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American Federal Government Chapter 7
General Test Questions & Answers
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A classic example of a media leak is the "Pentagon Papers," published by the New York Times and the
Washington Post.
 
Blogs have been a particularly important tool for growing and enhancing
citizen journalism.
 
Both Facebook and Twitter have contributed to political mobilization and information sharing by creating ________________  where groups of like-minded individuals, or individuals with shared interests, can easily share information.
virtual social networks
 
Citizen journalism is a distinguishing feature of ______ more interactive and participatory.
digital media, which are
 
Even though newspapers are not the primary news source for most Americans, why could they still be considered important?
They are still influential among the political elite.
 
How has the dramatic rise in political information and the diversity of the media in recent decades affected political knowledge of the population?
Average levels of political knowledge have remained constant.
 
Howard Stern was fined millions of dollars by the FCC because of his
use of obscenity and profanity on the air.
 
In an example of media influence perceived by many to be negative, the news media (including the New York Times) issued a
public apology to readers for some of its coverage of
claims of Iraqi WMDs.
 
It is estimated that more than ______ of Americans have a television set.
95 percent
 
Online media, by representing a wider range of political views than traditional news sources, have created
a more democratic press
 
The FCC's fairness doctrine
is no longer being enforced.
 
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was an attempt to
loosen restrictions on media ownership.
 
Universities, think tanks, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations are providing more political analyses and information as _____
have cut their budgets and resources.
traditional news organizations
 
When newspapers first emerged, they were motivated primarily by
profit-seeking.
 
When the delivery of news was dominated by only three networks and a handful of national papers, it tended to be ____ than it is today.
more moderate
 
Which of the following is a potentially negative effect of online news that is a source of concern for many?
loss of investigative power
 
Which of the following is noted by the book's authors as a reason for the recent decline in the American public's trust of the press?
media concentration
 
Which of the following media forms could be considered essentially a headline service?
radio news
 
Which of the following statements about mass media numbers and ownership is accurate?
The number of news sources — those doing actual news gathering — has stayed essentially the same in recent decades.
 
______ are two popular news aggregators that serve a large number of readers by synthesizing coverage from a variety of sources.
Google News and Real Clear Politics
 
Opponents of the _____ employed massive online protests to oppose this legislation.
SOPA and PIPA bills
 
Over the past two centuries of American history, which of the following has been the most persistent barrier to increased
suffrage for disenfranchised groups?
state laws
 
Riots and rural uprisings were relatively common in America until which of the following?
the growth of elections and other formal mechanisms of popular involvement in politics
 
Studies of the effect of online news and political resources indicate that online political participation may be
broader but less intense
 
The Latino vote is often referred to by analysts as the
sleeping giant.
 
The gender gap in voting patterns reveals the fact that females
are more likely than males to support Democratic candidates.
 
The right to vote was granted to which of the following groups in 1920?
women
 
The use of digital technology in the 2008 and 2012 elections
mobilized new voters.
 
What factor in particular helped the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election?
better mobilization efforts by Democrats
 
What is the single most important factor in predicting not only whether an individual will vote but also most kinds of participation?
education level
 
What voting trend began in 2004 and continued through 2008?
the first significant increase in voter turnout in 40 years
 
Which of the following granted 18-year-olds the right to vote?
Twenty-Sixth Amendment
 
Which of the following individuals would be most likely to vote?
a white middle-aged college graduate
 
Which of the following is a voting practice that most European countries have but that the United States does not?
holding elections on non-working days
 
Which of the following is true of Asian American voting patterns and political participation?
Compared to other ethnic groups, Asian Americans often vote similarly to whites.
 
Which of the following statements about the voting rights of felons is accurate?
Some states allow felons who have served their sentences to vote, while others do not.
 
Which of the following was an indirect effect of the 1962 Supreme Court ruling in Engel v. Vitale?
the mobilization of religious organizations
 
Which religious group became a significant part of the Republican Party base starting in the 1980s?
white evangelical Protestants
 
Women and minorities in the U.S. Congress are
significantly underrepresented compared with their percentage of the U.S. population.
 
_____ refers to an individual's right to vote.
Suffrage
 
A ____ is a nonprofit independent group that receives and disburses funds to influence elections.
527 committee
 
A party caucus is a(n)
closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters
 
The process of candidate selection in an electoral system.
Nomination
 
The regularly scheduled election at which voters make a final selection of officeholders.
General Election
 
As a nominating device, a group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election.
Caucus
 
An election held within a party to pick that party's candidates for the general election.
Direct Primary
 
A party nominating election in which only declared party members can vote.
Closed Primary
 
A party-nominating election in which any qualified voter can take part.
Open Primary
 
A voting process in which voters receive a long ballot containing the names of all contenders, regardless of party, and can vote however they choose.
Blanket Primary
 
A primary in which the top two vote-getters in the first direct primary face one another.
Runoff Primary
 
Elections in which candidates are not identified by party labels.
Nonpartisan Election
 
Provisions made for those unable to get to their regular polling places on election day.
Absentee Voting
 
The effect of a strong candidate running for an office at the top of a ballot helping to attract voters to other candidates on the party's ticket.
Coattail Effect
 
The smallest unit of election administration; a voting district.
Precinct
 
The place where the voters who live in a certain precinct go to vote.
Polling Place
 
The device voters use to register a choice in an election.
Ballot
 
The political extension of special interest groups which have a major stake in public policy.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
 
A grant of money, usually from a government.
Subsidy
 
Money given to State and local party organizations for voting-related activities.
Soft Money
 
Campaign money that is subject to regulations by the FEC.
Hard Money
 
Five different ways in which nominations are made in the United States.
1. Self-announcement
2. Caucus
3. Convention
4. Direct Primary
5. Petition
 
Why did caucuses disappear?
People started to condemn them for their unrepresentative character and easily corruptible system.
 
What was the first national convention that nominated a presidential candidate?
Anti-Masons, in Baltimore in 1831
 
How did the convention work?
Party members elect delegates to represent them at county conventions; County conventions elect delegates to State conventions; State conventions elect delegates to the national convention; and those delegates select the party's presidential and vice-presidential nominees
 
Why did the convention system stop?
Party bosses took over and corrupt the system forcing it to be left behind.
 
List of states who still use the convention system.
Connecticut
Michigan
South Dakota
Utah
Virginia
 
Which state was first to adopt the direct primaries?
Wisconsin in 1903
 
How many states use a closed primary?
24
 
How many states use an open primary?
26
 
Why are blanket primaries not used?
The supreme court found them to be unconstitutional and against the 1st and 14th amendment.
 
Congress election days
November of every even numbered year
 
Updates to the Help America Vote Act of 2000 include....
1. replace all their lever-operated and punch card voting devices by 2006
2. upgrade their administration of elections, especially through better training of local election officials
3. centralize and computerize their voter registration system
 
Who draws precinct lines?
County clerk or county board of elections
 
State law requires that ballots be cast in such a manner that others cannot know how a person has voted.
Secret Ballot
 
Australian ballot characteristics
1. It is printed at public expense
2. It lists the names of all candidates in an election
3. It is given out only at the polls, one to each qualified voter
4. It is marked in secret
 
Another name for office group ballot
Massachusetts ballot
 
Candidates for an office are grouped together under the title of that office
Office-Group Ballot
 
Another name for party column ballot
Indiana ballot
 
Ballot that lists each party's candidates in a column under the party's name.
Party-Column Ballot
 
What do party-column ballots encourage.
Straight ticket voting
 
Who patented the first voting machine?
Thomas Edison
 
Who helps fund campaigns?
1. Small contributors - those who give $5-$10.
2. Fat cats
3. Candidates themselves
4. Non party groups especially Political Action Committees
5. Temporary organizations
6. Public funds
 
Laws that the FEC is supposed to enforce cover four broad areas including....
1. Require the timely disclosure of campaign finance data
2. Place limits on campaign contributions
3. Place limits on campaign expenditures
4. Provide public funding for several parts of the presidential election process.