US GOV CHP 12-CAMPAIGNS, ELECTIONS, AND VOTING

Election winners often believe that they have a command to carry out a party platform or policy agenda, otherwise known as a(n) ______.

mandate

Which of the following is the process by which citizens propose legislation or constitutional amendments through the petition process followed by a popular vote?

initiative

A majority vote of which of the following selects the president of the United States?

electoral college

The Electoral College system favors __________.

small states

The overall media strategy of a campaign is usually coordinated by a ______.

communications director

Boycotting and picketing are examples of __________.

political activism

Which of the following is a criticism of early voting?

It decreases the importance of campaigns.

How can redistricting threaten incumbent members of Congress?

It can add voters from an area that is less supportive of an incumbent's party

Roughly what percentage of Americans vote in presidential elections?

55 percent

Voters who select a candidate based on the candidate's policy promises are making what kinds of judgments?

prospective

Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution lowered the voting age to eighteen?

26th

What act was enacted after the 2000 election to assist states with upgrading their voting equipment?

Help America Vote Act

The Federal Election Campaign Act was one response to the ______.

watergate scandal

According to political scientists, which of the following has historically been the most effective at mobilizing the American voter?

political parties

Citizens United v. FEC and McCutcheon v. FEC both ______.

equated money with speech

The correlation between income and voting ______.

differs among liberal and conservative states

How many electoral votes are needed to be elected president?

270

Democrats no longer use the winner-take-all primary because they believe it ______.

was generally less representative

A registered Republican can crossover vote for a Democratic presidential candidate in what type of primary?

open

20. Runoff primaries __________.

guarantee a nominee must win with a majority vote

The first televised presidential debate was between ______.

Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy

Visibility and staff support are examples of ______.

the incumbency advantage

Which is most likely used to describe a presidential candidate who helps members of Congress get elected?

The president has long coattails.

Buckley v. Valeo ruled that politicians ______.

cannot be limited in how much of their own money they spend on a campaign

Modern American political liberals generally believe that __________.

the government should provide social programs

Prospective judgment is typically based on ______.

the candidate's policy promises

Which of the following do some consider to be a problem with the Electoral College?

The winner of a popular vote can still fail to be elected.

What Electoral College practice did the Twelfth Amendment replace?

The president and vice president were elected in the same election

What is one reason incumbents have the advantage in elections?

Incumbents have staffers who provide services that help them win reelection.

the majority party in the state legislature can use which redistricting process to help defeat an incumbent of the minority party.

it can craft districts that pit an incumbent against another incumbent.

Which is a potential problem with online voting?

security of the process

Which of the following proposals would most likely increase voter turnout?

turning Election Day into a national holiday

Which of the following places would contain citizens who are most likely to vote?

a local senior citizens association

the most informed voters can be found using which of these nominating systems?

caucus

If a state legislator wanted to avoid political accountability for a controversial proposal that they wanted to see passed, they should call for a(n) ______.

referendum

Front-loading tends to benefit ______.

front-runners

If you are competing for your party's nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives, you must first participate in what kind of election?

a primary

When is the initiative process the most useful?

when the public favors a policy that the legislature is unwilling to enact

Donations to presidential campaigns from individuals are matched by the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which is funded by ______.

taxpayer contributions

Which presents the greatest threat to congressional incumbents of the president's party?

a midterm election after the president's sixth year in office

A candidate for Senate fears she may be attacked for a vote from her past that denied funding to schools. She decides to run an ad at the beginning of her campaign emphasizing her track record in supporting after-school programs.

inoculation ad

Which of the following is true of negative advertisements?

They enrich the information environment available to voters.

How do elections aid democracy?

They confer legitimacy on government.

Critics of the initiative process argue that ballot measures are often the subject of undue influence by __________.

interest groups

Why would the congressional district plan be easier to implement than a national popular vote to choose the president?

It does not require a constitutional amendment.

Why has there been a growing use of recall elections in recent years?

New technology has made it easier to gather signatures and raise money.

A party might be reluctant to use proportional representation primaries because they __________.

can lengthen the nomination process

The ______ is the overall coordinator of a campaign at the state and national levels.

campaign manager

Campaign consultants first became involved in election campaigns during which decade?

1930s

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 was designed to end the use of ______ in federal elections

"soft money"

The Supreme Court decision in McCutcheon v. FEC (2014) removed limits on individuals’ contributions to ______.

all candidates, political action committees, and parties combined in a single election cycle

The strongest predictor of an individual's vote choice is ______.

party identification

The timing of the New Hampshire primary is an example of ______.

front-loading

what is the minimum voting age?

18

an internal party election is known as a

primary

only registered voters for ONE specific party can vote in this type of primary

closed primary

what constitutes the majority vote for a candidate in a primary

50 percent of votes plus one vote more than the opponent

—a contest between the top two vote-getting candidates—when the regular primary fails to produce a winner.

runoff primary

a Progressive-era reform intended to reduce the potential for mischief in a nomination system controlled by the parties.

primaries

placed on ballots by citizens

initiatives

placed on ballots by legislature

referenda

an election in which voters can remove an incumbent from office prior to the next regular election.

recall

how many states allow recalls of state and local officials

19

candidate who wins the most votes in a state secures all state delegates in what type of primary?

winner take all

candidates who reach at least a minimum percentage of votes secure that same percentage of delegates in what type of primary

proportional representation

Have become more open in recent years but historically were closed-door sessions of party activists

caucuses

how do general election campaigns differ from primary campaigns

candidates attempt to appear more moderate in general elections

the number of electors from each state to the electoral college is equal to

the number of senators and reps from that state

what are 3 reasons for an incumbent to lose an election

president coattails, redistricting, mid-term elections

when 2 candidates receive an equal number of electoral votes who breaks the tie

house

potential challengers decide not to subject themselves to the incumbent's institutional advantages

scare off effect

which congress incumbent members have higher reelection rates, house or senate?

house

more likely to experience discrimination and low party support

first-time candidates

Volunteers ______ that is, go door-to-door soliciting funds and votes, and engage in get-out-the-vote efforts, such as providing transportation to the polls

canvass

which prohibited corporations from making direct contributions to candidates for federal office.

tillman act

created a program to provide public funding for presidential candidates

federal election campaign act

how much can an individual contribute to an election?

2,800

how much money can PACs donate per candidate per election

5,000

these groups are not primarily political and may not spend more than half of their funds on campaign politics

501 c groups

They do not contribute directly to candidates but conduct electioneering activities on behalf of their interests.

527 groups

the fasting growing actor in electoral politics. They are a special type of PAC that spends money independently of individual campaigns.

super PACS

have one account for candidate contributions and another account for independent expenses

carey committees

. If a presidential candidate raises at least ______they can apply for federal matching funds.

5 thousand

The proportion of the voting-age public that casts a ballot

voter turnout