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A primary held between the top two vote-getters when no candidate receives a majority of the vote is called what?

A runoff primary.

What is media coverage of a scandal or event that blocks out most other news known as?

A feeding frenzy.

Single-issue groups have little incentive to do what?

Expand their interests.

Elections held within a party to select a nominee from a field of candidates are called what?

Primary elections.

Which news source do Americans cite as the most believable?

Television.

What are organizations that seek to influence government policy called?

Interest groups.

How do interest groups lobby the courts?

All of the above: contributions to judges and justices, direct contact with judges and justices, and sponsoring lawsuits and filing briefs.

What is a person working to influence government policies and actions called?

A lobbyist.

What is attempting to influence public officials through direct contact called?

Direct lobbying.

Which are agents of political socialization?

All of the above: family and friends, the mass media, and schools.

What are the officeholders and candidates who run under the banner of a political party called?

The party in government.

What are elections?

All of the above: a means of mass political action, a means to fill public offices, and a means to hold government officials accountable.

What is the process that allows citizens to propose legislation and submit it to the electorate for a popular vote called?

An initiative.

What is the principal link between candidates and voters?

The media.

When is a child's peer group most influential?

During middle and high school.

Approximately what percentage of eligible voters rarely or never vote?

35 percent.

What is the learning of a culture and its values known as?

Socialization.

What is a retrospective voter?

A voter who votes for or against a candidate on the basis of past performance.

One reason for incumbents' success is that they begin their campaigns with more of what than their challengers?

Name recognition.

The motor-voter registration system allows an individual who is obtaining what to register to vote?

A driver's license or identification card.

The Great Depression and September 11, 2001, are examples of what?

The generation effect.

What drives media organizations to attract and hold the largest number of readers, listeners, and viewers?

Economic interest.

What are some factors that contribute to interest-group success?

Adequate funding and strong leadership/patrons.

About what percentage of eligible Americans vote regularly?

65 percent.

Most political candidates today are what?

Self-recruited.

What occurs when a voter must be registered with a party before voting in that party's election?

A closed primary.

What is the typical margin of error in a sample survey of 1,500 respondents?

2.5 percent.

Which statement about voting rights is correct?

Many states have laws restricting the voting rights of people convicted of felonies.

A party's platform is best understood as what?

A contract with the American people.

What does dealignment refer to?

The decline of partisan attachment within the electorate, the growth in the number of voters identifying as independents, and the rise of split-ticket voting.

What occurs when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress?

Divided-party government.

Which method of participation was an important part of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s?

Sit-ins and marches.

What is the sum total of individual beliefs about political questions called?

Public opinion.

What is the single most important factor in predicting whether an individual votes?

Education level.

Which group has had the highest levels of political participation?

Senior citizens (ages 65 and over).

What is the small group selected by pollsters to represent the entire population called?

A sample.

Which of the following is NOT a traditional form of political activity?

Visiting a candidate's website.

What is a referendum?

The practice of voting directly on proposed laws.

The Christian Coalition is a(n) ______ group.

Ideological.

The difference between a political value and a political attitude is that

Values are basic principles while attitudes are specific preferences.

Poll taxes and literacy tests were a way to

Get around the Fifteenth Amendment.

______ is the single most important political act for most Americans.

Voting.

Political socialization is

The process by which people gain their opinions and knowledge about politics.

Interest groups are concerned with the ______ of government, while political parties are concerned with the ______ of government.

Policies; personnel.

In public opinion surveys, a sample of the total population

Must be representative in that the views of those in the sample must accurately and proportionately reflect the views of the whole population.

The term public opinion is used to describe

Beliefs and attitudes toward different issues, events, and people.

Polls conducted by news organizations that invite everyone to participate by phone, mail, or internet are practically worthless because they

Do not consist of a random sample.

What bloc of voters has recently been called "the sleeping giant"?

Latino Americans.

A runoff election is likely to occur when

There are more than two candidates running in the election.

Which of the following is NOT a key organizational component of interest groups?

Newsletter and website.