POLITICAL MACHINE STUDY GUIDE ANSWERS
1. What is the Electoral College? A group of people named by each state congress to select the President and Vice
President.
2.Each state has members of the Electoral College. The number of members in the Electoral College for each state is
based on what? Congressional representation
3. Electoral College votes are only used in campaigns for: President and Vice President
4. How many Electoral College votes does a candidate need to win an election? 270
5. How is the slate of Electors chosen in each state? By popular vote (during General Elections)
6. How does the winner-take-all system influence candidates in their campaigning? Where do they spend a lot of
time? It convinces them to target large states for campaigning.
7. Can candidates ignore states with small electoral numbers? Why or why not? No, they must pay attention to small
states because their electoral votes may make a difference in a tight election.
8. The requirements for a majority vote to win in the Electoral College favors what kind of political party system?
Two-party system
9. Why did Political Parties emerge? Differences in views on government and the Constitution
10. What are the four functions (“jobs”) of political parties?
a. recruit and nominate candidates
b. educate electorate on issues
c. help candidates win elections
d. monitor actions of officeholders (act as a “watchdog”)
11.The U.S. political party system is mainly a: two-party system.
12. What are the two major political parties in the United States? Democrats and Republicans
13.List the 4 similarities between political parties.
a. organize to win elections
b. influence public policies
c. reflect both liberal and conservative views
d. they win majority votes by appealing to the political center
14. What is the one major difference between parties, according to our notes?- Their platform and how they
campaign to reflect it
15. What do Third Parties do that makes them important to campaigns? What is one way that third parties gain
support/members?
- introduce new ideas or promote an issue and force the two main parties to address these issues
- Sometimes they gain support and momentum through identifying with ‘celebrity-type’ personalities such as
Theodore Roosevelt
16. Name 5 ways rising campaign costs have affected campaigns.
a. make running for office more expensive
b. Require candidates to conduct extensive fund-raising activities
c. Limit opportunities to run for public office
d. Give an advantage to wealthy individuals who run for office
e. Encourage the development of political action committees (PAC)& Give issue-oriented special interest
groups increased influence
17. What has caused the creation of campaign finance laws? -Rising campaign costs
18. What do campaign finance laws do? They limit the amount an individual may contribute to political candidates
and campaigns and require that where the donations come from must be disclosed to the public.
19. What are special interest groups? An organization of people with common interest who try to influence
government decisions.
20. Why are P.A.C.’s and special interest groups so powerful and important to political candidates? They provide
huge amounts of money (contributions, funding, donations) to campaigns and candidates.
21. What role does the media play in elections?
a. helps to identify candidates
b. emphasizes certain issues (jobs, economy, health care, etc.)
c. write editorials, create political cartoons, and publish op- ed. pieces
d. broadcast different points of view
22. Name four strategies voters could use to evaluate campaign speeches, literature, and advertisements. (What
should they do when listening to these things?):
a. Separate fact from opinion
b. detect bias
c. evaluate multiple sources
d. identify propaganda
23. What are the qualifications to register to vote in Virginia?
- You must be a citizen of USA
-You must be a resident of Virginia and your specific precinct
-You must be 18 years of age by day of general election
24. How do you register to vote in Virginia?
-
You can register in person at Voting Registrar’s office, at the DMV, or other designated sites
You can also mail in an application
Online
Registration is closed 22 days before elections
25. List two reasons why citizens fail to vote:
-Because they have a lack of interest (APATHY)
-Because they failed to register in time
26. What three factors contribute to predicting which citizens will vote?
-
age
education
income
The higher each number, the more likely
a person is to vote on Election Day
27. What is apathy?
You lack concern for something (you don’t care).
Write a persuasive essay in which you
argue whether the Electoral College is the
best method of electing a President. In
your essay be sure to include the
following:
1. Background details of the Electoral
College.
• Number of electors
• How electoral numbers for each
state are determined
• Number of electors it takes to
win
• How are the slate of electors
determined?
2. Pros and Cons of the system
3. Your argument for or against the
Electoral College?
• If you support it, explain why
• If you oppose it, propose an
alternative
Pro’s:
president- the winning candidate must demonstrate both a
sufficient popular support to govern as well as a sufficient
distribution of that support to govern
- the votes of small
minorities within a state may make the difference between
winning all of a state’s electoral votes or none of them.
two-party system- protects that presidency from impassioned
but transitory third party movements and forces the major
parties to absorb the interests of minorities.
representation
Con’s:
electing a minority president- one
way for this to happen would be if the country was so deeply
divided politically that three or more presidential candidates
split the vote and no one obtained a necessary majority
- Electors who
won’t be loyal to their party or candidate
- because
each state is only entitled to so many electoral votes regardless
of voter turnout, there is no incentive for states to encourage
voter participation
it does not elect a candidate by a direct popular