13.4 Pages 485 to 497

1) When compared to the U.S. population as a whole, which of the following groups is most
underrepresented at the indicated national convention?
A) those with advanced degrees at the Democratic convention
B) the wealthy at the Democratic convention
C) women at the Democratic convention
D) minorities at the Republican convention
E) minorities at the Democratic convention


2) The 1968 Democratic National Convention was thrown into turmoil over the Vietnam War. As
a result, the Democratic Party
A) took steps to increase the influence of party leaders.
B) took steps to make the convention more broadly representative.
C) toned down the hype associated with their convention.
D) no longer permits young Democrats to serve as delegates.
E) must receive advance clearance from the president to hold a convention during wartime.


3) How did the Twelfth Amendment change the Electoral College?
A) It mandates a direct popular election for president.
B) If there is no majority winner in the Electoral College, the Senate will select the president.
C) The Electoral College conducts separate elections for president and for vice president.
D) It mandates that electors vote for a president and a vice president from the same state.
E) It creates a separate College of Electors to select the president if there is no majority
winner.


4) How is the president selected if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral
College?
A) The Supreme Court selects the president.
B) A joint session of Congress selects the president.
C) The winner of the popular vote becomes president.
D) The House selects the president.
E) The Senate selects the president.


5) There have been several proposals for changing the Electoral College. How would the
proposed congressional district plan work?
A) States would award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.
B) It would abolish the incentives for faithless electors.
C) Candidates would receive electors according to how many congressional districts they
won. The statewide winner would receive two additional electors.
D) The Electoral College would be required to vote for the winner of the popular vote,
regardless of who received the most votes in their state.
E) Each member of Congress would appoint one elector, resulting is an Electoral College
that was broadly representative of the preferences of the country as a whole.


6) Which of the following contributes to the incumbency advantage?
A) constituency service
B) federally funded reelection bids
C) scandals
D) the ability to donate unlimited money to incumbentsʹ campaigns
E) Incumbents can use taxpayer money to pay for their campaign ads.


7) What is the ʺscare offʺ effect?
A) Incumbents sometimes decide not to seek reelection because the fundraising
requirements are daunting.
B) Incumbents sometimes decide not to seek reelection because they can make more money
in the private sector.
C) High-quality challengers are less likely to run against an incumbent.
D) Voters tend to avoid incumbents who are involved in a scandal.
E) Voters tend not to vote when they donʹt like either of the candidates.


8) What is gerrymandering?
A) redrawing district lines for partisan gain
B) supporting one candidate in the primary and another in the general election
C) voting for a candidate who is more likely to win in the general election, even though she
is not your preferred candidate
D) sending mail to your constituents at taxpayer expense in order to boost name recognition
E) when members of Congress vote for nonbinding resolutions in order to increase their
Popularity


9) The outcome of the 2006 midterm congressional elections can best be understood in terms of
A) the coattail effect.
B) the sixth-year itch.
C) the bandwagon effect.
D) the ʺscare-offʺ effect.
E) the Ted Kennedy effect.


10) All of the following contributed to Republican losses in the 2006 congressional elections
EXCEPT
A) scandals
B) accusations of corruption
C) George W. Bushʹs low approval ratings
D) the situation in Iraq
E) near-record lows in the stock market

2003 FRQ Help

Here is some help with tonite's FRQ. Do Not Copy Word for Word, but use as a guide...


1. Citizens often choose to participate in the political process in ways other than voting.
(a) Identify two forms of participation in the political process other than voting.
(b) Explain two advantages of each form of participation you identified in (a).


2003 FRQ on Political Participation


A1. One form of participation in the political process other than voting is litigation.


A2. Another form of participation in the political process other than voting is protest.


B1. One advantage of litigation is that when a judge decides a case, he or she does not require the numerical majority that is required of voting. A judge’s decision is often a unilateral one which can have a lasting political impact.


B2. Another advantage of litigation is that the courts appeal to principles of law as opposed to simple personal opinion. Judicial decisions rely upon such factors as constitutional review, previous case law and other objective criteria which helps to settle a question that may have a political outcome (ie. Bush v. Gore, 2000).


B3. One advantage of protest is that it can amplify public attention onto a matter, particularly when the media gets involved in covering a protest event.


B4. Another advantage of protest is that it is relatively a low cost form of participation. Painting signs and marching do not cost millions of dollars as compared to funding a major political event. Protesting a political issue can bring attention to event without the necessary expense that other forms
of political participation often require.

1998 FRQ Template

A1. One demographic characteristic associated with nonvoting is….
age. The 18-24 voting bloc has low rates of participation as compared to other age groups. This group, especially college-aged students have cited lack of information, time and interest as to why they do not show up at the polls. This is why this group does not tend to vote.


A2. Another demographic characteristic associated with nonvoting is….
race. Certain minority groups such as African-Americans have low rates of voting participation in part because of their historic exclusion from voting in parts of the country such as the Deep South. Literacy tests, poll taxes and other measures were taken up against this group to keep them away from the polls. Low political efficacy can describe this group and that one reason why they don’t tend to vote in today’s elections.


B1. One institutional obstacle associated with nonvoting is….
the cumbersome voter registration process. It can be very difficult finding a place to register in the United States. The form to fill out for registration is also confusing for many people. People get frustrated trying to find a place to register and give up on voting.


B2. Another institutional obstacle associated with nonvoting is….
the voting ballot. It can be very confusing to many people. The voting ballot is often long and misleading. Many initiatives on the ballot are purposely set up to confuse the voter. For this reason many people get frustrated and refuse to vote.


B3. Yet another institutional obstacle associated with nonvoting is….
the single-day Tuesday vote. While the Constitution spells out that voting should take place on the first Tuesday in November, a single-day vote can be difficult for many Americans to carry out. In many parts of the country, November can be an extremely harsh weather month. If on the one day in November there is a storm or some other weather calamity, many Americans will stay away from the vote.

13.3 Pages 478 to 485

1) The process that allows citizens to propose legislation and submit it to the electorate for
popular vote is called
A) referendum.
B) recall.
C) initiative.
D) plebiscite.
E) caucus.


2) Which of the following is the main benefit of ballot measures?
A) Voters can participate in public policy decisions.
B) Legislatures tackle contentious issues that are important to the state.
C) If enacted, ballot measures can never be repealed.
D) Ballot measures are always constitutional.
E) Ballot measures do not require additional funding.


3) Which of the following statements is true?
A) U.S. representatives must be at least 25 years old; senators must be 30; presidents must
be 35; and Supreme Court justices must be 40.
B) U.S. senators must be at least 25 years old; representatives must be 30; presidents must
be 35; and Supreme Court justices must be 40.
C) U.S. representatives must be at least 25 years old; senators must be 30; presidents must
be 35; and there is no age requirement for Supreme Court justices.
D) U.S. representatives must be at least 25 years old; senators must be 30; and there are no
age requirements for presidents or Supreme Court justices.
E) U.S. Senators and Representatives must be at least 30 years old; presidents and Supreme
Court justices must be 35.


4) All of the following are critiques of ballot measures EXCEPT
A) Voters are unable to deal with numerous and complex ballot measures.
B) Interest groups have too much influence over ballot measures.
C) The wording of a ballot measure can affect its probability of success.
D) Ballot measures are not subject to contribution limits.
E) Ballot measures are popular issues that entrenched politicians have resisted.


5) Which of the following governors has been recalled?
A) Grey Davis
B) Arnold Schwarzenegger
C) Christine Todd Whitman
D) Rudy Giuliani
E) Roy Romer


6) Which of the following trends most accurately captures the changing nature of presidential
elections?
A) Republicans have become more likely to use proportional representation primaries.
B) Democrats have become more likely to use winner-take-all primaries.
C) States are increasingly more likely to use primary elections rather than caucuses.
D) States are increasingly more likely to use caucuses rather than primary elections.
E) States are increasingly selecting later dates on the primary calendar.


7) The earliest primary usually takes place in
A) Wisconsin.
B) New Hampshire.
C) Delaware.
D) South Carolina.
E) Iowa.


8) How does front-loading affect the nomination process?
A) Voters tend to reject front-loaded candidates.
B) Front-loading tends to benefit the front-runner.
C) Front-loading makes the nomination process more representative.
D) Front-loading makes it easier for campaigns to raise money.
E) Front-loading gives voters and the media more time to scrutinize presidential
candidates.


9) In recent years, states have had a tendency to choose early dates for their presidential
primaries in order to gain influence in the process. This is called
A) influence peddling.
B) gerrymandering.
C) front loading.
D) fish mongering.
E) primary staging.


10) Delegate slots to the Democratic National Convention that are reserved for elected party
officials are called
A) units.
B) ombudsmen.
C) King Kongs.
D) superdelegates.
E) dark horses.

13.2 Pages 470 to 478

1) Which of the following is least likely to be registered to vote?
A) an eighteen-year-old
B) an African American
C) an Hispanic
D) a man
E) a woman


2) What is voter turnout like in states with Election Day voter registration?
A) Turnout in these states is considerably lower.
B) Turnout in these states is slightly lower.
C) Turnout in these states is about equal to turnout in other states.
D) Turnout in these states is considerably higher.
E) There is no relationship between voter turnout and Election Day voter registration.


3) Which of the following best describes why voter turnout in Oregon has increased in recent
years?
A) The Dixie Chicks have visited several times, motivating Oregonians to vote.
B) Oregon recently switched to an all-mail balloting system.
C) Californians vote at very high rates and many Californians have moved to Oregon.
D) Out-of-work loggers are frustrated with politics and vote at high rates to express their
discontent.
E) Oregon has compulsory voting.


4) Some people argue that low voter turnout does not matter because
A) voters do not represent the interests of nonvoters.
B) nonvoters tend to be less well informed.
C) low voting rates perpetuate racial imbalances within government.
D) low voting rates delegitimize the political process.
E) nonvoters are different from voters.


5) What is ticket-splitting?
A) voting for independents
B) voting in some elections and not in others
C) tearing up your ballot in protest
D) refusing to register with a political party
E) voting for candidates from different parties in an election


6) Voters who support the party in government during good economic times and vote for the
other political party during economic downturns are exercising
A) ticket-splitting.
B) strategic voting.
C) florescent voting.
D) retrospective judgment.
E) prospective judgment.


7) Which of the following elections was most clearly a mandate?
A) the 1992 presidential election
B) the 1994 congressional elections
C) the 2000 presidential election
D) an election where the incumbent wins by a narrow margin
E) an election where the challenger wins by a narrow margin


8) A primary election in which only a partyʹs registered voters are eligible to participate is called
A) an open primary.
B) a blanket primary.
C) a closed primary.
D) a round robin primary.
E) instant runoff voting.



9) Which of the following is true about raiding?
A) It is very common.
B) It does not occur very frequently.
C) It is likely the reason George W. Bush beat John McCain in the 2000 South Carolina
primary.
D) It is likely the reason John Kerry beat Howard Dean in the 2004 Iowa caucus.
E) It is likely the reason George W. Bush beat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.


10) Which state has an unusual primary system where all candidates appear on the same ballot,
regardless of their party affiliations?
A) Colorado
B) Alaska
C) New Hampshire
D) Louisiana
E) Nevada

Chapter 11.4 Pages 410 to 415

1) Who are interviewed in exit polls?
A) voters who are leaving their polling place
B) likely voters on the day before an election

C) potential voters right before they leave for work
D) those who voted in the last election
E) nonvoters

2) How did the 2000 election underscore problems with using exit polls?
A) They were biased in favor of Republicans.
B) They were manipulated by the Republican Party to make it appear as if Bush had won
the election.
C) They led to premature media reports regarding the winner of the 2000 election.
D) They hampered the recount because the media had already taken the ballots to conduct
their exit polls.
E) All of the above.

3) Which of the following groups is most likely to be underrepresented in public opinion polls?
A) Republicans
B) men
C) the poor
D) the middle class
E) Protestants

4) Measures of public opinion are less likely to be accurate if
A) a stratified sample is used.
B) there is a small margin of error.
C) citizens do not care about the issue being measured.
D) questions are carefully worded to be neutral.
E) they are collected by the National Election Study.

5) Americans are more likely to support policies that
A) benefit them personally.
B) benefit society as a whole.
C) contribute to a sense of community.
D) increase taxes.
E) are collectivist.

6) Which of the following is true?
A) African Americans are more likely to support strong civil rights laws.
B) College students are more likely to support government-sponsored retirement
programs.
C) Taxpayers typically support higher taxes.
D) Older Americans typically support privatizing health care.
E) African Americans are less likely to support affirmative action programs.

7) Conservatives typically favor
A) smaller government.
B) social welfare programs.
C) government regulation of business.
D) legalized abortion.
E) same-sex marriage.

8) According to a Roper Center poll, Americans were mostly likely to label themselves as
A) liberals.
B) conservatives.
C) socialist.
D) moderate.
E) populist.

9) Which of the following was a reason George W. Bush was successful at urging Congress to
pass the USA Patriot Act?
A) The USA Patriot Act expanded Americansʹ civil liberties.
B) The USA Patriot Act was needed to fund the war on terror.
C) The USA Patriot Act was needed to fund the war in Iraq.
D) The USA Patriot Act expanded Congressional authority at a time when Congress was
weak.
E) President Bush enjoyed strong approval ratings in the wake of the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks.

10) Why did George W. Bush do little hands-on campaigning on behalf of 2006 Republican
congressional candidates?
A) He was too busy fighting the war in Iraq.
B) He thought it was undignified for a sitting president to engage in traditional
campaigning.
C) His approval rating was relatively low.
D) He was on an Asian foreign policy tour.
E) Because he was a lame duck, he did not care about the election outcome.

Chapter 11.3 Page 403 to 410

1) In countries around the world, what is most frequently mentioned as a ʺvery big problemʺ
facing their respective nations?
A) moral decline
B) immigration
C) terrorism
D) corruption
E) crime


2) The founder of modern polling was
A) Louis Harris.
B) Stan Roper.
C) Marge N. OʹVair.
D) George Gallup.
E) Patrick Cadell.


3) Literary Digest used ________ polls to predict the popular vote in presidential elections.
A) exit
B) straw
C) tracking
D) deliberative
E) scientific


4) Why did the Literary Digest fail to accurately predict the outcome of the 1936 presidential
election?
A) It oversampled middle class and wealthy voters.
B) It did not receive responses from enough people.
C) The election was simply ʺtoo close to call.ʺ
D) Citizens did not have time to respond to its survey because they were mailed too close to
Election Day.
E) Alfred Landon, the projected winner, had to drop out at the last minute due to
allegations that he was gay and involved in a sexual relationship with his campaign
manager.


5) The 1936 election was correctly predicted by
A) George Gallup.
B) the Literary Digest.
C) the National Election Study.
D) Alfred Landon.
E) Mike Luckovich.


6) Which of the following questions uses the most neutral phrasing?
A) ʺDo you favor Gestapo-style tactics to prevent smoking?ʺ
B) ʺDo you favor restrictions on the freedoms to smoke?ʺ
C) ʺDo you favor government efforts to force its will on law-abiding Americans who
smoke?ʺ
D) ʺDo you favor turning smokers into criminals or do you support the freedoms
guaranteed by our Constitution?ʺ
E) ʺDo you favor government efforts to reduce smoking?ʺ


7) A sampling method that gives each person an equal chance of being selected is known as
A) straw sampling.
B) equality sampling.
C) oversampling.
D) random sampling.
E) selection bias.


8) Which of the following is the best sampling method?
A) quota sampling
B) push polling
C) stratified sampling
D) straw polling
E) self-selected sampling


9) Most public opinion polls contact respondents
A) in person at their home.
B) in person at a mall.
C) on the Internet.
D) by telephone.
E) by email.


10) Which of the following is an example of a push poll?
A) ʺIf the election were held today, who would you vote for?ʺ
B) ʺDo you plan to vote on Election Day?ʺ
C) ʺWho do you think is going to win in tomorrowʹs presidential election?ʺ
D) ʺHow much of the time do you think you can trust the government to do what is right?ʺ
E) ʺIf you knew Rudy Giuliani beat his wife, would you vote for him?ʺ


11) Which of the following polls is most likely to help a candidate evaluate the effect of certain
campaign events?
A) an exit poll
B) a tracking poll
C) a push poll
D) a feeling thermometer
E) a cross-sectional poll