unit 2 practice test (politics and elections)

The best predictor for how a citizen votes is

party identification

A voter's decision to support the incumbent president in an upcoming election is based on recent economic growth and record low unemployment. Which of the following models of voting behavior best characterizes this voter's decision?

retrospective

Which of the following is most important for getting an accurate measure of public opinion in a survey?

selecting a random sample

Which of the following statements about voting behavior in national elections is most accurate?

senior citizens are more likely to vote than are college students

The process by which an individual acquires his/her political orientations is known as political:

socialization

Based on the infographic, which of the following claims would an opponent of state voter-ID laws most likely make?

voter-ID laws are likely to decrease turnout among African American voters because they are less likely to have government-issued IDs.

The most widely performed act of political participation in the United States is

voting in presidential elections

Which of the following scenarios explains how demographic factors affect voter participation in elections?

wealthier individuals are more likely to become involved in campaigns because they believe that their actions may influence the candidates

Which question is asked if an individual is engaging in retrospective voting?

what have the candidates done while in office?

A citizen who uses the rational choice model of voting behavior selects candidates for office based on

what is thought to be in the citizen's own self-interest

The electoral college system generally allocates electoral votes on the basis of

winner-take-all

Senator Hoffman is campaigning for reelection in her state. Her campaign message emphasizes how the policies she has supported have benefited her constituents. She has spotlighted job creation and an overall improvement in the standard of living in the state in the past six years. Senator Hoffman is hoping to appeal to which of the following voting behavior models?

retrospective voting

Congressional district boundaries are usually redrawn every 10 years by the

state legislatures

Which of the following best explains why eligibility criteria vary by state as shown on the information graphic?

states can create criteria for voting rights so long as they do not violate the United States Constitution

The purpose of front loading is for

states to have greater influence in choosing the presidential nominees

Which of the following is TRUE about American elections over the past 50 years?

suffrage has broadened, and the turnout has decreased

Based on the results shown in table, which candidate won the election?

the Republican Party candidate

The electoral college system leads presidential candidates of both parties to

focus their campaigns on competitive swing states

Which of the following best accounts for the lack of success generally encountered by minor political parties in electing members to the House or Senate?

general elections in the United States are based on the winner-take-all principle

Establishing the boundaries of United States congressional districts to give one party an advantage over another party is referred to as

gerrymandering

A political science professor is researching the effects that the Fifteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments have had on the American political system. Which of the following is the most likely reason the professor is researching these amendments?

to study the expansion of voting rights

Which of the following best describes a trend in the line graph above?

voter turnout in midterm elections generally decreased between 1966 and 2014

Given the information in the graph, in which of the following states would an individual's vote likely have more influence?

wyoming

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of conservative and liberal views concerning social policy?

D

A major reason for America's level of voter turnout compared to other industrialized countries is

a more cumbersome registration process in the United States

Gender gap refers to

a pattern where women are more likely than men to vote Democratic.

Which of the following best describes an exit poll?

a poll that asks voters at randomly selected voting places whom they voted for so that election results can be predicted more quickly

Which of the following is NOT a trait of a liberal democracy?

achieving income equality

Which of the following scenarios is most related to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment?

an eighteen-year-old votes in a presidential election

When party members meet to nominate a candidate for office, they participate in which of the following?

caucus

Which type of primary election strengthens political parties?

closed

Voter turnout tends to be highest among

college-educated voters

Which of the following groups would be most likely to support a constitutional amendment banning all abortions?

conservatives

All of the following are traditional political values held by most Americans EXCEPT

equality of outcome

Party ideology in the United States is most successfully transmitted by which of the following?

family

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 was designed to

increase voter turnout

The data in the graph best illustrate which of the following common criticisms of the electoral college?

individuals in small-population states have a greater impact on the electoral college than individuals in large-population states.

Based on the data shown in the table, which of the following statements is true about the electoral college?

it can work against the principle of popular sovereignty (people rule) when a candidate wins without winning the most votes nationwide

Which of the following describes an effect of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment?

it eliminated poll taxes

The map shows the outline of a congressional district. Which of the following statements best explains the motivation behind the way in which it is drawn?

it has likely been drawn to pack together voters who are registered with the same party

Which of the following is a consequence of the way the district is drawn on the map?

it will likely lead to a less competitive general election, which could lead to increased partisanship

As compared to the general population, voters in presidential primaries and caucuses tend to be

more affluent and more activist

The greater one's sense of political efficacy, the

more likely one is to vote

The party's vice-presidential nominee is chosen

on the basis of the presidential nominee's recommendation

Which of the following is true based on the information graphic?

over 75% of the population is eligible to vote, but only about half the electorate actually voted in the 2016 presidential election.

Which of the following concepts refers to the beliefs about government and politics that people in the United States hold most deeply?

political culture

A person votes for Democratic candidates based on the belief that the policies of the Democratic Party will be personally beneficial. This type of voting matches which of the following voting behavior models?

prospective voting (will be rational voting on test)

The franking privilege refers to the

right of members of Congress to sent mail to their constituents at the government's expense

The development and persistence of the two-party system in the United States is best accounted for by

single-member legislative districts

If voters are acting according to the retrospective model of voting, which of the following will be the most important consideration in their decision?

the effect of recent economic conditions on the voters