Chapter 7-Section 1: The Nominating Process

  1. As you read complete the chart below as you read section 1. For each nominating method, write when it came into use and the procedure for nominating candidates:

Nominating Method: / When did it Come into use? / Procedure for nominating candidates (how it works).
1. Self-Announcement
2. Caucus
3. Convention
4. Direct Primary
5. Closed Primary
6. Open Primary
7. Petition
  1. Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper:

8. Why is the nominating process particularly important in a two party system?

9. What are some popular criticisms of the primary process?

  1. Read the statements below. If a statement is true, write T in the blank provided. If it is false, write F and then rewrite the statement on a separate sheet of paper to make it true.

____ 10. Nomination means the naming of candidates who will seek office.

____ 11. During the early national period, major-party presidential candidates were nominated by State Legislatures.

____ 12. In a blanket primary, voters can nominate a Democrat and a Republican candidate for each office.

____13. In States that require nominees to win a plurality of the popular vote, runoff primaries are sometimes needed

____14. In a nonpartisan election, candidates are not identified by party.

1

  1. Read the following questions and select the choice that best answers the question.

____ 15. What is the main objection many people have to open primaries?

  1. They compromise the secrecy of the ballot.
  2. They exclude independent voters.
  3. They allow too many candidates to run for office.
  4. They permit "raiding" by members of other parties.

____16. Which of the following is an example of a candidate being nominated through the petition method?

  1. a political independent announces her intention to run for president
  2. a candidate who lost his party's primary for governor of Texas gets enough signatures on a petition to be added to the ballot as an independent candidate
  3. members of the Federalist party in Congress meet to choose the candidate they will support in the 1824 presidential election
  4. Republicans from around the nation meet in a convention to formally nominate the winner of the Republican primaries

____17. What is the main objection many people have to closed primaries?

  1. They permit "raiding" by members of other parties.
  2. They undercut party loyalty and party responsibility.
  3. They do not allow for runoff primaries when there is no clear winner.
  4. They exclude independent voters.

____18. A blanket primary is one in which

  1. every voter gets a ballot listing every candidate, regardless of party, for every nomination to be made at the primary.
  2. no candidate is allowed to identify party affiliation.
  3. candidates who did not receive a clear majority in an earlier primary run again.
  4. members of a group of like-minded people meet to select candidates they will support in an upcoming election.

_____19. When candidates for a local office are not identified by party labels, they are nominated through a(n) ______primary.*

  1. closed
  2. open
  3. nonpartisan
  4. runoff

_____20. Which of the following is an example of a candidate being nominated through the caucus method?

  1. a political independent announces her intention to run for president
  2. a candidate who lost his party's primary for governor of Texas gets enough signatures on a petition to be added to the ballot as an independent candidate
  3. members of the Federalist party in Congress meet to choose the candidate they will support in the 1824 presidential election
  4. Republicans from around the nation meet in a convention to formally nominate the winner of the Republican primaries

_____21. A primary in which any qualified voters can cast ballots is a(n) ______primary.

  1. closed
  2. open
  3. nonpartisan
  4. runoff

____22. When an absolute majority is needed to carry a primary, but no one wins a majority in a race, a ______primary must be held to select the nominee.

  1. closed
  2. open
  3. nonpartisan
  4. runoff

____23. Voter turnout in primary elections is usually

  1. far greater than it is in general elections.
  2. less than half what it is in general elections.
  3. greater in one-party constituencies than in districts where there is heavy competition between parties.
  4. less during presidential election years than in off-year elections.

___24. A primary in which only declared party members can vote is a(n) ______primary.

  1. closed
  2. open
  3. nonpartisan
  4. runoff

1