AP/DE Unit II (Chapters 6, 9, 10) Test (2014-2015)

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS DOCUMENT – ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER, FOR EACH QUESTION, WRITE THE LETTER OF THE CORRECT LETTER ANSWER AND ANSWER THE FRQ.

1. The gender gap, in politics, refers to the pattern by which:

  1. Men are more likely than women to support Democratic candidates
  2. Women are more likely than men to support Republican candidates
  3. Women are more likely than men to support Democratic candidates
  4. Men are more likely than women to vote in mid-term elections
  5. Women are more likely than men to vote in mid-term elections

2. Which of the following groups tends to be undercounted in the national census?

  1. Senior citizens
  2. College students
  3. Women
  4. Minorities
  5. Working adults

3. Reapportionment of seats in the House of Representatives occurs:

  1. Every four years after a presidential election
  2. When the minority party wins a majority in the House
  3. After every two congressional election cycles
  4. Every ten years as a result of the census
  5. When the president requests it through an executive order

4. Demography refers to:

  1. The science of population changes
  2. Constitutional rules governing reapportionment of Congress
  3. The science of public opinion
  4. The U.S. Census planning process
  5. The science of democracy

5. Most Americans learn about government and politics through:

  1. University political science classes
  2. Direct explanation from their parents
  3. Newspapers
  4. High school civics courses
  5. An informal learning process

6. In public opinion polling, a sample of about people can accurately represent the “universe” of

potential voters.

  1. 2,000-2,500
  2. 1,750-2,250
  3. 10,000-15,000
  4. 50-000-100,000
  5. 1,000-1,500

7. Which of the following is not an essential component of an accurate public opinion poll?

  1. Random sampling
  2. Sampling error
  3. Sample
  4. Random-digit dialing
  5. All of the above are essential

8. Which of the following is not a method of conventional participation in politics?

  1. Voting in elections
  2. Trying to persuade others
  3. Ringing doorbells for a petition
  4. Running for office
  5. Protesting or civil disobedience

9. The term “frontloading” specifically refers to:

  1. States holding their primaries earlier and earlier in the primary season
  2. Candidates campaigning hard to win the early primaries
  3. The bundling of primaries, such as on “Super Tuesday”
  4. The fact that candidates are more likely to make vast campaign promises early on
  5. Candidates spending most of their campaign money during the first few months

10. The Federal Election Campaign Act established all of the following except:

  1. A fund to partially fund presidential campaigns
  2. Rules for the disclosure of all campaign financing and spending information
  3. Limits on personal contributions to presidential and congressional candidates
  4. A fund for public donations to congressional campaigns
  5. The Federal Election Commission to regulate campaign financing

11. The main loophole to the McCain-Feingold legislation is:

  1. 527s
  2. Soft money
  3. Hard money
  4. Bundling
  5. Buckley v. Valeo

12. The United States is expected to have a minority majority population by 2050. What does this mean?

  1. Hispanic Americans will outnumber African Americans
  2. Female conservatives will outnumber male conservatives
  3. Asian Americans will outnumber Hispanic Americans
  4. Voters under the age of thirty will outnumber senior citizens
  5. The minority populations will outnumber the Caucasian population

13. Policy voting requires all of the following conditions except:

  1. The person must be familiar with each candidate’s policy positions

b. The person must have developed a pattern of policy voting over several elections

c. The person must know his or her own position on policy issues

d. The person must vote for the candidate whose policy positions coincide with his or her own

preferences

e. The person must be able to determine policy differences among the candidates

14. Which of the following statements help to explain why voter turnout is lower in the United States than

in most other democracies?

I. Citizens in other democracies vote more often and therefore have developed stronger voting

habits

II. Citizens in most other democracies are required by law to vote

III. Citizens in most other democracies are not required to register to vote

IV. Citizens in other democracies face starker differences between the viable political parties

V. Citizens in other democracies receive payment from the government if they vote

a. I and II only

b. I and III only

c. II and III only

d. II and IV only

e. III and IV only

15. Presidential campaigns in the United States differ from most European campaigns in which of the

following ways?

  1. American campaigns cost candidates less in personal contributions
  2. Candidates in other countries are not allowed to appear on television
  3. Campaigns in the United States are geared toward a general election
  4. American campaigns are much longer than other campaigns
  5. Candidates in the United States are selected by party elites

16. Federal matching funds are available to:

  1. Governors
  2. Members of the House
  3. Senators
  4. Presidential candidates
  5. Judges

17. Which of the following is true concerning the use of PACs in political campaigns?

  1. The Constitution requires businesses to finance campaigns
  2. Businesses can channel an unlimited amount of money through a PAC to a given candidate
  3. The president officially established PACs in a 1974 Executive Order
  4. PACs must be registered with and monitored by the FEC
  5. The Supreme Court has struck down all efforts to regulate campaign finance

18. A nomination refers to:

a. A media event in the course of a presidential election

b. The highpoint of public opinion in support of a particular candidate

c. A party’s official selection of a candidate to run for office

d. A monetary campaign contribution

e. The endorsement of the elite press, such as The New York Times

19. The belief that in order to support democratic government a citizen should always vote is a belief in the

notion of:

  1. Political legitimacy
  2. Civic duty
  3. Suffrage
  4. Political efficacy
  5. The mandate theory of elections

20. The three kinds of elections in the U.S. are:

  1. Primary elections, secondary elections, and tertiary elections
  2. Primary elections, ancillary elections, corollary elections
  3. Primary elections, general elections, and elections on specific policy questions
  4. Primary elections, competitive elections, and non-competitive elections
  5. Primary elections, general elections, and competitive elections

21. The initiative petition:

  1. Enables voters to put proposed legislation on the ballot
  2. Is an election in which voters approve or disapprove a legislative act
  3. Is needed for a candidate to get his or her name on the ballot
  4. Is used to select party nominees for congressional and state offices
  5. Is a petition that initiates a recall election to determine whether an elected official shall be removed from office

22. In the election of 1800:

  1. The candidate with the second-highest number of electoral votes became the vice president
  2. The focus of the campaign was on the voters
  3. A large entourage of reporters accompanied the candidates during their national campaign
  4. Media coverage was extensive
  5. Candidates were nominated at the national convention

23. The greater one’s sense of political efficacy, the:

  1. Less likely one is to vote
  2. More likely one is to vote
  3. Greater one’s chance of being defeated in an election
  4. More likely one is to see differences between the parties
  5. Less likely to view the election process as legitimate

24. Voter registration procedures were adopted around the turn of the century as a means to:

  1. Prevent African Americans from voting
  2. Increase the number of potential voters
  3. Prevent corruption associated with stuffing ballot boxes
  4. Increase voter participation
  5. Establish minimum voting qualifications

25. A major reason cited for America’s level of voter turnout compared to other industrialized countries is:

a. Bad weather in certain parts of the United States on election day

b. Registration is more cumbersome in the United States

c. Registration is more cumbersome in other countries

d. Greater interest in democracy in the United States

e. Americans’ high sense of political efficacy

26. The Motor Voter Act of 1993:

  1. Requires states to mail voter registration forms to all individuals holding driver’s licenses
  2. Established drive-in polling places to make voting more convenient and increase voter turnout
  3. Required the federal government to register individuals to vote when they apply for or renew their driver’s license
  4. Requires states to register individuals to vote when they apply for, or renew, their driver’s license
  5. Requires states to provide transportation for citizens who are unable to get to the polls on their own efforts

27. The group of people with the lowest voter turnout rate is:

  1. Women
  2. College graduates
  3. Union members
  4. Senior citizens over 70
  5. Young people

28. The Electoral College was originally established in order to:

  1. Give the nation’s elite the power to choose the president and vice president rather than the people directly electing those offices
  2. Provide direct election of the president by the people, although its operation has had the opposite effect
  3. Merely certify the results of the people’s choice for president and vice president
  4. Insure high voter turnouts in elections throughout the country
  5. Give legitimacy to the presidency, which was regarded suspiciously by most people as another potential monarchy

29. As provided in the Constitution, how are electoral votes allocated for each state?

  1. Each state casts two electoral votes
  2. Each state has as many electoral votes as it has members in the House of Representatives
  3. Each state has as many electoral votes as it has members in the Senate
  4. Each state has as many electoral votes as it has members in both the House and the Senate
  5. Each state is proportioned to their population, with all states having at least one vote

30. The way in which candidates attempt to manipulate money, the media, and momentum to achieve the

nomination is through:

  1. Propaganda
  2. Charisma
  3. Primaries
  4. Campaign strategy
  5. Party support

31. In states with caucuses:

  1. Party leaders select delegates to their own candidate preferences
  2. Delegates are chosen through general election of a candidate
  3. The state legislature selects the state’s delegates to the national conventions
  4. Supporters of candidates try to get elected through a pyramid of meetings
  5. Candidates appoint supporters to serve as delegates

32. The presidential primaries are:

  1. The supreme power within each of the parties, responsible for nominating the presidential and vice presidential candidates
  2. The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
  3. A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention
  4. Elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate, or delegates pledged to a candidate
  5. A master game plan through which candidates set out to guide their electoral campaign

33. Critics of the primary and caucus system point to the fact that:

  1. Participation in primaries and caucuses is unrepresentative of the public at large
  2. Disproportionate attention goes to the later caucuses and primaries
  3. No precedent for them is written in the Constitution
  4. Only the best-known candidates have a chance of winning
  5. None of the above

34. A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years in called a:

a. Party platform

b. Partisan position

c. Ideology

d. World view

e. Candidate scorecard

35. Thomas Patterson’s argument that “today’s presidential campaign is essentially a mass media campaign,”

suggests that:

  1. Campaigns are larger and reach a wider audience than campaigns in the past
  2. Money is less important to campaigns than it was in the past
  3. The media exercise sway over a vast number of citizens’ votes
  4. Voters have very little reality of the campaign apart from what they see and hear in the media campaign
  5. The media controls the electoral outcomes

36. Providing select information and a request for money to lists of people who have supported candidates

of similar views in the past is a frequently-used political technique known as:

  1. Soft money
  2. Fundraising
  3. Conversion
  4. Caucusing
  5. Direct mail

37. Most political coverage by the media during a presidential campaign:

  1. Focuses on the substance of the key issues voters care about
  2. Is the result of successful manipulation by the campaigns
  3. Deals with the campaign game-who’s ahead in the polls and speculation
  4. Is analysis of the interest groups and campaign contributors who are backing each candidate
  5. Deals with the candidates’ personal character flaws and family

38. The Federal Election Campaign Act:

  1. Removed spending limits from presidential campaigns
  2. Provided public financing for Senate and House races
  3. Required all candidates for federal office to disclose all contributions made to their campaigns
  4. Ended public financing for presidential campaigns
  5. Required broadcasters to provide free airtime to each major candidate for federal office

39. In Buckley v. Valeo (1976), the Supreme Court:

  1. Declared the Federal Election Campaign Act unconstitutional
  2. Ruled that the wildly unequal campaign expenditures of candidates for government office were a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
  3. Stated that the Federal Election Commission had no power to enforce compliance with their requirements
  4. Limited the activities of Political Action Committees
  5. Struck down the part of the Federal Election Campaign Act that restricted the amount individuals could contribute to their own campaigns

40. Critics of polling think:

  1. It gives politicians the wrong information
  2. The public’s opinion should not be taken into account
  3. It could lead to a tyranny of the majority
  4. It makes politicians more concerned with following than leading
  5. Both B and D

41. Which of the following statements is false?

  1. Liberals generally think we should spend less on military spending; conservatives are more likely to support maintaining higher levels of military strength
  2. Liberals seek to tax the rich more; conservatives seek to maintain the free market and tax the rich less
  3. Liberals tend to support affirmative action; conservatives tend to oppose it
  4. Liberals are more likely to favor military intervention around the globe; conservatives are less willing to commit troops to action
  5. Liberals generally believe that we can solve the problems that cause crime; conservatives believe we should stop coddling criminals

42. In retrospective voting, voters essentially ask the question:

  1. Does the candidate have similar views as I do?
  2. What have you done for me lately?
  3. How much money did the candidate raise?
  4. What are the major differences between the candidates?
  5. Which candidate relates best to the common man?

43. Party identifications are crucial for many voters because they provide:

  1. A sense of belonging to a political party
  2. Voters’ evaluations of candidates
  3. Information regarding the differences between the candidates
  4. A perspective through which voters can view the political world
  5. All of the above

44. Which of the following issues was at the heart of the Election of 1896?

  1. Equality in voting
  2. Economic interests
  3. Electoral College
  4. Extending suffrage
  5. Elections at the Federal level

45. Legitimacy in elections can be characterized by:

  1. Fair and free methods of selecting political leaders
  2. Fair and free methods of fundraising
  3. Fair and free methods of contributing to campaigns
  4. Both B and C
  5. None of the above

46. Selective perception refers to the phenomenon that people:

  1. Are selective in which candidates they donate to
  2. Are selective in which candidates they volunteer for
  3. Pay attention to the media’s reports on candidates
  4. Pay attention to things they already agree with
  5. Pay attention to how much money each candidate is raising

47. The Election of 2008, regardless of which candidate won, was an election about:

  1. Hope
  2. Education
  3. Economy
  4. Change
  5. War on Terror

48. As one becomes more socialized with age, one’s political orientations:

  1. Lack commitment
  2. Become less important
  3. Fluctuate more
  4. Change as one’s position in the aging order changes their life conditions
  5. Grow firmer

49. Scientific public opinion polling was first begun in 1932 by:

  1. Louis Harris
  2. George Gallup
  3. Henry Luce
  4. The Democratic party
  5. The Associated Press

50. The key to the accuracy of public opinion polls is:

  1. Sampling error
  2. Random sampling
  3. Polygraphs
  4. Political ideology
  5. Large sample size

FRQs – CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING FRQ TO ANSWER.

51. Citizens often choose to participate in the political process in ways other than voting.

  1. Identify two forms of participation in the political process other than voting.
  2. Explain two advantages of each form of participation you identified in (a).

52. Trust and confidence in government have declined in recent decades.

  1. Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response.
  2. Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government.
  3. Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior.

53. Public opinion polls are a way to link the public with elected officials. Members of Congress often use

polls to understand the views of their constituents, but they must also pay attention to other political

considerations.

  1. Identify two characteristics of a valid, scientific, public opinion poll.
  2. Explain why each of the following enhances the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress,
  3. Strong public opinion as expressed in polling results
  4. Competitive re-elections
  5. Explain why each of the following limits the influence of public opinion on the voting decisions of members of Congress.
  6. Legislators’ voting records
  7. Party leadership

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