Elections

Question 1

Incumbent Advantage

Answer 1

Two Facts:

• Representatives who run for reelection win approximately 90% of the time
• While incumbent Senators have a tremendous electoral advantage, House incumbents have an even greater advantage

Question 2

Gerrymandering

Answer 2

Partisan redrawing of congressional district borders

Question 3

Nominations

Answer 3

First phase in the election cycle in which parties choose their candidates for general elections

Question 4

General Elections

Answer 4

Second phase of the election cycle in which voters decide who will hold elective office

Question 5

Closed Primary

Answer 5

Voting is restricted to registered members of a political party (Most Common Type)

Question 6

Open Primary

Answer 6

Voters may vote only in one party’s primary, but they can choose which party they will cast their vote in (Critics believe that this allows opponents to sabotage the other party’s chances of winning by voting for the candidate that is least likely to win)

Question 7

Blanket Primary

Answer 7

Voters may vote for one candidate per office for either party (Only used in Washington and Alaska)

Question 8

Plurality

Answer 8

Greatest amount of votes that is under 50%

Question 9

Runoff Primary

Answer 9

Some states require a minimum percentage for a candidate to win and if no candidate receives that percentage, then another primary is held between the top two candidates (Occur most often when challengers vie for an open office and if they are not well known)

Question 10

State Caucuses and Conventions

Answer 10

Allow states to choose delegates for the presidential convention

Question 11

Super-Delegates

Answer 11

The automatic granting of delegate status to elected party leaders (Used by the Democratic Party)

Question 12

McGovern-Fraser Commission

Answer 12

Delegates are represented by population for each state, promoting diversity in the delegate pool (Used by the Republican Party)

Question 13

Presidential Elections

Answer 13

Elections in which the President is being chosen

Question 14

Midterm Elections

Answer 14

Other elections that occur between presidential elections (Voting for Congress and other offices)

Question 15

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush

Answer 15

Used outsider status in their presidential campaigns, which can be beneficial because people are less likely to vote for Senators, who have more federal experience (which is used against them)

Question 16

Dwight Eisenhower

Answer 16

Was a presidential candidate who had a vast amount of military experience and won the presidency

Question 17

Federal Matching Funds

Answer 17

Funds that double all donations that are $250 or less by matching the prices donated (Primary candidates can apply for these if they can receive 10% of votes in an election)

Question 18

Limits On How Much Individuals Can Donate

Answer 18

Total Amount (Every 2 Years): $117,000

• To a Candidate: $2,500
• To a National Party: $30,800
• To A Political Committee: $5,000

Question 19

Limits On How Much PACs Can Donate

Answer 19

Total Amount (Every 2 Years): None

• To a Candidate: $5,000
• To a National Party: $15,000
• To a Political Committee: $5,000

Question 20

Limits On How Much Non-PACs Can Donate

Answer 20

Total Amount (Every 2 Years): None

• To a Candidate: $2,500
• To a National Party: $30,800
• To a Political Committee: $5,000

Question 21

Super Tuesday

Answer 21

Some states have been pushing back primaries to early March

Question 22

Front-Loading

Answer 22

The states’ hopes in having a greater influence on which candidates will win nomination by pushing the primaries forward (Increases pressure on candidates to succeed in winning the nomination)

Question 23

Brokered Conventions

Answer 23

When no candidate has been pledged to by a majority of delegates, the convention itself will decide who the candidate will be

Question 24

Unify the Party

Answer 24

The main purpose of national conventions before presidential campaigning begins (Primaries tear the party apart, because candidates attack one another in order to gain the nomination)

Question 25

Post-Convention Bump

Answer 25

The rise in the public approval of a candidate after a national convention

Question 26

Electoral College

Answer 26

Have the final decision on who the President will be (A means of insulating the government from the uneducated public and also the reason why a minority president-elect (President-Elect who does not have the most votes) can win)

Question 27

Winner-Take-All System

Answer 27

Each state is given a set number of elector’s for the electoral college and whichever presidential candidate can win the Presidential Election in each state will take all of the elector’s votes

Question 28

News Media

Answer 28

Provides voters with daily campaign information (Focus mainly on the candidates’ standing within the national polls)

Question 29

Campaign Advertisements

Answer 29

Provide a more controlled look at candidates (Candidates can build up a positive view themselves or a negative view of their opponents; negative views are becoming more and more common)

Question 30

Voter Turnout

Answer 30

Percentage of the population that actually votes in the elections (Less than 40% of Americans participate)

Question 31

Split-Ticket Voting

Answer 31

Voting for one presidential candidate of one party and legislators of another