question

Legitimacy in terms of American elections means

answer

the election is nearly unanimously accepted as a fair and free method to select political leaders.

question

Elections in the United States perform which of the following functions

answer

all of the above

question

Which of the following functions do elections LEAST serve?

answer

making and coordinating public policy

question

Californiaʹs famous Proposition 13, in which voters frustrated by a lack of action by their legislature forced an issue on the ballot and voted to limit the rise in property taxes, was an example of

answer

an initiative.

question

Californiaʹs Proposition 209, which intended to end affirmative action programs in the state, is an example of

answer

an initiative.

question

Daniel Smith argues that initiatives typically stem from

answer

the actions of a dedicated policy entrepreneur.

question

The initiative is put on the ballot as a result of

answer

a petition signed by a certain percentage of the voters in the previous election.

question

Of the following, which is the most direct form of democracy?

answer

initiative

question

The initiative petition

answer

enables voters to put proposed legislation on the ballot.

question

Examples of issues addressed in recent initiatives include all of the following EXCEPT

answer

election day registration.

question

An election whereby voters are given the chance to approve or disapprove some legislative act or constitutional amendment is called

answer

a referendum.

question

A referendum is an election

answer

whereby voters are given the chance to approve or disapprove some legislative act or constitutional amendment.

question

Which of the following is NOT true about elections in American society?

answer

The vast majority of eligible citizens cast ballots, even for local races

question

In the 1800 election presidential candidates were nominated by

answer

their partiesʹ elected representatives in Congress.

question

Which of the following does NOT characterize presidential elections around 1800?

answer

The candidates barnstormed the country campaigning and giving speeches.

question

Which of the following statements about the 1800 presidential election is TRUE?

answer

The 1800 election was ultimately decided in the House of Representatives

question

The election of 1800 was

answer

decided by the House of Representatives.

question

The presidential election of 1800 was

answer

the first transition of power between parties accomplished by votersʹ ballots in the history of the world.

question

The presidential election of 1800 represents the first

answer

peaceful transfer of power in the world between parties via the electoral process

question

In the original constitutional system

answer

each presidential elector cast two ballots and the top vote-getter was named president and the runner-up became vice president.

question

Which of the following is TRUE of the presidential election of 1800?

answer

It was the first peaceful transfer of power between parties via the electoral process in the history of the world.

question

In the electoral college vote in the election of 1800, there was a tie between

answer

Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr

question

The issue of free silver (to increase the amount of currency in circulation) was championed in the election of 1896 by ________, whose most famous oration was his ʺCross of Goldʺ speech at the Democratic national convention.

answer

William Jennings Bryan

question

In 1896, who liked silver money?

answer

debtors

question

The first peaceful transfer of power between parties via the electoral process in the history of the world occurred as a result of the presidential election of

answer

1800.

question

The election of 1896 was largely fought over the issue of

answer

economics

question

Which of the following statements about the election of 1896 is FALSE?

answer

The election resulted in the Democrats becoming firmly entrenched as the majority party in the Northeast and Midwest.

question

The winner of the presidential election of 1896 was

answer

William McKinley.

question

The election of 1896 left a legacy of a political alignment that endured for several decades, wherein

answer

the Democrats won the South and West, while the Republicans won in the more populous Northeast and Midwest.

question

Because Bushʹs lead over Gore in the initial count was less than one-tenth of one percent, Florida law mandated

answer

an automatic recount.

question

In Bush v. Gore (2000), the United States Supreme Court ruled that

answer

although a recount was legal, the same (or more precise) standards for evaluating ballots would have to be applied in all counties

question

According to exit polls, ________ was a major reason voters selected Bush in 2004

answer

the war on terrorism

question

In the 2004 election, John Kerry won votes among those most concerned with

answer

the economy, health care, and education.

question

Suffrage means

answer

the right to vote.

question

Which of the following is TRUE about American elections over the past 100 years?

answer

The suffrage has broadened, and the turnout has decreased.

question

Suffrage refers to

answer

the right to vote.

question

As the right to vote has been extended,

answer

proportionately fewer of those eligible have chosen to vote

question

The nearly two centuries of American electoral history has been characterized by

answer

expansion of the right to vote.

question

The high point of voter turnout in the United States was in

answer

1896.

question

People are more likely to vote for all of the following reasons EXCEPT if they

answer

believe that some policies of one party are balanced by other policies of the other party.

question

Anthony Downsʹ theory of rational voting behavior predicts that people will vote if they

answer

think one party will give them more policy benefits than the other.

question

Those largely indifferent to the results of an election, but who decide to vote anyway to show support for democratic government are called ________ voters.

answer

guilt-driven

question

The greater oneʹs sense of political efficacy, the

answer

more likely one is to vote.

question

Political efficacy refers to the belief that

answer

ordinary people can influence the government.

question

Largely to prevent corruption associated with stuffing ballot boxes, states adopted ________ around the turn of the twentieth century.

answer

voter registration

question

Voter registration was begun around the turn of the twentieth century

answer

to make elections more ethical

question

Voter registration procedures were adopted around the turn of the century as a means to

answer

prevent corruption associated with stuffing ballot boxes.

question

Compared to other countries, the United States holds ________ elections for various offices.

answer

more

question

A major reason cited for Americaʹs level of voter turnout compared to other industrialized countries is

answer

registration is more cumbersome in the United States.

question

Compared to other industrialized democracies, the United States has a ________ voter turnout

answer

much lower

question

Which of the following countries has a lower voter turnout rate than the United States?

answer

Switzerland

question

Which of the following countries has the lowest voter turnout rate?

answer

United States

question

Voter turnout in the United States is much lower than in other countries in part because

answer

of the unique American requirement of voter registration.

question

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

answer

Americans are expected to vote for a much narrower range of political offices than most democracies.

question

Which of these would be most likely to vote?

answer

a well-educated, middle-aged government worker

question

Which of the following is INCORRECT?

answer

Congress requires voter registration nationwide

question

Among the states that allow voter registration at the polls on election day, voter turnout rates are

answer

higher than in other states.

question

Approximately how many states allow voters to register at the polls on election day?

answer

6

question

The Motor Voter Act of 1993

answer

requires states to register individuals to vote when they apply for, or renew, their driverʹs license.

question

The impact of the Motor Voter Act of 1993 was evidenced in

answer

higher registration and lower turnout in 1996 and 2000.

question

The group of people with the lowest voter turnout rate is

answer

young people.

question

According to the text, the most important factor affecting voter turnout is

answer

education.

question

Highly educated individuals are more likely to vote because

answer

they see more policy differences between candidates.

question

Which of the following statements about voter participation is FALSE?

answer

Men are more likely to vote than women.

question

Which of the following characteristics would make one more likely to vote in an election?

answer

having a college degree

question

People with higher than average education

answer

are more likely to vote than people of lower educational levels.

question

The mandate theory of elections

answer

says that people vote for candidates because they want them to carry out certain policies.

question

The mandate theory of elections is most often cited as the proper way to view elections by

answer

the winning candidate.

question

The mandate theory of elections is the idea that

answer

the election winner has authorization from the voters to carry out his or her promised policies.

question

________ are crucial for many voters because they provide a regular perspective through which voters can view the political world.

answer

Party identifications

question

Political scientists tend to focus on each of the following major elements of votersʹ decisions EXCEPT

answer

votersʹ ideology and world view.

question

Studies have shown that during the 1960s and 1970s,

answer

the hold of the parties on voters eroded substantially.

question

Over the last five decades, voting based primarily on party identification has

answer

declined sharply.

question

Many voters have come to feel that they no longer need the parties to guide their electoral choices because

answer

modern technology makes it possible for them to evaluate and make their own decisions about the candidates.

question

Research by Rosenberg and McCafferty discovered that

answer

it is possible to manipulate a candidateʹs appearance in a way that affects votersʹ choices.

question

Which of these is the least important dimension of a candidateʹs image?

answer

intelligence

question

________ occurs when people base their choices in an election on their own issue preferences.

answer

Policy voting

question

A voter supporting a candidate based specifically on comparing the candidateʹs stances on the issues of abortion rights, health care, and government aid to education to the voterʹs own preferences on such issues is an example of

answer

policy voting.

question

Research has found that those most likely to view the candidates in terms of their personal attributes are

answer

college-educated voters

question

Which of the following is TRUE about the electoral college?

answer

On very rare occasions, an elector has voted differently from the popular vote winner of his state

question

The ʺelectorsʺ in the electoral college are

answer

selected by state parties, usually as a reward for faithful service to the party over the years.

question

The electoral college was originally established in order to

answer

give the nationʹs elite the power to choose the president and vice president rather than the people directly

question

As provided in the Constitution, how are electoral votes allocated for each state?

answer

Each state has as many electoral votes as it has members in the Senate.

question

Electors in the electoral college meet in their states in December (following the November general election) to officially cast their ballots, then mail their votes to

answer

the vice president.

question

If no candidate receives an electoral college majority,

answer

the House of Representatives chooses among the top three electoral vote winners.

question

If the presidential election is thrown into the House of Representatives,

answer

each stateʹs House delegation may cast only one vote, regardless of its number of representatives.

question

Except in Maine and Nebraska, the electoral college system operates in each state on the principle of allocating electoral votes on the basis of

answer

winner-take-all.

question

Which of the following statements about the electoral college is FALSE?

answer

Every state has a winner-take-all system where electors vote as a bloc for the winner.

question

If a presidential candidate does not receive a majority of electoral college votes, then the president is chosen

answer

by the House with one vote for each state.

question

Research on voting behavior has shown that

answer

policy voting has become somewhat easier than in the past.

question

Policy voting has increased in recent years primarily because

answer

candidates are regularly forced to take some clear stands in order to appeal to their own partyʹs primary voters.

question

Which is FALSE regarding the electoral college?

answer

Whoever wins the most votes in the electoral college wins, even if that isnʹt a majority

question

The greater the policy differences between the candidates

answer

the more likely voters will be able to steer government policies by their choices

question

In ________, incumbents who provide desired results are rewarded; those who fail to do so are punished.

answer

retrospective voting

question

If engaged in retrospective voting, an individual would ask:

answer

What have you done for me lately?

question

When President Herbert Hoover and the Republicans were crushed in the election of 1932, voters were responding to the severity of the Great Depression under Hooverʹs presidency by

answer

retrospective voting.

question

Retrospective voting refers to voting for

answer

a candidate who promises to continue policies that have made you feel better off.

question

The type of public policy that seems to have the greatest effect on elections today is

answer

economic policy

question

Elections have a tendency to expand the scope of government because

answer

voters like to feel that they are sending a message to government to accomplish something.

question

While the threat of electoral punishment constrains policymakers, it also helps to increase generalized support for

answer

government and its powers.

Government Chapter 10 – Flashcards

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