question

An organization that consists of individuals interested in controlling government by winning elections is referred to as a

answer

political party

question

In Texas, the two leading political parties are the

answer

Democratic and Republican

question

A general election is held in

answer

November of even-numbered years.

question

In Texas, a candidate may only win an office in a general election if he/she receives

answer

a majority of the vote

question

The hierarchical levels of American political parties is known as a

answer

level system

question

The American political party system consists of

answer

national, state, county, and precinct levels.

question

Primary elections in Texas are usually held

answer

in March of even-numbered years.

question

The lowest level of the temporary party organizations in Texas are the

answer

state conventions

question

Which of the following would be performed at a party's precinct convention?

answer

Nomination of delegates to the county convention

question

Precinct conventions in Texas are usually

answer

lightly or sparsely attended.

question

Resolutions adopted at the precinct convention will be submitted first to the

answer

county or district convention.

question

Highly populated areas of the state that hold district conventions include

answer

Bexar, Harris, and Dallas counties.

question

The main business of county and district conventions is to

answer

select delegates to the state convention.

question

According to the Texas Election Code, each political party in Texas must hold a ___________ in June of even-numbered years.

answer

Primary Election

question

Which of the following tasks is performed every two years at the state party convention?

answer

Adoption of a party platform

question

Which of the following happens at the party state convention during presidential election years only?

answer

Selection of members of the state executive committee

question

The number of electoral voters each state receives is equal to the

answer

number of seats each state has in Congress.

question

How many electoral voters will Texas have in the presidential election of 2016?

answer

38

question

Party precinct chairs are selected by

answer

precinct voters.

question

The party's county executive committee is

answer

responsible for organizing the state party convention.

question

As mandated by Texas state law, each party's state executive committee must

answer

be comprised equally of men and women.

question

In Texas, a state party's chair is selected by the

answer

state convention delegates.

question

Returns from the party primaries for statewide office are canvassed by the

answer

state party executive committee.

question

Which policy would a conservative most likely support?

answer

Reduction or elimination of the graduated income tax

question

Concerning the "left-right" political divide in Texas, which term would most likely describe a politician

answer

Conservative

question

Since the 1930s, the terms __________ have meant more to many Texas voters than the names of political parties.

answer

liberal and conservative

question

Which political label would best describe a politician that is in favor of government regulation of the economy, but limited government involvement on social issues?

answer

Liberal

question

Liberals would most likely support which of the following policies?

answer

Equal pay for equal work laws regarding women

question

Political alliances during the Republic of Texas were based on

answer

personalities

question

When Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts, former slave owners and supporters of the Confederacy were

answer

purged as officeholders and denied the vote.

question

The history of the Texas political party system has tended toward

answer

Texas being a one-party state.

question

One of the possible reasons why Anglo voters opposed Governor E.J. Davis was that he

answer

appointed African Americans to office throughout the state.

question

During the period of Reconstruction that followed the Civil War (1865-1873), the __________ Party controlled Texas politics

answer

Republican

question

After Reconstruction, which political party dominated in Texas for more than 100 years?

answer

Democratic

question

Which political party during the latter part of the nineteenth century focused on agrarian issues and posed a challenge to the Democratic party of Texas?

answer

Populist

question

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Populist Party in Texas declined, largely due to

answer

the Democratic Party adopting its issues.

question

Beginning in the late 1940s, a majority of conservative Democrats in Texas began to support the

answer

national Republican ticket.

question

Between 1900 and 1950, the main political conflict in Texas was between

answer

liberal and conservative Democrats.

question

Which Texas governor supported Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956?

answer

Alan Shivers

question

Who was the first Texas Republican elected in a statewide vote in the last half of the twentieth century?

answer

John Tower

question

Which governor, elected in 1978, was the first Republican to hold that office since Reconstruction?

answer

William Clements

question

Who was the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate?

answer

Kay Bailey Hutchison

question

Which Texas governor, elected in 1994, was successful as the Republican Party's candidate for President in 2000?

answer

George W. Bush

question

In __________, for the first time since the primary system was established in Texas, Republican primaries were conducted in all 254 Texas counties.

answer

1996

question

In which of the following decades did the Republican Party in Texas begin to win almost all of the statewide offices it challenged?

answer

1990s

question

In the Texas general election of 2000, which two parties had more candidates for statewide office than did the Democratic Party?

answer

Green and Libertarian

question

In the 2002 general election, Republicans

answer

won all state wide races

question

In the Texas general election of 2002, which trio was dubbed, "the dream team" because of their expected appeal to Latino, African American, and Anglo voters?

answer

Sanchez, Kirk, and Sharp

question

The first Texas candidate to receive more than 4 million votes was

answer

Kay Bailey Hutchison.

question

In the closest presidential election of modern times, Governor Bush defeated Democratic nominee Al Gore by __________in 2000.

answer

four electoral votes (271 to 267)

question

Changing demographic patterns in Harris and Dallas counties have

answer

shown an increase in Democrats due to increases in minority populations.

question

In 2008, one reason why Obama won in Harris, Travis, Bexar, and Dallas counties was because of

answer

solid support from Latino and African American voters.

question

In the 2010 Texas gubernatorial race, Kay Bailey Hutchison was defeated most likely due to her

answer

being a woman

question

During the last 30 years, competition between Texas's Democratic and Republican parties has

answer

brought more women, Latinos, and African Americans into the state's political system.

question

The trend of voters abandoning their traditional political party allegiance is referred to as

answer

dealignment

question

Which one of the following geographic areas is a Democratic stronghold in Texas?

answer

Suburban Dallas-Fort Worth area

question

Which geographic area of Texas is a Republican stronghold?

answer

Texas Panhandle and Texas South Plains

question

A political party that is not one of the two major parties is referred to as a

answer

third party

question

Which statement best describes the Libertarian Party?

answer

It supports limited government and maximum individual liberties.

question

In which of the following ways have third parties been least successful?

answer

Winning elections to national offices

question

Of the third-parties listed below, which probably has had the least influence on Texas politics?

answer

Green

question

Which statement best describes the Green Party?

answer

It advocates environmental protection and government reform policies.

question

Candidates who run for office with no party affiliation are referred to as

answer

independents

question

The term independent applies to those candidates for office who

answer

have no party affiliation

question

The essence of representative government is having

answer

entrusting the enactment of laws to elected legislators

question

Functions of the Texas legislature include all of the following, except

answer

appointing state judges

question

The number of senators in the Texas legislature is

answer

31

question

The only unicameral state legislature is that of

answer

Nebraska

question

The Texas House of Representatives consists of __________ members

answer

150

question

Legislative redistricting for both houses in Texas routinely occurs

answer

the first odd-numbered year in a decade

question

The terms of office for members of the Texas legislature are

answer

S4HR2 No lim

question

Which of the following is a true statement regarding senators in the Texas legislature?

answer

They all stand for election the year following redistricting

question

A vacancy in the Texas House or Senate arising during a term is filled by

answer

a special election

question

Regular sessions of the Texas legislature meet for

answer

140 days in odd numbered years

question

Which of the following is a false statement regarding special sessions of the Texas legislature?

answer

They are limited to three per year.

question

Which of the following is a false statement regarding members of the Texas legislature?

answer

Vacancies to legislative seats are filled by governor's appointment.

question

The Texas legislature differs most from the U.S. Congress in that

answer

it meets in regular session for a very limited time.

question

At a minimum, redistricting must occur every

answer

ten years

question

Redistricting may be politically difficult for a legislator primarily because it may

answer

take away previous voter support.

question

In Texas, the first legislative and congressional elections in districts determined by the 2010 census were conducted in

answer

November of 2012.

question

All Texas senate seats are up for election every ten years because

answer

Senate district lines are redrawn every 10 years.

question

The federal court case that applied the doctrine of "one-man, one-vote" to Texas was

answer

Kilgarlin v. Martin

question

The U.S. Supreme Court found in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) that

answer

legislative districts of bicameral state legislatures must have equal populations.

question

Which of the following statements best characterizes the Texas legislature?

answer

Anglo males are a majority of the membership in both houses of the legislature.

question

The first African American elected to the Texas Senate in modern times was

answer

Barbara Jordan.

question

After a state legislator serves__________ in office, he or she becomes eligible for a pension of __________.

answer

eight years; $23,000 per year

question

The concerns of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus in the 1990s produced

answer

larger appropriations for state universities in South Texas.

question

The liberal response to the Conservative Caucus is the

answer

Legislative Study Group.

question

Which of the following is the most important communication tool during a campaign?

answer

Television ads

question

According to studies, negative commercials

answer

draw voter preference away from the candidate being attacked.

question

Organizations created to collect and distribute contributions to political campaigns are referred to as

answer

political action committees.

question

Which of the following statements regarding the Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is false?

answer

It applies to candidates running for seats in the Texas legislature.

question

In which case did the Supreme Court overturn a ban on unlimited independent expenditures made by corporations, unions, and nonprofit organizations in federal elections?

answer

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

question

Which of the following does not describe Texas campaign finance regulations for state offices?

answer

There are no disclosure requirements by candidates.

question

As a percentage, Texas's Latino population is

answer

more than half of the state's total population.

question

The Latino community showed its political strength in May of 2010 by

answer

having 28,000 protesters in Dallas opposing the Arizona immigration law.

question

Which president appointed more Asians to federal judgeships?

answer

Obama

question

The average income for a white female is $48K and for a black female it is $31K; what is it for a Hispanic female?

answer

37K

question

Who first wrote about male privilege and later white privilege?

answer

Robert Jensen

question

Which case decided corporations were persons under the law?

answer

Santa Clara Co.

question

Joseph Claude Martin of Laredo political machine fame also went by what other name?

answer

Pepe Martin

question

Harry Truman came out of which political machine to become a Vice President of the US?

answer

Tom and George Pendergast

question

The Reform Movement to end political machines ushered in several new approaches to governing. Which of these was one?

answer

All of these

question

The documentary The Longoria Affair led to the rise of which civil rights organization?

answer

AGIF

question

D Heritage magazine on black politics in Dallas assigned for class has a time line for a concise history of such. When does it begin and end?

answer

1849-1995

question

Colonias the assigned booklet for class was published by whom?

answer

Dallas Federal Reserve Bank

question

Unemployment in the five Rio Grande Valley Colonias back in 1994 was higher than the state average of 7%. How much higher?

answer

from 20% to 60%

question

What percentage of Texas's African American citizens say that they are Democrats?

answer

80%

question

Which amendments to the U. S. Constitution were intended to prevent denial of the right to vote for African Americans?

answer

Fourteenth and Fifteenth

question

In the U.S. Supreme Court case of Guinn v. United States (1915), the court ruled that

answer

the grandfather clause was illegal.

question

Which U.S. amendment prevents states from requiring payment of a poll tax as a condition for voting?

answer

24th

question

A device used in Texas to prevent many lower-income persons and blacks from voting during much of the twentieth century was the

answer

Poll Tax

question

During the first half of the twentieth century, large numbers of African American voters were disqualified from voting as a result of

answer

All of the Above

question

Texas employed which of the following methods at one time or another during the twentieth century to deny the vote to large groups of individuals?

answer

Literacy tests, poll taxes, and white primaries

question

The case of Smith v. Allwright overturned the

answer

white-only primary elections in Texas

question

Manipulating legislative district lines to favor a political party or group is referred to as

answer

gerrymandering.

question

Of the various socioeconomic factors that influence voter turnout, which is considered the strongest?

answer

Education

question

A major requirement of the Voting Rights Act of 1975 is that ballots must be

answer

bilingual

question

An election in which party members choose a candidate to run for office in a general election is a

answer

primary election.

question

The size of the vote necessary to win a special election in Texas is a

answer

simple majority.

question

A vacancy in which of the following offices is not filled by a special election?

answer

Texas governor or lieutenant governor

question

Which of these Koch name(s) are the principal political actors in right-wing U.S. politics today?

answer

only two

question

"Koch Brothers Exposed" a recent documentary movie on the political funding by the Koch brothers asserts that they obtained 400 signature pledges from members of Congress to vote against climate change legislation if it did not include what?

answer

Tax cuts

question

"The Longoria Affair" featured several prominent men and a couple of lesser knowns and their efforts to bury Felix Longoria. Where did the burial eventually take place?

answer

Arlington VA

question

The next election in Arlington, Tx is set for May 9, 2015. When is the last day of Early Voting?

answer

May 5th

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