Political Science 1 - Government of the United States and California » 2019 » Quiz 9

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Question #1
One impact of the Internet on political campaigns is that __________.
A.   Most people are receiving direct mail from candidates
B.   more people are making small political donations
C.   Most people are using the Internet as their only source of campaign information
D.   more people are becoming highly and accurately informed about the candidates
Question #2
A serious presidential candidate must invest in __________.
A.   newspaper ads aimed at the 55-65 age group
B.   an international relations specialist to solicit campaign contributions from foreign nations and multinational corporations
C.   television ads aimed at the 18–29 age group
D.   staff to handle high-tech and computer technologies
Question #3
Thomas Patterson's observation that "today's presidential campaign is essentially a mass media campaign" suggests that __________.
A.   campaigns are for the masses and are mediated by political elites
B.   voters have very little understanding of the campaign apart from what they see and hear in the media
C.   the media exercise little influence over a vast number of citizens' votes
D.   the media control electoral outcomes
Question #4
Prior to being banned in 2002 by the McCain-Feingold Act, unlimited monetary contributions that were earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising were known as __________.
A.   soft money
B.   matching funds
C.   hard money
D.   support funds
Question #5
What is the phenomenon that people's beliefs often guide what they pay attention to and how they interpret events?
A.   agenda setting
B.   scorekeeping
C.   selective perception
D.   frontloading
Question #6
Which of the following is a cost of voting?
A.   paying money to vote
B.   civic duty
C.   becoming informed
D.   political efficacy
Question #7
Which of the following helps to explain why voter turnout is lower in the United States than in other democracies?
A.   The United States hold fewer elections
B.   The United States hold elections midweek.
C.   The United States has a multiple partisan election system.
D.   The United States elects fewer officeholders.
Question #8
Which of the following would be the most likely to increase voter turnout in the United States?
A.   making registration automatic for all citizens rather than compelling them to register
B.   minimizing the differences between the parties
C.   electing more officeholders
D.   holding more elections
Question #9
Which of the following statements indicates a high level of political efficacy?
A.   "People like me can influence what the government does."
B.   "Voting in the United States is so easy that there is no excuse for not voting."
C.   "I should vote to honor those who sacrificed their lives to make America free."
D.   "Democracy is only democratic if citizens participate in the process."
Question #10
Why are people with higher-than-average education more likely to vote?
A.   Education increases intolerance, which then encourages turnout.
B.   Education helps voters recognize differences between the candidates.
C.   Education depresses political efficacy, which then encourages turnout.
D.   Education enables voters to calculate the probability that their vote will decide the election.
Question #11
Which group is more likely to vote?
A.   a college degree holders
B.   ethnic minorities
C.   young age group
D.   low income people
Question #12
Why do winning candidates claim a mandate even though political scientists generally discredit the mandate theory of elections?
A.   Winning candidates are not well versed in the political science literature.
B.   Voters do not necessarily prefer all of the winning candidate's issue positions.
C.   Politicians think that political scientists do not understand how things actually work.
D.   Winning candidates want to justify their policy proposals by claiming that the public supports them.
Question #13
A floating voter is someone who __________.
A.   votes based on the candidates and not party loyalty
B.   votes in presidential elections but not in midterm elections
C.   registers to vote on Election Day
D.   is elated at the outcome of an election
Question #14
Which of the following is consistent with the mandate theory of elections?
A.   Barack Obama's claim that his victory in 2012 meant that the public wanted to raise taxes on the wealthy
B.   Mitt Romney's claim that Obama won the 2012 presidential election because he had given gifts to various constituency groups
C.   the idea that voter turnout is higher when citizens are required to vote and are fined if they fail to do so
D.   the belief that a functional democracy mandates electoral participation by a large number of voters
Question #15
How does party identification simplify the voting process?
A.   It provides a cue as to which candidate a voter is more likely to prefer.
B.   It eliminates the need to produce a photo ID in order to vote.
C.   It reduces the policy differences between the candidates.
D.   It enables voters to select from a wider array of candidates.
Question #16
Why do presidential candidates tend to focus their efforts on battleground states?
A.   The winner-take-all system makes battleground states more relevant to a campaign.
B.   Battleground states have more electors than they would deserve if electors were allocated by population.
C.   Battleground states have the most Electoral College votes.
D.   Candidates focus on battleground states in order to increase their media exposure.
Question #17
How many U.S. states employ a winner-take-all presidential election system in which all their electors are awarded to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes statewide?
A.   all 50
B.   26
C.   48
D.   five
Question #18
The Founders created the Electoral College because they wanted the president to be selected by __________.
A.   the Supreme Court
B.   ordinary Americans
C.   Congress
D.   elites
Question #19
If no candidate receives an Electoral College majority, the election is decided in the __________.
A.   House of Representatives
B.   Supreme Court
C.   Senate
D.   Elections and Campaigns Committee

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