Final v2

Question 1

Public Opinion

Answer 1

The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues

Question 2

Class Action Suits

Answer 2

Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to se on behalf of all other people similarly situated.

Question 3

Party Realignment

Answer 3

The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.

Question 4

National Party Convention

Answer 4

The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party’s platform.

Question 5

Front loading

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Answer 6

Six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974- enforces and administers campaign finance laws.

Question 7

Reapportionment

Answer 7

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census

Question 8

Policy Voting

Answer 8

Electoral choices that are made on basis of the voters’ policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues.

Question 9

Census

Answer 9

An actual enumeration of the population, which the Constitution requires that the government conduct every 10 years. It’s a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes

Question 10

Minority Majority

Answer 10

The situation, likely beginning in the mid-twenty-first century, in which the non-Hispanic whites will represent a minority of the U.S. population and minority groups together will represent a majority

Question 11

Civil Disobedience

Answer 11

A form of political participation based on a conscious decision to break a law believed to be unjust and to suffer the consequences.

Question 12

Political Socialization

Answer 12

The process through which a young person acquires political orientations, based on inputs from family, schools, the media, and friends

Question 13

Motor Voter Act

Answer 13

Requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver’s license. Passed in 1993, this act went into effect for the 1996 election.

Question 14

Linkage Institution

Answer 14

The channels through which people’s concerns become political issues on the government’s policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

Question 15

Patronage

Answer 15

One of the key inducements used by party machines. A patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.

Question 16

Closed Primaries

Answer 16

Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.

Question 17

Proportional Representation

Answer 17

An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.

Question 18

Party Platform

Answer 18

A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. Drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate’s strength. It’s the best formal statement of a party’s beliefs.

Question 19

Direct mail

Answer 19

A high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidates. It involves sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.

Question 20

Initiative Petition

Answer 20

A process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a referendum.

Question 21

Electoral College

Answer 21

A unique American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties. Although its vote usually reflects a popular majority, the winner-take-all rules give clout to big states.

Question 22

Pluralist Theory

Answer 22

A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.

Question 23

Hyper-pluralist Theory

Answer 23

A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened. Hyper-pluralism is an extreme, exaggerated, or perverted form of pluralism.

Question 24

Free-Rider Problem

Answer 24

The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group’s activities without officially joining. The bigger the group, the more serious the problem.

Question 25

Amicus Curiae Briefs

Answer 25

Legal briefs submitted by a “friend of the court” for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. These briefs attempt to influence a court’s decision.