Elections
What is the name of the system that officially elects the President of the United States?
Electoral College
What amendment lowered the voting age to 18?
26
In this type of election, voters choose which candidate will represent a political party in the general election. In many states, voters may choose among candidates from one political party rather than voting directly for the officeholder.
Primary Election
What type of Political Action Committee can raise unlimited funds but cannot coordinate directly with candidates?
SuperPAC
How many Electoral Votes does Washington DC have?
3
What type of primary allows voters to select candidates regardless of their registered party?
Open Primary
What term describes organizations like political parties, interest groups, and the media that connect citizens to the government?
What are linkage institutions?
What event is held by political parties to officially nominate their presidential candidate and adopt their platform?
National Conventions (DNC, RNC)
What law created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to oversee campaign finance laws?
Federal Election Campaign Act 1971
This type of poll surveys voters after they have cast their ballots to learn how different groups voted and why they made their choices. News organizations often use this information to analyze election results.
Exit Poll
Following the disputed 2000 presidential election, the Supreme Court ruled that Florida's recount procedures violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because different counties used different standards for evaluating ballots.
Bush v. Gore
How throughout history have some states attempted to reduce low turnout, especially for specific demographics.
Poll tax, literacy tests, long election lines, etc.
What landmark case allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on independent political expenditures?
What is Citizens United v. FEC?
Which Amendment removed the Poll Tax?
24th Amendment
A graph shows voter turnout at 55%, 58%, 62%, 59%, and 64% over five elections. What type of graph would be most appropriate for identifying the overall trend over time?
A Line Graph
This voting system allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, eliminating the lowest-performing candidates and redistributing votes until one candidate achieves a majority.
Ranked-Choice Voting
What are the four models of voting behavior that explain why people vote the way they do?
What are rational-choice, retrospective, prospective, and party-line voting?
Unlike regular delegates who are typically allocated based on the results of primary elections or caucuses, these Democratic Party delegates historically consisted of party leaders and elected officials who were not initially bound to a candidate based on primary results.
Superdelegates
What law aimed to regulate soft money and issue advocacy ads but was partially overturned by Citizens United?
What is the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)?
This type of public opinion poll is conducted early in a political campaign to establish a candidate’s initial level of support and identify voters’ opinions on important issues. Later polls can be compared to this initial measurement to track changes.
Benchmark Poll
What part of the Constitution grants states the authority to run federal elections? (Not the 10th Amendment) Article and Section
Article 1 Section 4
What is a major reason for low voter turnout in the United States?
Voting Registration, differences from state to state, no election holiday, etc.
What term describes a significant and lasting shift in party loyalty among voters, often resulting in a new political era?
Realignment
This political party reform led to more diversity in the Democratic party by shifting to primaries election and not just super delegates choosing their top choice. This was due to a riot between Pro Vietnam War Democrats and Anti-Vietnam War Democrats in 1968.
McGovern Fraser Commission
How much money has Dark money raised in the last presidential election?
1.9 Billion