question

A proportional-representation electoral system is a

answer

multiple-member district system that gives each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote.

question

Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution delegates the power to set the "times, places, and manner" of holding elections to

answer

the states

question

During the 1980s, under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan, Republicans added which of the following groups to their political coalition?

answer

working-class whites

question

In ____, the Supreme Court ruled that there could be no limits placed on candidates' expenditure of their own funds, since such spending is considered free speech.

answer

Buckley v. Valeo

question

In order to win the presidency, a candidate must receive ____ of Electoral College votes.

answer

a majority (270)

question

In the eighteen states that have legal provisions for recall elections, the recall process generally begins with

answer

a petition campaign

question

Political action committees (PACs) are organizations established

answer

by corporations, labor unions, or interest groups to channel the contributions of their members into political campaigns.

question

Registration requirements in the United States particularly reduce the voting rate among

answer

the young

question

States hold ____ to select their delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions

answer

primaries

question

Suffrage refers to the

answer

the right to vote

question

The Republican Party was originally formed

answer

as a coalition of antislavery forces

question

The Speaker of the House is actually selected by

answer

he party that holds the majority of seats in the House

question

The ____ is a candidate running for re-election to a position that he or she already holds

answer

incumbent

question

The assignment of individual members to Congressional committees is

answer

a party decision

question

The first "party system" in the United States consisted of two parties, the

answer

Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans.

question

The president of the United States is selected

answer

through the electoral college

question

Voter turnout in the United States is

answer

significantly less than in most other Western democracies.

question

What are 527 committees?

answer

nonprofit independent groups that receive and disburse funds to influence elections

question

What was George Washington's relationship with political parties in early America?

answer

He thought political parties were a terrible idea.

question

When a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting that party's election, it is called a(n)

answer

closed primary

question

Which of the following gives the best approximation of the current party affiliation of Americans?

answer

a third Republican, a third Democrat, and a third Independent

question

Which of the following is an example of direct democracy in practice in the United States today?

answer

referendum

question

Which of the following is true of online participation in politics?

answer

Roughly the same percentage of Democrats, Republicans, and independents use social media for politics.

question

Which of the following widely used systems has the effect of diminishing the power of American party leaders?

answer

primary elections

question

Who came up with the "southern strategy" to get white southerners to start voting Republican?

answer

Richard Nixon

question

A ____ is a nonprofit independent group that receives and disburses funds to influence elections.

answer

527 committee

question

A recent comprehensive study of the decline in political participation in the United States found that half of the drop-off could be accounted for by

answer

reduced mobilization efforts.

question

An election system that allocates to each political party representation in the legislature equal to its percentage of the total vote is called a ____ system.

answer

proportional-representation electoral

question

From the end of the Civil War to the 1890s, the Republican Party remained the party of

answer

The North

question

In the case of Buckley v. Valeo, the Supreme Court ruled that

answer

there could be no limits placed on candidates' expenditure of their own funds, since such spending is considered free speech.

question

Nonprofit groups that also engage in issue advocacy and are allowed to spend up to half of their revenue for political purposes are called

answer

501c(4) committees.

question

Presidential primary elections are held to select

answer

state delegates to the national conventions

question

Richard Nixon's ____ strategy was aimed at attracting white southerners to the Republican Party.

answer

southern

question

The Electoral College is composed of

answer

presidential electors from each state who cast ballots for president and vice president.

question

The ____ is an example of indirect voting in national elections.

answer

Electoral College

question

The ____ was promoted by Progressive reformers at the turn of the twentieth century in hopes of weakening the power of party leaders.

answer

primary system

question

The first party system in the United States pitted the Federalists, supported mainly by ____ against the Jeffersonian Republicans, supported mainly by ____.

answer

merchants; agrarian interests

question

The outcome of which of the following races is most likely to be decided by voters' party ties?

answer

a state legislature race

question

The party that holds the majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives selects the

answer

Speaker of the House

question

Turnout for midterm elections in the United States is about what percent of eligible voters?

answer

33 percent

question

What is a closed primary?

answer

an election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates, but only of the party in which they are enrolled for a period of time prior to Election Day

question

Which of the following differentiates an interest group from a political party?

answer

An interest group seeks to influence government policies, whereas a party attempts to win elections.

question

Which of the following is a relatively recent barrier to voting that is now in place in 31 out of the 50 states?

answer

the requirement to provide proof of identity

question

Which political party was formed from a coalition of antislavery forces?

answer

Republican Party

question

Who is the incumbent?

answer

the candidate who raises the most money during the campaign

question

Why did Republicans spend much more effort building a party apparatus than Democrats in the fifty years prior to 2004?

answer

They held a minority status in the electorate.

question

Why was Mitt Romney an early front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2012?

answer

superior organization and funding

question

____ refers to an individual's right to vote.

answer

Suffrage

Chap. 7 pre/post test – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards