Political Participation

Question 1

ABC News declares one presidential candidate the winner in a televised debate. In
this role ABC News is acting as the

Answer 1

Scorekeeper

Question 2

The New York Times publishes an article accusing a Texas Senator of using his
power to extract contributions from oil industry executives. In this role, the Times is
acting as the

Answer 2

Watchdog

Question 3

Which of the following describes the result in a winner-take-all, single member
district plurality system?

Answer 3

The candidate who receives the most votes in the election wins.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes how presidential campaigns have changed over
the last 40 years?

Answer 4

There has been a change from party-centered campaigning to candidate-center
campaigning.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the chart?

Answer 5

One candidate can win the popular vote and not win the electoral vote

Question 6

6. Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the chart?

Answer 6

Since 2016, the fastest-growing media used by US adults has been online

Question 7

The process by which the public opinion divides and goes to the extremes.

Answer 7

political polarization

Question 8

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy

Answer 8

interest group

Question 9

A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy

Answer 9

political party

Question 10

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.

Answer 10

lobbying

Question 11

the process of taking legal action

Answer 11

litigation

Question 12

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

Answer 12

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Question 13

An individual can spend unlimited amounts of their personal wealth on their open campaigns.

Answer 13

Buckely v. Valeo

Question 14

A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering (Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow)

Answer 14

Citizens United vs. FEC

Question 15

Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free

Answer 15

franking privilege

Question 16

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

Answer 16

electoral college

Question 17

the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election

Answer 17

voter turnout

Question 18

Influence which subjects are of national importance (help set national agenda)

Answer 18

gatekeeper role of media

Question 19

keep track of and help make political reputations

Answer 19

scorekeeper role of media

Question 20

a practice which journalist and reporters use in regards to government coverage and campaign coverage with emphasis on who is gaining or losing, not on what is being done about issues.

Answer 20

horserace journalism

Question 21

electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office

Answer 21

single-member district

Question 22

Election campaigns and other political processes in which political parties, not individual candidates, hold most of the initiative and influence.

Answer 22

party-centered campaigns

Question 23

Election campaigns and other political processes in which candidates, not political parties, have most of the initiative and influence.

Answer 23

candidate-centered campaigns

Question 24

the inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government. Difficult to pass laws due to evenly divided votes.

Answer 24

gridlock government

Question 25

A document drawn up at each national convention, outlining the policies, positions, and principles of the party.

Answer 25

party platform

Question 26

A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place

Answer 26

open primary

Question 27

A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote

Answer 27

closed primary

Question 28

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Answer 28

caucus

Question 29

A person appointed or elected to represent others

Answer 29

delegate

Question 30

U.S. cannot prevent a person from voting because of race, color, or creed

Answer 30

15th amendment (1870)

Question 31

Gave women the right to vote

Answer 31

19th amendment (1920)

Question 32

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1964) eliminated the poll tax as a prerequisite to vote in national elections.

Answer 32

24th amendment

Question 33

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage

Answer 33

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Question 34

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

Answer 34

26th amendment

Question 35

Direct group involvement in the electoral process. Groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates, and some form Political Action Committees (PACs).

Answer 35

electioneering

Question 36

Journalism that attempts to hold government officials and institutions accountable for their actions.

Answer 36

watchdog journalism

Question 37

scientific efforts to estimate what an entire group thinks about an issue by asking a smaller sample of the group for its opinion

Answer 37

public opinion polls

Question 38

a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll

Answer 38

margin of error

Question 39

Nominating election held to choose party candidates who will run in the general election

Answer 39

primary election

Question 40

election in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices

Answer 40

general election

Question 41

the belief that the government's proper role is to actively promote health, education, and justice

Answer 41

Liberal Political Ideology

Question 42

An ideology that advocates minimal regulation of the economy and decreased emphasis on income redistribution.

Answer 42

Conservative Ideology

Question 43

Strategies used to influence people to believe, buy or do something

Answer 43

propaganda techniques

Question 44

The argument that since something is popular or everybody is doing it, so should you.

Answer 44

bandwagon appeal

Question 45

attempts to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea

Answer 45

testimonial

Question 46

implies that ordinary people are on "our side" or that a candidate is like an ordinary person

Answer 46

plain folks appeal

Question 47

connects a product, a candidate, or a cause with a positive image or idea

Answer 47

transfer appeal

Question 48

Uses attractive, but vague, words that embody ideals such as: freedom, fame, justice, respect.

Answer 48

glittering generality

Question 49

making a 1 sided case. Choosing only evidence that best supports your argument but completely ignoring the opposing side

Answer 49

cardstacking

Question 50

Literally, a "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.

Answer 50

amicus curiae brief

Question 51

Tried to increase voter turnout by allowing voter registration at same time as getting or renewing driver's license. Increased the registration rate, but not the voter turnout rate (people still apathetic or not motivated to vote)

Answer 51

Motor Voter Act of 1993

Question 52

the citizens eligible to vote

Answer 52

electorate

Question 53

voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election

Answer 53

split-ticket voting

Question 54

practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election

Answer 54

straight ticket voting

Question 55

campaign contributions donated directly to candidates

Answer 55

hard money

Question 56

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

Answer 56

soft money

Question 57

a proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote

Answer 57

ballot initiative

Question 58

A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.

Answer 58

referendum

Question 59

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast

Answer 59

prior restraint

Question 60

voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate

Answer 60

prospective voting

Question 61

voting based on the past performance of a candidate

Answer 61

retrospective voting

Question 62

An FCC requirement that broadcasters who air programs on controversial issues provide time for opposing views

Answer 62

Fairness Doctrine

Question 63

The process through which ideas and information are filtered for publication

Answer 63

gatekeeping

Question 64

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.

Answer 64

monetary policy

Question 65

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

Answer 65

fiscal policy

Question 66

Experienced great economic prosperity, job security, optimism about their future

Answer 66

Baby Boomers

Question 67

generational cohort of people born between 1965 and 1980

Answer 67

Gen X

Question 68

people born between 1981 and 1996

Answer 68

Millennials

Question 69

secular realignment

Answer 69

political affiliation shifts due to demographic changes

Question 70

superdelegate

Answer 70

usually a party leader or activist who is not pledged to a candidate based on the outcome of the state's primary or caucus

Question 71

proportional representation

Answer 71

An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

Question 72

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

Answer 72

Attempted to ban soft money by regulating issue advocacy and party building activities

Question 73

contrast ad

Answer 73

ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the ad

Question 74

conventional political participation

Answer 74

activism that attempts to influence the political process through commonly accepted forms of persuasion such as voting or letter writing

Question 75

crossover voting

Answer 75

participation in the primary of a party with which the voter is not affiliated

Question 76

front-loading

Answer 76

The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.

Question 77

inoculation ad

Answer 77

advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched

Question 78

presidential coattails

Answer 78

When voters vote for members of the President's party because they like the President