Chapter 9 - MindTap Quiz & Concept Review

Why does the New Hampshire presidential primary gather the lion's share of political and media attention?

"The New Hampshire primary, typically held a week later, tested the Iowa front-runners' appeal to ordinary party voters, which foreshadowed their likely strength in the general election." "Because voting takes little effort, more citizens are likely to vote in primaries [New Hampshire] than to attend caucuses [Iowa], which can last for hours."

By National law, ________of the seats in the House of Representatives and ________ of the seats in the Senate are filled in a general election held every even-numbered year.

- All (435) - 1/3

How many votes does each state have in the electoral college?

- The House votes by state, with each state casting one vote. - Electoral votes are apportioned among the states according to their representation in Congress, which depends largely on their population. (Because of population changes recorded by the 2020 census, the distribution of electoral votes among the states will change between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.)

According to the text, why do American presidential elections seem to last so long?

- They are consistently held every four years. - From the day a party loses to another party, campaigns and recruiting begin "Would-be presidents announce their candidacy and begin campaigning many months before the first convention delegates are selected. Soon after one election ends, prospective candidates quietly begin lining up political and financial support for their likely race nearly four years later. This early, silent campaign has been dubbed the invisible primary."

What are the responsibilities of the Federal Election Commission (FEC)?

- enforcing limits on financial contributions to national campaigns - requiring full disclosure of campaign spending - administering the public financing of presidential campaigns (ensure election laws are not being violated)

How many votes are needed to win the electoral college?

270

First-Past-The-Post Elections:

A British term for elections conducted in single-member districts that award victory to the candidate with the most votes.

Federal Election Commission (FEC):

A bipartisan federal agency of six members that oversees the financing of national election campaigns.

Caucus/Convention:

A method used to select delegates to attend a party's national convention. Generally, a local meeting selects delegates for a county-level meeting, which in turn selects delegates for a higher-level meeting; the process culminates in a state convention that actually selects the national convention delegates.

General Election:

A national election held by law in November of every even numbered year.

Primary Election:

A preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for public office in a subsequent election.

What was a noteworthy behavior exhibited by political parties prior to 2020?

A record of adhering to the peaceful transfer of power.

Presidential Primary:

A special primary election used to select delegates to attend the party's national convention, which in turn nominates the presidential candidate.

Open Election:

An election that lacks an incumbent.

Political Action Committees (PACs):

An organization that collects campaign contributions from group members and donates them to candidates for political office.

Election Campaign:

An organized effort to persuade voters to choose one candidate over others competing for the same office.

Which piece of legislation that took effect in 2004 raised campaign spending limits for individuals?

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

What is considered to be the most important recent change in the American election process?

Candidates don't campaign just to get elected anymore, but to get nominated as well.

During a commercial break, you see a campaign advertisement in which a candidate's policies are lauded and the opposing candidate is disparaged. Which type of advertisement did you watch?

Contrast advertisement

Some scholars believe that stronger parties would not only strengthen democratic government, but also coordinate policies after the election. Which of the following choices acts as a barrier to this possibility?

Divided government

What is an organized effort to persuade voters to choose one candidate over others competing for the same office called?

Election campaign

What is the first objective of campaign advertising?

Ensure a candidate has a high level of name recognition among voters

What is the technical term for the type of election in which the U.S. president is elected?

Federal

Campaign finance laws are challenged as a violation of the Amendment.

First Amendment (some people view money as "free speech")

A state-level official is in favor of holding the state's delegate selection primaries as early in the calendar year as possible. The official thinks that this will cause the media and candidates to focus their efforts within the official's state. Which political practice is the state-level official suggesting?

Frontloading

Why was the nomination of Hubert Humphrey at the 1968 Democratic convention said to be rigged?

Humphrey had never run in a primary.

Beginning with the 2010 election, what supreme court case allows corporations to run ads directly advocating a candidate's election?

In January 2010, a bitterly divided Supreme Court departed from its precedents and ruled against BCRA's ban on spending by corporations in candidate elections. Conservatives viewed its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission as defending freedom of speech, while liberals saw it as opening the door to the corrupting influence of corporate money. Beginning with the 2010 election, corporations, unions, and trade associations were free to run ads directly advocating a candidate's election for the first time since 1907 when Congress first banned using general corporate funds in federal election campaigns. - Opened the door to advertisement and self money - hard money is direct money

What is the most important objective of paid advertising during the election season?

Increasing the candidate's name recognition

When a current president runs for reelection in a second term, which of the following terms explains why there is usually no opposition from within the current president's party?

Incumbency

Who enjoys the greatest advantages in most elections, but particularly in congressional elections?

Incumbents

Which of the following choices best characterizes the strategy Bernie Sanders used in his campaign against Wall Street and wealth inequality during the presidential nomination in 2020?

Issue-oriented

How has the relationship between partisan identification and issue positions changed in recent years?

It has become clearer and more consistent for people in both parties.

What is a strong argument that supports presidential selection by electoral votes, rather than by popular vote?

It reduces the risk of a nation-wide recount.

Two important issues during the 2016 presidential campaign were national security and immigration. What was the third important issue during the 2016 presidential campaign?

Jobs

A registered independent voter did not anticipate being able to vote in the primaries. However, the state party where the voter lives will determine whether or not the voter can participate in the primary election. In which type of primary is the voter going to cast their ballot?

Modified closed primary

How much of the electorate decides how to vote before the party conventions end in the summer?

More than half

According to the text the authors assert that the majority of voters are ideologically more than the voting records of members of Congress would indicate.

Most of us tend to be moderates when it comes to issues

What function does the Iowa caucus traditionally serve during a presidential election?

Narrows the field of candidates

A registered voter declares a party affiliation on the day of the election. In which type of primary is the voter going to cast their ballot?

Open primary

Which type of primary has the least restrictions on voters, but also weakens the power of parties?

Open primary

What percentage of the Incumbents in the House of Representatives historically have won elections?

Over 90%

What is the primary purpose of the Federal Election Commission?

Oversee financing of national election campaigns

What is by far the most important long-term force affecting U.S. elections, particularly for those who make early voting decisions?

Party identification

Closed Primaries:

Primary elections in which voters must declare a party affiliation before being given the primary ballot containing that party's potential nominees.

Open Primaries:

Primary elections in which voters need not declare a party affiliation and can choose one party's primary ballot to take into the voting booth.

Modified Closed Primaries:

Primary elections that allow individual state parties to decide whether they permit independents to vote in their primaries and, if so, for which offices.

Modified Open Primaries:

Primary elections that entitle independent voters to vote in a party's primary.

What did analysis of Super PAC ads during the 2012 Republican nomination show?

Raise money/funds and use it on campaigns - political committees (Spending has increased)

Why has the Supreme Court struck down most of the Congressionally-mandated limits on campaign contributions?

Spending money on political campaigns is a form of speech "Then in the 2014 case McCutcheon et al. v. FEC, the Court struck down all limits on contributions to candidates, parties, and political committees. Although the Court kept the limits on contributions to individual candidates, it freed rich individuals to give to the maximum for as many candidates, parties, and political groups as they wished to support. Technically, there still were limits to campaign contributions, but they had little effect on wealthy donors."

During the last presidential election, a voter self-described as independent voted for officials from each of the political parties represented on the ballot. What term best describes this voting behavior?

Split-ticket voting

Front-Loading:

States' practice of moving delegate selection primaries and caucuses earlier in the calendar year to gain media and candidate attention.

What are states where races are closely contested known as?

Swing states

Which entity conducted all phases of the election campaign prior to the 1950s?

The political parties

Which of the following choices is a part of the polling package through which nightly interviews are conducted with constituents?

Tracking poll

Straight Ticket:

Voting for a single party's candidates for all the offices.

Split Ticket:

Voting for candidates from different parties for different offices.

Unlike Democratic presidential primaries, most Republican primaries prior to 2012 followed which principle?

Winner-take-all