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Chapter 10: Participation, Voting, and Elections

Multiple-Choice Quiz

Multiple-Choice Quiz
Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

This activity contains 19 questions.

	Which of the following is an assumption of the responsible-party theory of government?   A party deliberately takes positions on issues that are ambiguous. Each of the parties is cohesive and unified. Citizens vote on the basis of how well they like the party's candidates. Parties may or may not do what they say they will do. Both parties distrust the other.

	Which of the following statements best describes the nature of elections in the electoral competition theory?   Parties compete for votes by taking the most popular positions that they can. Parties take very different issue positions from each other in order to clearly differentiate themselves. Parties stay as far away as possible from the electoral process, leaving the campaign up to the individual candidates. Parties refuse to buckle and give voters what they want. Parties compete for the attention of Congress istead of votes.

	Under the electoral competition model of elections, where do parties tend to take policy stands?   near the midpoint of public opinion near the extreme points of public opinion only near the positions of their natural constituency where their ideological base happens to be political parties never take stands

	Which of the following best describes the way in which voters choose between parties based on the theory of electoral reward and punishment or retrospective voting?   Voters decide which party's issue positions are closest to their own. Voters base their decisions on how well they think a party will do in the future based on the proposals that the party puts before the voters. Voters make judgments about how well incumbent officials of a particular party have done in the past. Voters select the candidate of the party that they trust the most. Voters select candidates who have the best "porkbarrel" proposals.

	Which of the following problems besets not only the responsible-party model and the electoral competition model, but also the electoral reward and punishment model?   The campaign strategies of the candidates involved in the election are considered to be less important than their party affiliation. All the models assume that the party leadership can make decisions that affect all levels of the party. The models require that large numbers of people refrain from participating in politics. Money, organizational resources, and activism--not just citizens' policy preferences and votes--influence the stands that parties take and the outcomes of elections. Voters select candidates who have the best "porkbarrel" proposals.

	Franchise means:   voting only for members of one party. the right to vote. retrospective voting. paying a poll tax. qualifying to run for a particular office.

	Between 1840 and 1896, voting in presidential elections among eligible voters reached and stayed at about:   50 percent. 60 percent. 70 percent. 80 percent. 20 percent.

	Compared to other modern industrialized countries, voting turnout in the United States is:   exceptionally low. low. high. exceptionally high. moderate.

	Which of the following factors best explains why the U.S. has such low voter turnout?   The parties have taken the initiative to register large numbers of minority voters (particularly blacks and Hispanics), but these people are far less likely to vote than are whites. Voters get tired of political parties hounding them, trying to remind them to get out and vote. Cumbersome registration laws reduce turnout. Voters have so many attractive choices that they become confused and can't make up their minds. A reduction in potential voter population.

	Which of the following is true? Compared to other nations, Americans are:   less likely to participate actively in campaigns. about as likely to participate actively in campaigns. more likely to participate actively in campaigns. this data has not been collected overwhelming resistant to participate in campaigns.

	Rates of voter turnout are lowest among which of the following groups?   African-Americans Hispanics whites young Americans elderly Americans

	Some analysts suggest that the crucial factor in voter turnout is:   level of education. gender. age. occupation. traditional party affiliation.

	Today:   young people do not vote as much as older age voters. very high proportions of young people participate in elections. young people vote in elections roughly equal to other age groups. young people do not have the right to vote. young people are clearly informated about what stake they have in an election.

	By which of the following methods do both political parties choose a majority of delegates to their national conventions?   caucuses primary elections superdelegates party officials amount of political contributions

	Sparse and ambiguous treatment of policy issues and the emphasis on past performance and personal competence fits better with which of the following models?   electoral reward and punishment responsible party electoral competition All are correct. None is corrrect.

	What is the maximum amount of money a political action committee (PAC) can contribute directly to a candidate per election?   $5,000 $1,000 $10,000 $15,000 $25,000

	Those who give money to political campaigns tend to be of higher socioeconomic status. This raises problems in terms of:   political efficacy. political socialization. political equality. popular sovereignty. political leverage.

	People from which of the following groups are LEAST likely to vote for Republican candidates?   Jews evangelical Christians whites higher-income groups members of the Republican party

	How is the president of the U.S. chosen?   by a plurality of the popular vote by capturing a plurality of the electoral votes by capturing a majority of the electoral vote by a majority of the popular vote by a majority of the popular vote and a plurality of the electoral votes

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