elections, voting, campaigns tx politics

Question 1

Open primaries

Answer 1

permit any registered voter to vote in any party’s primary, with the caveat that voters can vote in only one party’s primary during a single primary period. Voters in open primary states may be given ballots from both parties, but they may mark only one of them.

Question 2

Closed primaries

Answer 2

require advance declaration of partisan affiliation in order to vote in a specific party’s primary. Registered Republicans may only vote for Republican Party candidates, registered Democrats may only vote for Democratic Party candidates, and so on.

Question 3

Blanket primaries

Answer 3

present voters with all of the candidates for a given office, which can include more than one candidate for each party. Traditionally, the top-two vote getters in the blanket primary go on to the general election (even if they’re of the same party)

Question 4

runoff primary

Answer 4

an election held between the top two vote-getters in the primary when none of them has received a majority vote.

Question 5

general election

Answer 5

lets all registered voters participate in choosing public servants from among the parties’ nominees

Question 6

What type of election is held when a legislative or congressional seat becomes vacant before the end of the current occupant’s term?

Answer 6

special election

Question 7

What is the effect of holding gubernatorial and other executive branch office elections in Texas in off-years?

Answer 7

It insulates the election of statewide offices from national politics.

Question 8

What happens if no candidate wins a majority of votes in a Texas primary election?

Answer 8

There is a runoff election between the two candidates with the most votes to decide who will run in the general election.

Question 9

What is the purpose of a primary?

Answer 9

to allow party members to choose the party’s nominees for an upcoming general election

Question 10

What is the effect of nonpartisan elections (such as city council elections) where party affiliation is not indicated on the ballot?

Answer 10

Voters have a difficult time choosing between candidates.

Question 11

Which of the following is true of an open primary?

Answer 11

An open primary does not require voters to declare the party with which they are affiliated.

Question 12

In order to be listed on the Republican or Democratic primary ballot in Texas, what must a candidate do?

Answer 12

either collect signatures on a nominating petition or pay a filing fee

Question 13

What must an independent candidate do to be listed on the general election ballot?

Answer 13

collect signatures on a nominating petition

Question 14

Major and minor parties are treated differently under Texas law. What is the difference between a major party and a minor party?

Answer 14

Minor parties are those parties that received less than 20 percent of the vote in the previous general election.

Question 15

Which of the following individuals would be allowed to vote in Texas?

Answer 15

a 25-year-old U.S. citizen who has been a Texas resident for ten years

Question 16

Which of the following is a common reason that voters may be disqualified from voting?

Answer 16

They did not re-register to vote after moving.

Question 17

How does Texas’s voter participation rate compare to the national average?

Answer 17

Texas has a lower voter participation rate than the national average.

Question 18

Which of the following individuals would be MOST likely to vote, according to statistical trends on demographic data and voter turnout?

Answer 18

a 70-year-old woman with a bachelor’s degree

Question 19

Why did the majority of Americans judge John F. Kennedy the winner of the first televised presidential debate in 1960?

Answer 19

Most Americans watched the debate on television, and Kennedy looked fresher and more vibrant than Nixon.

Question 20

What is the most important task for candidates to accomplish during a campaign?

Answer 20

Candidates must motivate voters to show up and vote.

Question 21

How did microtargeting help the 2000 Bush campaign?

Answer 21

It helped the campaign identify the best candidates to receive mail and phone calls making the case for Bush.

Question 22

Why are state and local campaigns still relying on older methods of campaigning such as door hangers, direct mail, and mass emails?

Answer 22

State and local races are small in scale and lack the resources to pay the high costs of analytics-driven targeting.

Question 23

What is data mining?

Answer 23

the collection and analysis of massive amounts of information

Question 24

At a basic level, what is the primary goal of most political advertising? Choose the BEST answer.

Answer 24

achieving name recognition for a candidate

Question 25

Which of the following is a benefit of using short web videos in campaigns?

Answer 25

The format is less expensive than television advertisements.

Question 26

A Republican candidate running for office in Texas would be MOST likely to seek an endorsement from which of the following groups?

Answer 26

NRA

Question 27

“Pappy” O’Daniel, the governor of Texas from 1941 to 1949, helped make what practice common?

Answer 27

using radio addresses to help voters feel as though they knew him

Question 28

In what way(s) have data and research taken over specific functions of campaigns?

Answer 28

They are used to help a candidate get to know individuals or groups.

Question 29

How do campaigns typically use successful poll results?

Answer 29

to establish their candidate’s credibility

Question 30

How might voters exposed to poll results be influenced by the “bandwagon effect”?

Answer 30

Undecided voters are likely to cast their ballots for the candidate they think is the probable winner.

Question 31

Since voters might be exposed to the bandwagon effect, what do some argue that news stations ought to do?

Answer 31

stick to reporting what is actually happening on Election Day rather than making projections

Question 32

How much did the average amount spent on a winning campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives increase from 1986 to 2012?

Answer 32

366 percent

Question 33

How much total money was contributed to all Texas political candidates in 2010?

Answer 33

more than $200,000,000

Question 34

Which of the following has been a factor in the increasing party competition that has inflated the costs of campaigning in Texas?

Answer 34

Demographic shifts in Texas have raised the possibility of a Democratic resurgence.

Question 35

According to the New York Times, what is one of the most valuable tools of campaigns and political action committees?

Answer 35

30-second TV commercials

Question 36

Which two authorities regulate campaign financing for elections in Texas?

Answer 36

the Federal Election Commission and the Texas Ethics Commission

Question 37

Why has the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) faced severe criticism over its enforcement of campaign laws?

Answer 37

The TEC does not sufficiently investigate complaints of violations.

Question 38

Which of the following did the 1991 law creating the Texas Ethics Commission fail to do?

Answer 38

place a cap on campaign contributions

Question 39

The reasoning behind the Citizens United v. FEC decision has to do with the way the United States understands the constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens and interests to free speech. Why does making political donations fall in this category?

Answer 39

Making donations is understood to be petitioning government.

Question 40

What was the effect of the Citizens United decision?

Answer 40

The decision let individuals, unions, and corporations donate unlimited amounts anonymously to political action committees.