Cram Session 1

The political process and political beliefs

All the following choices are
characteristics of the high-tech
presidential campaign EXCEPT
A. 60-second spots on national news shows
B. political debates that include minor party candidates
C. paid infomercials by candidates using graphs and charts
D. sophisticated polling techniques done by paid consultants
E. candidates acting like talking heads

Choice B, the correct answer, does not accurately describe the high-tech
campaign. Even though a political debate may be a characteristic of high-tech
campaigning, the inclusion of minor party candidates is secondary in importance
and does not relate to the point of the question.
Which of the following statements is a major
reason for the increased use of public opinion
polls by the media?

A. The government assesses the validity of the polls
B. Candidate-sponsored polls compete for the publics attention.
C. A smaller random sample can now be used to get accurate
results.
D. Polls are aimed exclusively at minority groups.
E. Elected officials pay attention to poll results.


Choice E, the correct answer, is an obvious reason and
may cause some confusion because it answers the
question so simplistically. Choices A, B, C, and D are
factually incorrect.
Which of the following statements
describe voting trends in recent
presidential elections?

I. The gender gap has been a factor.
II. The youth vote is on the rise.
III. The religious right is becoming less of a factor.
IV. More people are enrolling as independents.

A. I only
B. II and III only
C. I, II, and IV only
D. III and IV only
E. I, II, III, and IV
Choice C, the correct answer,
illustrates how voting patterns, the
youth vote and how people enroll
are influencing voting trends.
Statement III is inaccurate, and in
fact the opposite is true.
All of the following are cited as
reasons for low voter turnout
EXCEPT
A. registration procedures make voting more difficult
B. American elections lack parties that mobilize particular social groups
C. felons are not allowed to vote, and this significantly decreases turnout
D. elections are held frequently
E. Americans choose candidates to fill several positions, and it requires
initiative to learn about all of the candidates
Registration procedures, the frequency of elections, the large
number of candidates, and the lack of group-based parties all
negatively impact voter turnout. Felons are not a statistically
large enough population to significantly affect turnout.
One criticism of the media is that during
political campaigns, it does not cover issues in
depth. This is best illustrated in which of the
following?
A. the rise of the Internet
B. gate keeping
C.horse race journalism
D.the liberal bias in the media
E. sensationalism
Horse race journalism is coverage of who is ahead in the polls.
The media has been criticized because this aspect of the
campaign receives as much coverage as the actual issues
What encourages a two-party
system in the United States?
A. the inclusion of ballot initiatives and referendums
B. the selection of candidates through primaries
C. the selection of candidates through caucuses
D. ticket-splitting by voters between the Republican
and Democratic parties
E. the fact that elections are for single-member
districts, with majority (plurality) representation
Explanation: Single-member districts with
majority representation favor two parties
and make it difficult for third parties to
compete.
What is the primary source of
political socialization?
A. Family
B. peer groups
C. Television
D. the Internet
E. public schools
What are political action
committees (PACs)?
A. registered organizations that pool contributions
and donate money to campaigns
B. committees that work as part of an iron triangle
to change bureaucratic regulations
C. interest groups that have raised more than
$200,000 in a single fiscal year
D. groups of people who are interested in a cause
and lobby on its behalf
E. organizations whose primary purpose is to
lobby Congress
Which of the following are common
criticisms of the Iowa caucus and New
Hampshire primary?

I. Too much attention is paid to them because they are
early.
II. It is difficult for a candidate to gain momentum in either of
these states.
III. These states are small, and they get more than their
share of attention.
IV. Because these states are small, these contests do not
get enough media coverage.

A. I and II
B. II and III
C. I, II, and III
D. I and III
E. II and IV

Iowa and New Hampshire are small and are
not demographically representative of the
country as a whole. Yet they receive a
disproportionate share of attention because
they hold the first caucus and primary
Elections serve all of the following
important functions EXCEPT

A. they allow citizens to choose among
candidates
B. they socialize political activity
C. they provide a way to remove the
president from office prior to the end of
his term
D. they institutionalize access to political
power
E. they increase the states legitimacy

Elections allow voters to choose among candidate. They also socialize
political activity, provide a means of accessing power, and bolster the states
power and authority (legitimacy). There is no recall election to remove the
president from office prior to the end of his term. This may only be done
through impeachment
In the 2008 presidential election, the popular vote
was within a few percentage points of the result
predicted by public opinion polls. Which of the
following statements best describes the accuracy of
public opinion polls?
A. Public opinion polls accurately predict the winner
99 percent of the time.
B. The bigger the sample, the more room there is
for sampling error.
C. Different polling organizations often have
different results, even when they ask the same
question.
D. The sampling error is usually plus or minus 3
percent.
E. Public opinion polls cannot predict elections with
any degree of accuracy.
All of the following are necessary for
an accurate public opinion poll
EXCEPT

A. the question must be asked in an unbiased
manner
B. the persons interviewed must be selected
based on a random sample
C. the questions must be understandable
D. the answer categories must offer people a
choice between different responses
E. the number of people sampled must be at
least 10 percent of the population
Fun with Math and Politics: A state has eight
members in the House of Representatives. In a
presidential election, that states population votes
40 percent for the Democratic candidate and 60
percent for the Republican candidate. How are that
states electoral votes allocated?

A. Eight electoral votes are pledged to the Republican
candidate.
B. Ten electoral votes are pledged to the Republican
candidate.
C. Four votes are pledged to the Democrat, and six votes
are pledged to the Republican.
D. Six votes are pledged to the Democrat, and four votes
are pledged to the Republican.
E. It is impossible to determine the allocation of electoral
college votes from the facts given.

All of the following have an impact on
whether or not someone will choose to vote
EXCEPT
O education
O income
O region
O religion
O race


What is the term for an event that
produces a sharp change in the
existing pattern of party loyalties
among groups of voters?

O readjustment
O deviating election
O electoral shift
O critical realignment
O party reorganization

What is the difference between a
primary and a caucus?

A. Party membership is required to vote in a
primary, but anyone may attend a caucus.
B. Caucuses are more influential in selecting
candidates than primaries
C. voters are more likely to attend a caucus
than a primary.
D. A caucus is a meeting of party members,
and a primary is a vote.
E. There is no significant difference between a
primary and a caucus.

All of the following are part of
conservative ideology EXCEPT

A. Opposition to interference with the free
market.
B. belief that sexually explicit material
should be banned
C. Opposition to affirmative action
D. Support for increased spending on public
housing
E. support for mandatory AIDS testing
An election is held in which a voter must be
registered to a political party before he or
she is allowed to participate. Which of the
following terms best describe this election?
A. general election
B. election for party leaders
C. open primary
D. closed primary
E. caucus
Which of the following candidates
would most likely receive the most
money from a PAC?

A. an incumbent
B. a strong challenger
C. a candidate for an open seat
D. a candidate who resides in the same
state as the PACs headquarters
E. a candidate who is ahead in the polls

Why was the election of 2000
significant?
A. because there was no winner in the electoral
college, and the election was decided by a
majority vote in the House of Representatives.
B. because there was no winner in the electoral
college, and the election was decided by one
vote per state in the House of Representatives
C. because for the first time in more than a century,
the winner in. the electoral college lost the
popular vote
D. because a third party won electoral college votes
in three states
E. because the Supreme Court overturned the
electoral colleges decision .
Which of the following measures
would be the most effective in
increasing voter turnout?
A. allowing convicted felons to vote
B. adding a third party to the presidential
ballots
C. allowing people to register to vote when
they get their drivers license
D. allowing citizens to register and vote on
the same day
E. moving election day to Friday
There are 538 total votes in the electoral
college. The Democrat receives 265, the
Republican receives 255, and an
independent candidate receives 18. How will
the election be decided?

A. The Democrat will win because he received the most
electoral college votes.
B. The Democrat will win because no candidate received the
majority of the electoral votes and the Democrat won the
popular vote.
C. There will be a runoff election between the Democrat and
the Republican.
D. The House of Representatives will decide, with each
representative casting one vote.
E. The House of Representatives will decide, with each state
casting one vote.
Which statement best describes the
medias coverage of presidential
campaigns?

A. The media focus primarily on the issues and
platforms.
B. The media focus primarily on the differences
between the candidates.
C. The media focus primarily on the horse race
aspects of the campaign.
D. Sensational or unusual aspects of the
campaigns are the focus of most reports.
E. Each candidate is given significant free
media time to address the issues.
Which of the following was a
critical election?
A. the 1996 presidential election, because the
vote fell below 50 percent .
B. the 2000 presidential election; because the
electoral college vote did not mirror the
popular vote
C. the 1932 presidential election, because
African Americans made a permanent shift
to the Democratic party
D. the 1972 reelection of Richard Nixon,
because he won in a landslide
E. none of these elections meet the criteria for
being a critical election
All of the following contribute to the success
of incumbent members of Congress in
election campaigns EXCEPT:

A. Incumbents usually raise more campaign
funds than do their challengers.
B. Incumbents tend to understand national
issues better than do their challengers.
C. Incumbents are usually better known to
voters than are their challengers.
D. Incumbents can use legislative staff to
perform campaign services.
E. Incumbents often sit on committees that
permit them to serve district interests.
Which of the following statements best
describes the organization of the two major
political parties in the United States?
A. Parties have no organization except at the
national level.
B. Parties are centrally organized to provide a
smooth transition from one national campaign to
the next.
C. Parties are organized much like a large
corporation, in that decisions flow from national
to state and local levels.
D. Local and state parties have virtually no power in
the party system.
E. Separate and largely independent party
organizations exist at national, state, and local
levels.