practice quiz 4 Flashcards
Which of the following was created in part to establish a social contract between the American government and the people?
the House of Representatives
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for a state to unilaterally place term limits on Members of Congress. What was the name of the 1995 Supreme Court case that made this ruling?
U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton
Which U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision (2010) held that a Washington law banning ex-felons from voting violates the Voting Rights Act because it has the effect of disproportionately disenfranchising African American voters?
Farrakhan v. Gregoire
What is the name of the author who argues that Members of Congress have two goals: (1) to enact meaningful legislation (Washington style); and (2) re-election concerns (Home style)?
Richard Fenno
Those who favor unicameral legislatures argue which of the following?
A, B, C
Costa Rica’s stability flows from policies designed to protect
the sanctity of the electoral process.
Which term describes a rule in the Senate that requires 60 senators to vote to stop a filibuster?
Cloture
Differences between Senate and House versions of a bill are ironed out by
Conference committees.
What is the name of the types of legislation that contains several smaller bills within the framework of one large bill?
Omnibus legislation
Japan is considered a(n) __________ that has a _______________ legislature.
multiparty parliamentary democracy; bicameral
Which Supreme Court case(s) has(have) made it illegal to draw congressional districts based solely on the racial make-up of the district?
Answers A, B and C
In Baker v. Carr, the Supreme Court established the principle of
one person, one vote
Since the majority party that controls the House of Commons determines the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, we label it as a
parliamentary democracy.
Which term is used to describe a lack of progress on enacting legislation typically caused by partisan and/or institutional infighting?
gridlock
How many members were there in the first U.S. House of Representatives?
65
Traditionally those in __________ Ukraine have favored greater alignment with Russia.
eastern
In the United Kingdom, the British House of Commons is __________ than the House of Lords.
more politically powerful
Which legislative term describes the practice of voting in the same manner as a respected colleague or party leader when a member of Congress is undecided on how to vote on a particular bill?
Cue-taking
Costa Rica’s Asamblea Legislativa comprises 57 members directly elected by the people. Which of the following is NOT one of its powers?
appoint the Prime Minister
Which Federalist Paper addressed the size of the House of Representatives by explaining it would not be an elitist body because the size of the House of Representatives would grow alongside the size of the U.S. population?
Federalist Paper No. 55
How were U.S. Senators originally selected?
appointment by the state’s legislature
_________, ____________ states are the most common in the world today.
Unitary, unicameral
A Congressperson’s attempt to publicly express his or her support of a particular policy position perceived to be of interest to his or her constituents (whether taking action on it or not) is identified in Mayhew’s Congress: The Electoral Connection as
position taking.
Those who favor ____________ legislatures say that they are more efficient, more accountable to the people, and generate fewer expenses.
unicameral
The _________________ branch is considered to be the most representative of the people.
legislative
What is the only country that has larger legislative districts than the U.S. House of Representatives in their lower legislative chamber?
India
Which term describes the underrepresentation of the population that arises when one legislative district is considerably more populated than another?
Malapportionment
Which 1962 Supreme Court case is credited with establishing the principle of one person, one vote in state legislatures by requiring legislative districts to be populated with an equal number of residents?
Baker v. Carr
The National Diet in Japan is a _________________ comprised of the_____________.
bicameral legislature; House of Councilors and the House of Representatives
The Affordable Care Act of 2010, dubbed “ObamaCare” by some, is the most significant piece of health care legislation since Medicare and Medicaid was enacted into law in the 1960s. Which provision is NOT contained in the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010?
Requires coverage for legal and illegal immigrants
Each member of the U.S. House of Representatives now represents approximately how many people?
700,000 people
In Japan, people vote in elections
for both the upper and lower houses of the legislature.
The Framers changed their mind about granting Congress the power to “make war” (instead granting Congress the power to “declare war”) for what reason?
in order to enable the executive branch to defend the nation if attacked when Congress was not in session
Which of the following was the reason for ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment (1913), which transformed the Senate from an elective to an appointive position?
All of the above
According to research by political scientists, women legislators are more likely than their male counterparts to do which of the following?
All of the above
Which of the following is NOT one of the four distinct types of committees in Congress?
Policy committees
A Member of the House of Representatives serves ___ years in each term, whereas a Senator serves ___ years.
two; six
Which of the following systems of governance is defined by a fusion of the legislative and executive branches?
parliamentary systems
In bicameral legislatures, the “lower house” typically
All of the above
Drawing congressional district lines within a state to enhance one party’s control of the state legislature or the states representatives to Congress is known as
partisan gerrymandering.
Today Ukraine is considered a ___________, ____________, ___________ democracy.
unitary, unicameral, presidential
The ____________ has to face off against his political opponents weekly during half-hour sessions referred to as Question Time.
The British prime minister
Which political era (1824–1854) was marked with the expansion of democratic rights and started the trend away from political appointments and toward the use of elections to select public officials?
Jacksonian democracy
What law capped the number of representatives in the U.S. House at 435?
The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929
Which of the following is NOT a power granted to Congress by the U.S. Constitution?
the power to make treaties
What food or drink analogy did George Washington use when discussing unicameral versus bicameral legislatures with Thomas Jefferson, to describe the Senate?
it cools the coffee
What is the term for the method used in the Senate to stop a bill from coming to a vote when senators make long speeches or engage in unlimited debate, controversial for its more frequent use in recent times?
Filibuster
What is the name used to describe the party leader responsible for working closely with rank and file members of Congress to ensure individuals vote in accordance with the wishes of the party leaders?
Whip
