exam 2 polsci

According to the U.S. Constitution, the conduct of elections is the responsibility of ______.

State governments

To register to vote in Texas, an individual must be ______. Group of answer choices

A citizen of the United States

In Texas, counties often make the clerk’s office responsible for voter registration because the office is also responsible for ______.

Keeping records of births and marriages licenses

Which is an example of how one can get their name on the ballot in Texas?

Filing a petition with a set number of signatures

What happens in a closed primary election?

The primary restricts the voters who participate in the primary to party loyalists.

According to the text, the most important advantage of incumbency is in ______.

raising money for an election campaign

New political parties and ones with less than 2 percent of the vote for any statewide office in the last five general elections ______.

must register with the secretary of state’s office

Party−line voting is a process in which ______.

voters select candidates on the basis of their party affiliation

Which statement best describes the “sore loser law”?

It is a provision that prevents a candidate from running as an independent candidate in a general election after losing in a primary election.

What shifted many Roman Catholics toward the Republican Party?

conservative positions on social issues

Voter turnout refers to the number of people ______.

actually casting ballots in an election

How does early voting benefit voters?

Voters can avoid a hectic scramble to get to the voting booth before it closes on Election Day.

In general, voter turnout in special elections is relatively high.

False

______ are occasional gatherings of ordinary party members through primaries and in meetings known as caucuses and conventions.

Temporary party organizations

Each party’s state officials are selected by the ______.

State conventions

Each issue position of the party platform is referred to as a(n) ______.

Plank

The virtue of ______ parties is that they provide voters with clear choices and firm positions the parties are pledged to honor if elected.

Responsible

Texas’s political parties hold their state conventions biennially in the ______ of even−numbered years.

Summer

The relationship between Texans and their political parties can best be described as ______.

Complicated

In much of the country, conventions are called caucuses when held at the ______ level.

Local

Precinct conventions are used to elect ______ who will attend the party’s conventions held later at the county level.

Delegates

Which party replaced the Whig Party after it collapsed in the mid−1850s?

The Republican Party

______ refers to how delegates at the national convention become pledged to vote for a specific candidate or attend as undecided.

Allocation

Elections in which ordinary citizens vote to choose the candidates that will represent a party on the ballot in the general election are referred to as ______ elections.

Primary

One of the functions of a political party is to offer training for candidates and their campaign staffs.

True

In the context of organized interests, “organization” reflects ______.

the direction of systematic efforts aimed at influencing the political process

Why do organized interests offer selective incentives?

to solve the free−rider problem

Labor unions are organizations that ______.

seek better pay or working conditions for their membership

The Texas State Teachers Association and the Texas Medical Association are examples of ______.

professional associations

Public interest groups are organizations that ______.

pursue noneconomic policies on behalf of the people

The Texas Municipal League is an example of which type of organized interest?

Intergovernmental lobby

Electioneering is a technique used to ______.

Influence who is elected into office

One of the newest issues in campaign finance is ______.

Dark money

How is dark money different from typical independent political expenditures?

It is unreported

Which is a defining feature of Astroturf lobbying?

It is often manufactured by specialized lobbying firms.

In a system of ______, many narrow groups are represented, often at the expense of the broader public interest.

Hyperpluralism

Why are the interests of the oil industry better represented in Austin than are the interests of Texas college students?

The oil industry has the ability to organize more effectively than college students.

Some single−issue interest groups can also be considered public interest groups.

True

The central role played by the media is ______.

providing information to the public

Rising concerns over how President Lyndon Johnson misled the country about the war in Vietnam gave rise to ______ journalism.

Watchdog

The shield law essentially gives journalists the same sort of privilege it gives ______.

clergy, lawyers, or doctors

The federal regulation of radio stations in Texas was brought on in part by the belief of ______.

farmers that radio waves were making their cows give sour milk

Which type of mass media created the foundation for a shared dialog among citizens and made it easier for political figures to reach a broad audience?

Traditional

When people are exposed disproportionately to information they already agree with, it facilitates ______.

Confirmation bias

What has happened as digital content has overtaken traditional media?

Local newspapers have also merged into larger entities.

Unlike television conglomerates, newspaper conglomerates are much more likely to be ______ owned.

Nationally

The loss of media is considered more critical at the ______ level.

Local

The media’s role in politics has remained the same over time.

False

The way the media frames an issue can shape the way the public views that issue.

True

Partisan newspapers were common in early America as the parties founded and supported newspapers to help them spread their political message.

True