Ch.14. testbank – Flashcards
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Elections perform all of the following functions EXCEPT
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decreasing political efficacy
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Citizens' feelings of effectiveness in political affairs is called
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political efficacy
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In recent presidential elections, voter turnout has been
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rising
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The primary impact of state voter registration laws has been to
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decrease turnout
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What method has increased voter registration?
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Motor Voter bills
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Those who are LESS likely to vote tend to be
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poor rather than wealthy
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A party's effort to inform potential voters and persuade them to vote for that party is known as
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voter mobilization
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The single biggest factor accounting for how people decide to vote is
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party identification
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_______ voting occurs when people use their judgment of the current political situation along with the past performance of the incumbents
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Retrospective
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A party caucus is a meeting of
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local party members who choose delegates for the national convention
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Front-loading is the process of
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scheduling presidential primaries earlier in the primary season
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Delegates to the national conventions are chosen
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in primary elections and caucuses
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Typically the three important tasks of the presidential convention are to pick the presidential candidate,
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select the vice presidential candidate, and write the party's platform
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Which of the following statements is NOT true about the choice of a vice presidential candidate?
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Traditionally the vice presidential candidate is from the same region and wing of the party as the presidential candidate
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The Constitution dictates that each state has
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an equal number of electors
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All of the following statements concerning the Electoral College are true EXCEPT
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The rules of the Electoral College give all the states importance in presidential elections
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Swing voters are
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people who have not made up their minds at the start of the campaign
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A valence issue is an issue
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on which most voters and candidates share the same position
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A _______ issue is one on which the parties differ in their perspectives and their proposed solutions
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position
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The founders created the Electoral College and specified that senators would be chosen by the state legislatures because
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they feared that the people would band together with like-minded people to fight for their own interests rather make choices based on the public good
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As a method of selecting leaders, democratic elections ensure that the
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leader chosen is the most popular candidate on the ballot
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Which of the following statements does NOT reflect a key change in attitude within the American electorate that has likely led to decreased voter turnout?
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Political efficacy has increased significantly in recent decades
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Politicians probably won't pass major electoral reforms that might increase participation, because current politicians
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won in the current system and are concerned about whom the beneficiaries of such changes might be
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The Citizens United case reversed the McCain-Feingold Act. This Supreme Court case says that corporations can now
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spend money straight from their treasuries on advertisements for or against political candidates right before an election
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______ is the idealized voting behavior, but _______ more realistically reflects how policy considerations influence voters' decisions
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Prospective voting; retrospective voting
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Front-loading affects the selection of a nominee by
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making success in earlier primaries all the more important in gaining and keeping momentum
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In the presidential nomination process
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front-loading favors the candidate who goes into the nomination process as the front-runner
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To win the presidency a candidate must do all of the following EXCEPT
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pick a vice presidential candidate who will win large numbers of votes
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Because of the Electoral College, presidential candidates generally spend most of their time and resources in
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competitive states, especially large ones
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Basing voting decisions on reactions to past performance is called
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retrospective
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Campaign contributions donated directly to candidates, and thus limited by federal election laws, are referred to as
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hard money
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A(n) _________ issue is one on which the major-party candidates disagree with one another
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position
