GOVT 2306 - Exam 2

Texas ranks ________ in the nation in voter participation.

50th

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) provides what kind of assistance to conservative state legislators across the country?

ALEC writes legislation and helps get the legislation passed.

________ is a system of representation that encourages third-party voting because it allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote.

Proportional representation

In Texas today, rural areas have become more ______________, while urban areas have become more ___________.

Republican; Democratic

What event marked a significant change in how Texans began to vote not only in presidential elections but also in state elections?

Ronald Reagan was elected as President.

The ________ movement was a movement during the 1950s in which conservative Democrats in Texas supported Republican candidate Dwight Eisenhower for the presidency.

Shivercrat

Which of the following laws was written specifically to deal with expanding and protecting voting rights?

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Which statement correctly describes the requirements for membership in a major political party in Texas?

With no requirements, a registered voter simply chooses which party primary to vote in.

Which of the following is the largest expense for most campaigns?

advertising

The motor voter law

allows citizens to register to vote while applying for a driver's license.

A closed primary allows only those individuals who________ to participate.

are a registered member of their political party

In order to vote in Texas, you must meet which of the following requirements?

be a resident of Texas, a U.S. citizen, and at least 18 years of age

In Texas, the ____________________ is responsible for redistricting.

legislature

If you have a job in a "government relations" department, you are a _____________ working for a ______________.

lobbyist; corporation or company

Which of the following are employed to express the values of interest groups?

lobbyists

African Americans have been elected

mayor of the three largest cities in Texas.

Which of the following tends to lower voter turnout?

most elections are for low-visibility offices

What type of primary allows a voter to choose on Election Day which party they will vote for?

open primary

The fundamental principles and positions supported by a political party are explained in the

party platform

A private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns is called a(n)

political action committee.

The process of ________ is what introduces individuals to the political culture and helps people develop their own political beliefs and values.

political socialization

A ________ was a state-imposed tax on voters as a prerequisite for voting.

poll tax

In Texas, special elections are used to

ratify amendments to the Texas Constitution.

The process of ________ involves recalculating how many congressional districts each state will receive based on the state's population.

reapportionment

The situation in which individuals receive the benefits of collective action without contributing is known as

the "free rider problem."

Which movement has had the largest impact on state legislative races in recent years?

the Tea Party movement

What resource(s) are interest groups able to use to influence politics?

the ability to raise money

Parties use social media for which of the following?

voter mobilization

The county chair is selected by the _________________, while the _______________ selects the state chair and vice chair.

voters in the party primary; state party convention

What is the most basic and fundamental duty citizens have in a democracy?

voting

Texas has ________ laws dealing with lobbying by former government officials.

weak

Between 2008 and 2018, countywide elections in Harris County

were swept by Democrats.

The Latino movement known as La Raza Unida occurred during the

1960s.

Based on a 2017 Gallup poll, ____________ of Texans identified as being Republican or leaning Republican, while _______________ of Texans identified as being Democratic or leaning Democratic.

41 percent; 38 percent

Suppose you wanted to create a method of redistricting that would make races for the Texas legislature more competitive. Which plan would you recommend be enacted to do so?

Give the redistricting process to a non-partisan commission.

Why are statewide officials such as the governor and lieutenant governor elected in nonpresidential years?

It prevents presidential candidates from influencing the outcome of Texas races.

No Democrat has won Texas in a presidential race since ________.

Jimmy Carter

The fastest-growing demographic group in Texas is ________, the majority of whom vote ________.

Latino; Democratic

Which of the following is a consequence of Texas having a part-time legislature?

Legislators have small staffs, and therefore rely on lobbyists to explain the details of a bill, such as how it may benefit their districts.

By about the 1940s, a split between liberals and conservatives developed in the Democratic Party that focused on

New Deal economic policies and civil rights measures.

Which scenario would make a runoff primary most likely to occur?

Six candidates are all running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Candidates for state office and lobbyists have to file quarterly reports detailing their spending and donations with which agency?

Texas Ethics Commission

Which of the following was the largest PAC in Texas in the 2018 election cycle?

The Texas Association of Realtors

Battleground Texas is a get-out-the-vote (GOTV) effort undertaken by which group?

The Texas Democratic Party

Which of the following is most likely to happen when a public interest group mobilizes its members to support a piece of legislation?

The interest group would have its members write or call legislators urging them to vote for the legislation

Why doesn't the voice of consumers get heard as clearly by Texas legislators through the lobbying process?

There are no dedicated interest groups that focus on consumers among the biggest spending groups.

Why are Texas Republicans considered to be in a divided moment?

because there is tension between pro-business Republicans, who have traditionally dominated Texas politics, and the Tea Party movement that is becoming more influential within Texas politics and government

The practice of combining several individual campaign contributions into one larger contribution from a group in order to increase the group's impact is known as

bundling.

Most interest groups tend to give campaign contributions to ______________________.

incumbents

By forming a political action committee (PAC), the interest group can show a candidate that

its members care deeply about an issue and will donate money to support the group's positions.

Interest groups are best seen as

organizations established to influence the government's programs and policies.

Members of the Texas Republican Party have become more conservative and members of the Texas Democratic Party have become more liberal. This evolution best defines

partisan polarization.

The _______________ requirement was included in the Voting Rights Act to ensure that states that had previously restricted the political participation of minorities could not use redistricting for partisan gain and against the interest of minority groups.

preclearance

When people vote in a primary election, they are

selecting a party's candidate for the general election

What kind of electoral districts are used in Texas?

single-member districts

EMILY's List is a national PAC that is funded by women and focuses on raising money for women candidates at which part of the campaign cycle?

the early part of the campaign cycle

In a "first past the post" electoral system, the winner of the election is

whoever gets the plurality of the votes.

When do Texans vote in general elections to elect members of Congress?

Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.

The poll tax was made illegal in federal elections with the passage of the

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

During the 2017 legislative session, lobbyists representing ____________________ were influential in shaping legislation that repealed local ordinances.

Uber and Lyft

Texas used a system of early registration until 1971 that required which of the following:

Voters had to register to vote more than nine months before the general election and were required register to vote every year.

Why do interest groups offer people things like t-shirts or magazine subscriptions in return for joining the organization?

Benefits or incentives are necessary to overcome the free-rider problem.

In 2011, the Texas legislature passed a voter identification law that requires a photo identification in order to vote. Which form of photo identification is acceptable?

Department of Public Safety-issued personal ID card

Why would it be beneficial for an interest group to open an office in Austin?

They can develop long-term relationships with lawmakers and continually present the views of the organization.

What was the problem Speaker Sam Rayburn identified with the "steak men" at the beginning of the twentieth century?

They were legislators who would "sell" their votes on a bill for free steak dinners.

Interest groups use judicial strategies in order to

challenge existing policies and laws within the court system.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is best described as what kind of interest group?

civil rights

Which of the following groups have had notable political success by litigating in federal courts?

civil rights groups

One major way for interest groups to promote the political interests of elected officials who support their viewpoints and oppose the interests of those who do not is by

contributing to campaigns.

The ________ convention is a meeting held by a political party following its precinct convention for the purpose of electing delegates to its state convention.

county

The main role of the precinct conventions is to select delegates to the ________ and possibly to submit resolutions that may eventually become part of the party platform.

county convention

When deciding how to vote, people will use mental shortcuts. Political scientists call these shortcuts

cues.

The _________________ begins with primary elections and concludes with general elections.

electoral cycle

How often do political parties in Texas hold their state conventions?

every two years

By focusing on influencing the Republican primary elections, the Tea Party movement in Texas is trying to

get Tea Party-supported candidates on the ballot, but under the Republican party label.