Chapter 5 - Electoral systems

Question 1

How often is a presidential election?

Answer 1

Every 4 years.

Question 2

When was the first presidential election?

Answer 2

1788

Question 3

Why is a presidential election held every 4 years?

Answer 3

It is laid down in Article II of the Constitution.

Question 4

What are the 7 stages of the presidential election?

Answer 4

1. Invisible primary
2. Primaries and caucuses
3. Choosing the VP candidate
4. National party conventions
5. General election campaign
6. Election day
7. Electoral college voting

Question 5

What are the 4 functions of the invisible primaries?

Answer 5

• Candidate’s announce their intention to run.
• Generate name recognition.
• Raise funds.
• Gauge public support.

Question 6

When do the invisible primaries occur?

Answer 6

A year before the election.

Question 7

What happens at the National Party conventions?

Answer 7

Confirm presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Question 8

What must you be in order to run for president?

Answer 8

You must be a natural-born US citizen.

Question 9

How old must you be in order to be president?

Answer 9

35

Question 10

Who was the youngest ever elected president?

Answer 10

John F. Kennedy, who was 43.

Question 11

How long must you have lived in the US in order to run for president?

Answer 11

14 years

Question 12

What Amendment limited the president to two terms in office?

Answer 12

Twenty-second Amendment

Question 13

When was the Twenty-second Amendment passed?

Answer 13

1951

Question 14

Who chooses presidential candidates in the USA?

Answer 14

Ordinary voters, not parties.

Question 15

What is the invisible primary?

Answer 15

The time between candidates declaring their intention to run and the first primaries and caucuses.

Question 16

What media event is a key part of the invisible primary?

Answer 16

Televised intra-party debates between the candidates.

Question 17

What did Ben Carson, Republican candidate in 2016, say about the media debates of the invisible primaries?

Answer 17

He criticised them for not “being able to explain something in depth”, being more of a media circus.

Question 18

What did Donald Trump do to fund his campaign?

Answer 18

He largely self-financed it.

Question 19

How much did Joe Biden spend in the 2020 primaries?

Answer 19

$116 million

Question 20

What usually happens to the person leading at the end of the invisible primaries?

Answer 20

More often than not they are confirmed as the nominee.

Question 21

Where did Trump stand at the end of the invisible primaries?

Answer 21

He was in the lead, 16-points ahead of Ted Cruz.

Question 22

What is the invisible primary sometimes dubbed?

Answer 22

The money primary

Question 23

What is the presidential primary?

Answer 23

A state-based election to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency.

Question 24

What are presidential caucuses?

Answer 24

A series of state-based meetings to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency.

Question 25

What is the difference between a presidential primary and a presidential caucus?

Answer 25

A primary is an election whereas a caucus is a meeting.

Question 26

What sort of states hold caucuses?

Answer 26

Ones that are geographically large but thinly populated, such as Iowa and Nevada.

Question 27

What sort of people go to caucuses?

Answer 27

Those who are more passionate and ideological since the meetings are long and tedious, deterring people who would be prepared to cast a simple vote but not much more.

Question 28

How many caucuses did the Democrats hold in the 2020 election?

Answer 28

Just 4, showing they are being used less and less.

Question 29

Why did Bernie Sanders do well in the caucuses?

Answer 29

Because those who attended were more ideologically driven.

Question 30

Who regulates the running of the state primaries?

Answer 30

Each state regulates its own primaries, meaning there are variations in how they are run.

Question 31

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