POLS 207 Exam 2 Political Parties Chapter 5

Republican party activists tend to be more ______ than the general public, and Democratic party activists tend to be more ________ than the general public. A. liberal, conservative B. conservative, liberal C. active, passive D. passive, active

B

State committees have remained very influential in the electoral process by acting as A. national policymakers. B. service providers to candidates. C. interest groups. D. the ultimate authority over the nomination process.

B

The amount of money spent in campaigns per state A. is the same across the country. B. varies depending on a state‟s economy and demographics. C. is very low across the states. D. is financed by a few major corporations.

B

The power structure of American political parties is A. centralized. B. decentralized. C. horizontal. D. nonexistent.

B

The primary objective of a professional media campaign is to highlight a candidate‟s A. polling results. B. personal image. C. list of financial supporters. D. issue positions.

B

_________ campaigning focuses on direct contact with potential voters, while ________campaigning focuses on advertising. A. Media, grassroots B. Grassroots, media C. Polling, grassroots D. Grassroots, polling

B

Because of the belief that money has a corrupting influence on the electoral process, campaign finance laws attempt to A. prohibit public funding of campaign expenses. B. prohibit financial disclosure. C. define limits on the size of campaign contributions. D. disband regulatory agencies that oversee campaign practices.

C

Negative campaigning seems to be the most successful when A. the attacks are presented through a paid advertisement rather than a journalistic story. B. the candidate is the focus of the attack. C. the attack focuses on the issues rather than the candidate. D. none of the above.

C

Party activists often become candidates themselves for all the following reasons EXCEPT A. an ability to access voter registration lists. B. an expertise in campaigning. C. limited access to key campaign contributors. D. volunteering with an expectation of running for future office.

C

Professional media campaigns are predominately used in statewide races to A. conduct a grassroots campaign for office. B. meet as many voters in person as possible. C. contact more potential voters through television, radio, and newspaper advertising. D. spend less campaign funds on television, radio, and newspaper advertising.

C

Situations where a voter casts his or her vote for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another is called A. closed primary voting. B. combination-party voting. C. split-ticket voting. D. bimodal vote division.

C

States where one political party controls one or both houses of the legislature and the other political party controls the governorship have a A. static party government. B. unified party government. C. divided party government. D. dynamic party government.

C

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (also known as McCain-Feingold) A. prohibits state party organizations from accepting any soft money contributions. B. prohibits local party organizations from accepting any soft money contributions. C. prohibits national party organizations from accepting any soft money contributions. D. prohibits national, state, and local party organizations from accepting any soft money contributions.

C

The increased influence of the media and single-issue interest groups in the electoral process has contributed to A. less candidate control over campaigns. B. a decrease in candidate-centered elections. C. a rise in candidate-centered elections. D. a greater focus on the political parties rather than candidates.

C

The qualifications for membership in a party and the right to vote in the party's primary election are set by A. the U.S. Constitution. B. congressional law. C. state law. D. party leaders.

C

Those involved in a party‟s organization include all of the following EXCEPT A. state and county party officials. B. party activists. C. apathetic voters. D. convention delegates.

C

According to the responsible party model, responsible parties perform which of the following actions? A. Educate people about issues and simplify their choices B. Recruit candidates for public office C. Hold their elected officials accountable to deliver on their campaign promises D. All of the above

D

Campaign spending is generally more influential in the outcome of a race when A. money is spent in the general election versus a contested primary election. B. candidates raise and spend about equal amounts of money. C. funding comes in late in the electoral cycle. D. spending occurs in larger, more populous areas.

D

In some states, a plurality winner of the party's primary automatically triggers a second election called a A. blanket primary. B. plurality primary. C. crossover election. D. runoff primary.

D

Legislative gridlock often occurs in states with divided government when the proposed legislation is A. popular with the public. B. popular with both the legislative and executive branches. C. fairly noncontroversial. D. highly controversial.

D

Polling can determine which of the following? A. A candidate‟s name recognition in the state or community B. What messages and themes will resonate with voters C. Track how well a candidate is faring among the electorate D. All of the above

D

State party affairs are governed largely by the A. elected executive officials of the state. B. decisions of state's executive party members. C. U.S. constitution. D. laws of the states.

D

State party chairpersons are likely to have previous experience in A. elective office. B. business. C. the legal profession. D. all of the above.

D

States play an important role in the selection process of a party‟s presidential nominee through A. primary elections. B. caucuses. C. frontloading their primary. D. all of the above.

D

The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that _________ primaries were unconstitutional. A. closed B. open C. runoff D. blanket

D

The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional right to use one‟s own personal funds in that individual‟s campaign with the decision A. Baker v. Carr. B. Plyler v. Doe. C. Roe v. Wade. D. Buckley v. Valeo.

D

The important function(s) political parties provide in American politics include which of the following? A. Organization of elections and narrowing of political choices B. Serving as voting cues, aiding voter choice C. Organization of state legislatures D. All of the above

D

Primary elections that only allow a party‟s registered voters access to the ballot are considered A. open. B. closed. C. blanket. D. crossovers.

B

Party control over governorships and state legislatures has A. remained constant over time. B. fluctuated over time. C. given a solid advantage to one party over another. D. given Democrats control in all states.

B

Party identification has been declining because A. more people are self-identifying with one political party or another. B. more people are not self-identifying with either political party. C. voter loyalty to political parties is at the highest numbers recorded. D. the number of self-described Independents has been decreasing over time.

B

Get-out-the-vote efforts with mostly volunteer workers are usually coordinated through A. national party organizations. B. local party organizations. C. state legislatures. D. state committees.

B

Party competition is most likely to produce policy differences when there exists a/n A. unimodal distribution of opinion. B. bimodal distribution of opinion. C. majority of moderate voters in each party. D. universal opinion on a set of policy preferences.

B

"Raiding" is a major concern in what type of primaries? A. Open B. Closed C. Runoff D. Convention

A

An increasingly important source of campaign financing at the state level most directly comes from A. political action committees. B. state party organizations. C. national campaign finance funds. D. "fat cats" in the corporate community.

A

Modern professional media campaigns involve all of the following techniques EXCEPT A. on-the-job training opportunities. B. newspaper advertisements. C. public opinion polling. D. staging media events.

A

One result of the Supreme Court‟s affirmation that "issue ads" constitute free speech has resulted in A. the ability of nonprofit "527" organizations to air television ads until Election Day. B. the inability of nonprofit "527" organizations to air television ads until Election Day. C. the ability of "express advocacy" groups to air television ads until Election Day. D. the inability of a candidate‟s campaign to air television ads until Election Day.

A

Supporters often characterize political parties as A. essential to democracy. B. useless to democracy. C. irrelevant to democracy. D. waning in relevancy.

A

The fundamental flaws with the responsible party model consist of all of the following EXCEPT A. parties eliminate the elite classes from their campaign efforts. B. the parties do not always offer the voters clear policy alternatives. C. voter decisions are not motivated primarily by policy considerations. D. American political parties have no way to bind their elected officials to party positions.

A

The level of party competition in a state may be measured by all of the following variables EXCEPT A. media favoritism. B. divided control of government. C. the winning candidate‟s margin of victory. D. a party‟s number of registered voters.

A

The primary responsibility of national committees in both political parties is to A. hold national conventions to formally select the party's presidential candidate. B. hold national conventions to formally select a party‟s gubernatorial candidate. C. organize a grassroots campaign at the local level. D. conduct fundraising events for all of the party's state and local candidates.

A

Voters often choose to register with the dominant party in their state for all of the following reasons EXCEPT A. the dominant party is the most uninspiring. B. the primary winner is more likely to win the general election. C. social pressures to identify with the dominant party. D. people seeking political favors wish to be identified publicly with the dominant party

A

What political development "democratized" the nomination process and reduced the power of party bosses? A. Primaries B. Registrations C. Endorsements D. Conventions

A