Which of the following polls is most likely to be based on a truly random sample of 18- to 21-year-old voters?
A) poll taken online
B) poll of registered voters aged 18-21, contacting every tenth person on a list
C) poll taken by knocking on every third door in a college dorm
D) poll of all 18- to 21-year-olds attending a rap concert
poll of registered voters aged 18-21, contacting every tenth person on a list
What is the relationship between interest groups and political action committees?
Many interest groups have political action committees to support candidates for office.
The purpose of exit polls is to
predict election results before polls close.
What is a goal common to all interest groups?
influencing public policy
A newspaper’s investigative series exposing corruption in a public agency would be an example of how the mass media might:
A) help determine the public agenda.
B) engage in political socialization.
C) measure public opinion.
D) cover electoral politics.
A) help determine the public agenda.
An interest group that wants to contribute to candidates for Congress would most likely
form a political action committee
Which of the following was a goal of Congress’s 2007 legislation aimed at checking the influence of powerful interest groups?
A) prohibiting lobbying by corporations
B) outlawing lobbying
C) banning lobbying by labor unions
D) limiting some activities of lobbyists
limiting some activities of lobbyists
An interest group that endorses a candidate is
asking voters to elect the candidate.
(Supporting the candidate)
Which of the following is a type of group that promotes the interests of a group of businesses?
A) commodity group
B) cause-based group
C) trade association
D) Labor Union
Trade Association
What party system is the most common party system?
Multiparty
A significant difference between political parties and interest groups is that
the main goal of political parties is to elect their members to public office.
Which of the following best describes a political party’s ideology?
A) set of proposals for new laws to be passed
B) list of candidates chosen to run for office
C) campaign statement on how tax burden should be addressed
D) ideas about the proper goals of government
ideas about the proper goals of government
In the 2000 presidential election, Ralph Nader ran as the candidate of the Green Party. What term best describes the role he took?
third-party candidate
What is the origin of the today’s two major U.S. political parties?
a party split
Compared with political parties in multiparty systems, what are parties in our two-party system more likely to do?
lack party unity
A meeting of party members to endorse candidates for office and select delegates is called a
caucus
How does the fact that parties provide a political “brand name” help a political party?
Voters may vote for an unknown candidate because they support the party’s views.
In our two-party system, each major party tries to
appeal to as broad a base as possible.
The main task of a national nominating convention is to
select candidates to run in the party’s presidential primaries.
How has the nominating process changed since the 1890s?
Voters have gained a greater voice.
What takes place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of all even-numbered years?
congressional election
Which of the following is the best argument in favor of making it easier for people to use absentee ballots?
A) Voter fraud would be reduced.
B) Voter registration would become easier.
C) More 18-year-olds would vote.
D) Voter participation would increase.
Voter participation would increase.
A common criticism of election campaigns is that they are too
Negative
Which of the following best describes a possible drawback of electronic voting?
A) Vote counting might take longer.
B) Voting might not be secret.
C) Machines might not provide a paper trail.
D) It makes it impossible to use absentee ballots.
Machines might not provide a paper trail.
Which of the following is most likely to be the occasion for a special election?
A) The regular election day falls on a Sunday.
B) An elected official resigns.
C) The president and Congress cannot agree on issues.
D)There is only one candidate for an office.
An elected official resigns.