margin of victory. - The winner of the popular vote sometimes loses the electoral vote. Incorrect Ans: - Control of Congress is determined by the Electoral College. - Winning candidates rarely receive a majority of electoral votes.
Which of the following statements are correct regarding campaign contributions?
Correct Ans: - The majority of campaign contributions are offered to politicians the contributor already supports. - Campaign contributors get better access to legislators than do noncontributors. Incorrect Ans: - There is ample evidence that contributions alter legislator behavior. - Most contributions go to politicians the contributor disagrees with and wants to win over.
Review the table, and then identify the correct and incorrect statements.
Correct Ans: - Trump ran a higher percentage of positive ads than did Biden. Incorrect Ans: - Republican groups and the Republican candidate outspent Democratic groups and the Democratic candidate. - Political parties ran more ads than the candidates themselves.
Which of the following statements regarding voter ID laws are correct?
Correct Ans: - Voter ID laws have minimal influence on preventing fraud. - Voter ID laws tend to turn away voters who disproportionately vote Democratic. Incorrect Ans: - Voter ID laws tend to turn away voters who disproportionately vote Republican. - Voter ID laws tend to turn away equal numbers of voters from each party. - Voter ID laws significantly reduce voter fraud.
When a voter votes retrospectively, what is that voter basing his or her vote on?
Correct Ans: - how the incumbent performed on issues the voter cares about Incorrect Ans: - how the voter thinks the incumbent will do in the next administration - whether the voter agrees with the candidate on the issues - whether the voter prefers one candidate's religious views over another's
Which of the following functions do elections serve?
Correct Ans: - influencing policy - selecting representatives - holding incumbents accountable Incorrect Ans: - creating the federal budget
Watch the animation, and then choose which components go into determining a state's number of electoral votes.
Correct Ans: - one vote for each member of the House of Representatives - one vote for each member of the Senate Incorrect Answer(s) - two votes for each member of the House of Representatives - one vote for each governor
Candidates are most likely to focus their mobilization efforts on which group?
Correct Ans: - their own supporters Incorrect Ans: - their opponent's supporters - people who are unaware of the election - people who are undecided about who they support
Which of the following are examples of voting based on cues?
Correct Ans: - voting for Smith because she is a Republican - voting against Williams because he is the incumbent Incorrect Ans: - voting against Simmons because she is too conservative - voting for Jones because you agree with her platform
Money that is used to help elect or defeat a specific candidate is known as __________ money.
- hard
How many years is an election cycle in America?
2
In order to win in a majority election, a candidate must receive over _______ percent of the vote.
50
What is the paradox of voting?
Citizens turn out to vote even though they are extremely unlikely to change the election outcome
Match each term to its definition.
Closed Primary - Only registered members of a particular political party can vote. Semi-closed primary - Anyone who is a registered member of the party or registered as an Independent can vote. Open Primary - Any registered voter can participate in the contest, regardless of party affiliation.
Which of the following statements about GOTV (or "the ground game") are true?
Correct Ans: - GOTV is related to mobilization of voters. - GOTV efforts can involve phone banks, social media, or door-to-door canvassing. Incorrect Ans: - GOTV efforts are usually featured in campaign advertisements. - Republicans are more likely to use GOTV than are Democrats.
The fundamentals in a campaign include things such as the quality of a candidate's background and how he or she does on the campaign trail.
False
In wave elections, one party's House reelection rate is significantly higher than the other party's.
True
Most states assign all of the Electoral College votes to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state.
True
Turnout in the 2020 election was the highest it has been in many decades.
True
Which form of electoral system is most common in the United States?
plurality system
Of the many steps to becoming president, which of the following events happens first?
primary elections and caucuses
Place these states in order from most electoral votes to fewest. Based on given image
- California - Texas - Florida - Pennsylvania
The _____ is the agency responsible for administering election law and campaign finance regulations.
- FEC
The winner of the electoral vote always matches the winner of the popular vote.
- False
In 2018, Democrats picked up many more seats in the _______. At the same time, they did not win enough seats to take control of the _______.
- House of Representatives. - Senate
Why do Iowa and New Hampshire play a disproportionate role in picking presidential candidates?
- They are the first to cast votes in the primaries and caucuses
How do campaign ads influence voter behavior?
Correct Ans: - Campaign ads tend to increase voter knowledge of candidates. - Voters exposed to campaign ads learn about real differences between the parties. Incorrect Ans: - Voters exposed to campaign ads lose interest in the campaign. - Campaign ads make voters more likely to vote for third-party candidates.
How does fund-raising help incumbents?
Correct Ans: - Fund-raising helps run aggressive campaigns. - Fund-raising deters challengers. Incorrect Ans: - Fund-raising helps keep constituents happy.
Which of the following statements about the 2020 presidential election are true?
Correct Ans: - The COVID-19 pandemic shaped both the candidates' campaigning strategies and how voters cast their ballots. - Joe Biden was able to win in several states, such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, that Donald Trump had won in 2016. - Joe Biden is the oldest candidate to win a presidential election in the United States. Incorrect Ans: - President Trump did better among those voters who listed the coronavirus pandemic as their most important issue.
Which of the following characteristics are true of soft money?
Correct Ans: - can be used to promote a specific policy proposal - can be used for voter mobilization Incorrect Ans: - can be used to support a particular candidate - can be used to coordinate with a candidate's campaign
Which statement is best supported by the figure below?
Even though Congress may be unpopular, members are still reelected at extremely high rates
Why do candidates from opposition parties pay special attention to open-seat elections?
Opposition party candidates have a greater chance of winning the election than usual
Which statement best describes the Democratic nomination process in 2020?
There were many candidates, but after Super Tuesday, Biden became the clear favorite
Why have most major-party candidates declined federal funding for their presidential campaigns recently?
They were able to raise and spend far more money on their own
Exit polls revealed that most voters' decisions in 2018 came down to their partisan identification and their views on President Trump.
True
Match each demographic group to its propensity for turning out to vote relative to the average American.
more likely to vote - older people - Whites less likely to vote - younger people - Latinos
If Joe Smith, a registered Republican voter, is allowed to vote in the Democratic primary, he must live in a state that uses which type of primary system?
open primary
Which candidates are most likely to run attack ads?
those who are behind in the polls
Place the following presidential election events in the order in which they occur during an election year.
- New Hampshire primary - Democratic National Convention - general election - Electoral College meets
Primary elections reward _____ positions on issues. General elections reward _______ positions on issues.
- extreme - moderate
A _______ system, which requires a person to get more than 50 percent of the votes cast in the election to win, are usually paired with _________ to ensure there is a single winner.
- majority voting - runoff elections
Complete the following statement regarding cues, political information, and voting. Citizens who use cues and are politically well-informed are ____ likely to cast a reasonable vote than citizens who use cues but are otherwise politically uninformed.
- more
Rank the following elections, from highest turnout to lowest turnout.
- presidential election - midterm election - primary election - caucus
Winners of ________ elections go on to face each other in the ______ election.
- primary - general
All Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses use ________, whereas Republican contests have some states that use a system of ______ instead.
- proportional allocation - winner-take-all
Tycho decides to vote for a Democrat for governor and a Republican for senator. This is an example of ______.
- split-ticket voting
Runoff elections are most often found in plurality voting systems.
False
Study the graph, and then answer the following question. According to exit poll data from CNN shown in the graph, which groups tended to support which party in the 2020 election?
Favored Republicans men affluent Whites Favored Democrats women Blacks Latinos less affluent
Which statement best summarizes the results of the 2020 election?
The Democrats won the White House but performed less well than they had hoped in congressional races
Hard money has more limits on how it can be raised than soft money.
True
The portion of the electorate who are well-informed about both their own policy preferences and the policy views of the candidates are called issue voters.
True
When you cast your vote for a presidential candidate, you are actually voting for the slate of potential electors who support that candidate.
True
Franklin Roosevelt was very popular during much of his time as president, and other Democrats running for lower offices were able to ride his popularity to positions they might not otherwise have won. This is an example of which of the following?
coattails
Which term describes a candidate who is running for reelection to a position in Congress that she already holds?
incumbent