Chapter 5: Political Parties
Chapter 6: Voters & Voting Behavior
Chapter 7: The Electoral Process
Chapter 8: Mass Media & Pub Op
Chapter 9: Interest Groups
100
This is the main contribution of minor parties.
What is advancing ideas that are eventually adopted by either the Republican or Democratic party (or both)?
100
True or false: gerrymandering is legal.
What is true, as long as the gerrymandering does not discriminate against racial minorities?
100
True or false: There is a limit on how much a candidate can spend on his/her campaign.
What is false?
100
These are the three things needed for a reliable poll.
What are a large sample size, a random sample, and clear, unbiased questions (which then allow you to have a "reliable" poll, which is a poll with a margin of error of +/- 3%)?
100
This is the term given to efforts to get many people to contact a policymaker about an issue.
What is grassroots lobbying?
200
These groups have tended to support the Democrats more than Republicans in recent elections.
What are (1) racial minorities; (2) women; (3) unions; (4) liberals; (5) Jews; (6) Catholics; etc.?
200
There are many grounds for denying someone the right to vote. Name three.
What are (1) mental incompetence; (2) conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude; (3) too young; (4) not a resident; (5) unexpected travel; (6) inability to satisfy voter ID requirements; (7) alien status; and (8) failure to register.
200
These are the different types of primaries.
What are (1) open, (2) closed, (3) nonpartisan, (4) blanket, and (5) runoff (sorta) (note that "direct" also is used, but that's just referring to primaries in general)?
200
These are reasons why the media may not be as influential as people think.
What are (a) selection bias, (b) a decline in the extent to which people follow the news, and (c) the tendency of the media to focus on more popular "fluff" pieces?
200
This is the term use to describe the technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors.
What is propaganda?
300
Your book identified 5 roles of political parties. Name 3 of them.
What are (1) select candidates; (2) inform/activate voters; (3) act as a bonding agent; (4) participate in governing; and (5) act as a watchdog?
300
This is the single most important factor in predicting how a person will vote.
What is party identification?
300
This is the holding of Citizens United v. FEC.
What is corporations and unions may spend unlimited sums of money on political speech?
300
This is the range within which poll results will fall at least 95% of the time.
What is the margin of error?
300
There are 9 tools that interest groups can use. Identify 5 of them.
What are (1) information, (2) lawsuits, (3) amicus briefs, (4) contributions, (5) lobbying, (6) endorsements, (7) candidate ratings, (8) volunteering in campaigns, and (9) independent expenditures?
400
There are several reasons why we have a two-party system today. What are 3 such reasons?
What are (a) tradition; (b) single-member districts; (c) the Electoral College; and (d) American ideological consensus?
400
This refers to voting for candidates from more than one party on the same ballot.
What is split-ticket voting?
400
These are three ways in which the Motor Voter law made it easier to register to vote.
What are registering -- (1) when you get a drivers license; (2) when you go to a gov't office to collect Social Security, etc.; and (3) by mail?
400
We discussed several different types of polls. Name 3 of them.
What is (1) an exit poll, (2) a tracking poll, (3) a push poll, and (4) a straw poll?
400
Your book identified 6 "pros" about interest groups. Name 3 of them.
Pros: What are IGs -- (1) stimulate interest in public affairs; (2) represent members on basis shared attitudes and not something more artificial, like geography; (3) provide useful information to the gov't; (4) are vehicles for political participation; (5) provide another check and balance as they play a watchdog role; and (6) compete with each other, thus keeping any one IG from dominating?
500
These are the four types of minor parties.
What are (1) ideological parties, (2) single-issue parties, (3) splinter parties, and (4) economic protest parties?
500
These 5 amendments expanded the universe of people who can vote in America.
What are (1) the 15th (slaves); (2) 19th (women); (3) 23rd (DC residents); (4) 24th (poll tax abolished); and (5) 26th (18 year-olds)?
500
This is the difference between "hard money" and "soft money".
What is hard money is money contributed to a campaign, while soft money is money contributed to a political party for things like GOTV efforts? (Note: soft money was made illegal by the McCain-Feingold Act.)
500
These are 4 ways a Congressman could measure public opinion in addition to polls.
What are (1) elections; (2) interest groups; (3) media; and (4) personal contacts?
500
Your book identifies 4 "cons" about interest groups. Name 2 of them.
What are -- (1) some IGs have disproportionate power given their contributions to society; (2) it may be hard to tell who IGs represent; (3) an IG may profess to represent one group but, due to the influence of a minority in the IG, represent something else; and (4) some IGs use sleazy tactics?