Exam 2

Question 1

How do most people participate in the political system?

Answer 1

• voting
• running for office
• marches and demonstrations
• giving money
• writting letters
• discussiong issues with friends

Question 2

What is a rational voter?

Answer 2

a voter who will vote only if the personal benefits outweigh the costs

Question 3

What groups of people tend to show up more for voting?

Answer 3

people with higher education and income are more likely to show up during elections

Question 4

What could cause different levels of voter turout in different states?

Answer 4

• battleground states have a higher turnout since candidates put more time into them
• differing registration procedures
• time, location, etc. of actual voting experience

Question 5

What is the other name for the National Voter Registration Act? Was does it do?

Answer 5

AKA the Motor Votor Law allowed US citizens to register to vote whenever they got their driver’s liscence

Question 6

How could voter turnout be increased?

Answer 6

• making registration easier
• making the voting experience better
• hiring engaged poll workers
• better designed ballots

Question 7

Who or what determines voter qualifications?

Answer 7

The states ultimately decide on voter qualifications.

Question 8

Which ammendments to the US Constitution have to do with voting?

Answer 8

Ammendments 15, 19, 24, and 26

Question 9

What is the 15th Ammendment

Answer 9

prohibits governments from denying the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”
- 1870

Question 10

What does the 19th Ammendment do?

Answer 10

gives women the right to vote

Question 11

What does the 24th Ammendment do?

Answer 11

the right to vote cannot be conditional on a poll tax

Question 12

What does the 26th Ammendment do?

Answer 12

cannot restrict the age to vote as long as the voter is over 18

Question 13

What is the responsible party model?

Answer 13

each party offers clear policy alternatives and holds their elected officials responsible for enacting these policies

Question 14

What do parties try to accomplish in the Responsible party model?

Answer 14

• develop and clarify alternative positions
• educate poeple about issues and simplify choices
• recruit candidates and help campaign
• oraginize legislatures and hold elected officials responsible

Question 15

What are some problems with the responsible party model?

Answer 15

• parties generally do not offer clear policy alternatives
• voter decisions are not primarily motivated by policy conciderations
• American parties have no way of binding their officials to party’s positions

Question 16

What is a political party?

Answer 16

an organization that seeks to achieve power by winning public office in elections

Question 17

What does the Downs model show?

Answer 17

Rational political parties position themselves near the center

Question 18

Political parties are built from the _______ __.

Answer 18

Political parties are built from the bottom up

Question 19

What is an open primary?

Answer 19

voters are not required to affiliate with a party, and can vot for either but NOT both

Question 20

What is a closed primary?

Answer 20

voters must declare for a party and vote only for that party

Question 21

What are the types of elections?

Answer 21

general, primary, initiative, recall

Question 22

what is the main idea of primary elections

Answer 22

“selection not election”

Question 23

What is an initiative election?

Answer 23

a petition is signed by a minimum number of people to force a public vote (AKA referendum)

Question 24

What do national party committees do?

Answer 24

• Keep parties operating between elections.
• plan the nominating convention
• spend heavily to support nominee

Question 25

When is negative campaigning successful?

Answer 25

• when focused on opponent’s policy and not personal qualities
• when presented bu press and not TV ads
• when shown to younger voters

Question 26

What is the significance of Baker v. Carr?

Answer 26

• Established that SCOTUS could hear cases regarding redrawing districts in regard to “Equal Protection Clause” in the 14th Ammendment
• districts must be continuous and take into account geography
• “The restricting of state legislative districts is not political question, and thus is justiciable by federal courts”

Question 27

What was the significance of Reynolds V Sims?

Answer 27

• Districts within a state must have roughly the same population despite being rural or urban
• Under “Equal Protection Clause” in the 14th Ammendment
• “one person, one vote”

Question 28

What issue did both court cases help solve?

Answer 28

racial underrepresentation

Question 29

What is the function of legislatures?

Answer 29

• enacting laws (views 101,000/session but approves 19,000)
• consider constitutional amendments, gubernatorial appointments, and state courts
• approving budgets
• serving constituents
• overseeing state agencies

Question 30

What is the Principle Agent Model?

Answer 30

• Legislature is the principle: enacts, but cannot implement laws
• Executive is agent: enforces but cannot enact laws
• principle oversees agents enforce laws correctly

Question 31

Why do incumbents often win?

Answer 31

-Visibility: reelection campaign essentially starts 1st day in office
- resources of office: staffs, offices, expense accounts, travel budgets
- money: interest group contributions mostly go to incumbents
- professionalism and careerism: “known commodity” and cany rely on record

Question 32

What is apportionment?

Answer 32

Changing the number of seats a state gets in the US House of Reps

Question 33

What is gerrymandering?

Answer 33

drawing districts to gain a partisan advanage

Question 34

What are the types of legislative sessions, and how many days are they?

Answer 34

Regular session: 140 days every other year
Special session: 30 days called by governor

Question 35

How long is the usual Texas legislative session?

Answer 35

140 days biennially (every 2 years)

Question 36

What is the make up of Texas’s legislative chambers?

Answer 36

31 senators
150 representatives

Question 37

What do committees do?

Answer 37

Functions: Most chambers have 20-30 standing committees
Personnel: Assignment typically mad eby leadership, using occupational background as a factor
Committee Preferences: generally reflect preferences of the chamber

Question 38

Who determines the membership of legislative committees?

Answer 38

Committee assignments are usually made by the leadership in each chamber

Question 39

What is pigeonholing?

Answer 39

When a committee chair refuses to schedule a committee hearing for a bill and it effectively dies

Question 40

What are the requirements to be elected to the Texas state Senate? How do terms work in the Texas Senate?

Answer 40

• minimum age of 26
• Texas citizen for min 5 years
• resident of district for min 1 year
• 4 year terms
• Senate is split into 2 classes, each up for reelection every 2 years
• elections in even numbered years

Question 41

What are the requirements to be elected to the Texas State House of Reps? How do terms work in the Texas HOR?

Answer 41

• min age of 21
• texas citizen min 2 years
• resident of district min 1 year
• 2 year terms
• elections in even numbered years

Question 42

How is legislative leadership chosen?

Answer 42

Speaker of the House: Chosen by house members, NOT voters
President of the Senate: Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Committee Chairs: Appointmetn by the Speaker of the House/President of the Senate