practice quiz 3

Question 1

Today, in national elections, most campaign tasks are handled by

Answer 1

paid professionals.

Question 2

A meeting of party members designed to select candidates and propose policies is called

Answer 2

a caucus.

Question 3

Primary elections were first mandated

Answer 3

in 1903 in Wisconsin.

Question 4

Superdelegates are

Answer 4

party leaders or elected officials who are given the right to vote at the party’s national convention.

Question 5

The number of eligible voters who cast ballots on Election Day is referred to as the

Answer 5

voter turnout.

Question 6

Every two years ________ House seats are up for election, and ________ in the Senate.

Answer 6

435/a third.

Question 7

As detailed in the Constitution, the formal requirements for the office of senator include that he or she must be

Answer 7

a resident of the state from which elected.

Question 8

A secret ballot prepared, distributed, and tabulated by government officials at public expense is known as the

Answer 8

Australian ballot.

Question 9

State and national candidates are typically nominated through a

Answer 9

primary election.

Question 10

Reforms to the Federal Election Campaign Act in 1974 did NOT

Answer 10

provide public funding for congressional elections.

Question 11

One criticism of media coverage of campaigns is that too much attention is focused on:

Answer 11

The horse race.

Question 12

A major development in the run-up to the 2010 elections was the growth of the ______ movement.

Answer 12

Tea Party

Question 13

Soft money refers to

Answer 13

campaign contributions to political parties that escaped limits of federal or state election law.

Question 14

The number of members each state will have in the Electoral College

Answer 14

equals that state’s number of senators plus its number of representatives.

Question 15

The process in which more and more states move their primaries into the first months of the year is known as

Answer 15

front-loading.

Question 16

Redistricting is often a highly partisan and contentious activity because it can change the number of House seats each party wins in a state. The party in control of the state legislature can design districts so as to protect its incumbents and increase its House seats. The party in power can obtain more seats by having small but usually safe majorities in several districts and cramming large numbers of the other party’s voters into just a few districts. This is achieved through a process known as:

Answer 16

Gerrymandering

Question 17

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 banned

Answer 17

soft money contributions to national parties.

Question 18

The number of political action committees (PACs)

Answer 18

grew significantly after 1976 but has leveled off since the 1990s.

Question 19

When a district’s boundaries are redrawn to maximize the political advantage of a party or racial group, this is called

Answer 19

gerrymandering.

Question 20

A committee set up by and representing a corporation, labor union, or special interest group to raise campaign donations is a

Answer 20

political action committee.

Question 21

Soft money refers to (2)

Answer 21

campaign contributions to political parties

Question 22

One of the reasons that campaigns no longer depend on political parties is

Answer 22

that fewer people identify with them.

Question 23

The ______ limited the amount that candidates could spend on their own campaigns, a limit later ruled unconstitutional.

Answer 23

Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971

Question 24

The job of a political consultant may include all of the following EXCEPT

Answer 24

nominating a candidate for office.

Question 25

State and national candidates are typically nominated through a (2)

Answer 25

primary elections and caucus

Question 26

When the top two candidates in a primary compete in another primary for a majority of votes, it is called

Answer 26

a run-off primary.

Question 27

In Buckley v. Valeo, the Supreme Court

Answer 27

ruled that it was unconstitutional to restrict in any way the amount congressional candidates could spend on their own behalf.

Question 28

The series of acts passed by Congress in an attempt to limit and regulate the size and sources of contributions and expenditures in political campaigns are known as the

Answer 28

corrupt practices acts.

Question 29

Advertising paid for by interest groups that support or oppose a candidate (or a candidate’s position on an issue) without mentioning voting or elections is called

Answer 29

issue advocacy advertising.

Question 30

This attack ad was designed for the 1964 election campaign of Democratic president Lyndon Johnson. It exploited the fear that Johnson’s Republican opponent, Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona, was willing to use nuclear weapons.

Answer 30

The Daisy ad.

Question 31

Presidential nominees are selected by both major parties through:

Answer 31

Caucuses and primaries.

Question 32

The minimum number of electoral votes a presidential candidate needs to be elected:

Answer 32

270

Question 33

Independent expenditures by special interests are

Answer 33

unregulated political expenditures by PACs, organizations, and individuals that are not coordinated with candidate campaigns or political parties.

Question 34

State and national candidates are typically nominated through a

Answer 34

primary elections and caucus

Question 35

Reapportionment is

Answer 35

the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census.

Question 36

The selection of electors is governed by

Answer 36

state laws.

Question 37

Money given to the political parties for get-out-the-vote drives, party-building activities, and issue advertising that is not subject to contribution limits.

Answer 37

Soft money

Question 38

Candidates who accept federal financing for presidential general elections

Question 39

Under the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC,

Question 40

The organizations that came to be known as “527s”