Chapters: “Elections and Campaigns”, “Political Parties”, “Interest Groups”
and “Mass Media”
Presidential and congressional races differ in all of the
following ways EXCEPT
A) Presidential races are more competitive than races for
the House of Representatives
B) A much smaller proportion of people vote in
congressional races in nonpresidential election years
C) Members of Congress can get credit for the
constituent service they provide
D) Candidates for Congress can disassociate themselves
from what is going on in Washington D.C.
E) Congressional elections receive more national funding
than Presidential elections
How does federal law restrict fund-raising for
presidential campaigns? (Pick all that apply)
I. Individual contributions are limited to $2,000
II. PAC contributions are limited to $5,000
III. Federal matching funds are available to
candidates who raise $5,000, in individual
contributions of $250 or less, in twenty
states
IV. Candidates are limited to $2,000 spending in
their own personal funds
Which of the following is the most accurate
statement about the impact of party identification on
voting behavior?
A) Party identification is only one factor in choosing
a candidate
B) Only a third of the electorate identifies with one
of the major parties
C) Party identification plays a key role in voting
choices
D) Party identification plays a key role in deciding
whether or not to vote
E) Independent voters are more likely to strongly
favor one candidate over another
Which of the following best describes those who vote
in primary elections?
A) Voters from both parties who tend to be moderate
in their beliefs
B) Democrats who tend to be more conservative in
their beliefs
C) Republicans who tend to be more liberal in their
beliefs
D) Voters in both parties who tend to be more active
in party politics
E) Those who vote in primaries suffer from voter
fatigue and are less likely to vote in the general
election.
Which of the following is the best example of
gerrymandering?
A) Drawing a congressional district boundary down a
narrow strip of highway no wider than six blocks
B) Drawing boundaries so that districts are of very
unequal size
C) Drawing boundaries to allow fair and equal
representation of voters
D) Crating a new district to reapportion seats
following a census
E) Eliminating an existing district to reapportion
seats following a census
How do American political parties compare with
political parties in Europe?
A) American parties are stronger and have more loyal
members
B) American parties are more centralized, with more
control by the national party organizations
C) Because of federalism, American political parties
are decentralized with significant power at the
state and local levels
D) For the past three decades, the party that controls
Congress has usually controlled the Presidency
E) National law regulates European parties heavily
All of the following characterize a period of
critical realignment EXCEPT
A) A sharp and lasting shift in the coalitions
supporting the political parties
B) A series of crises, resulting in a reaction
against the two major parties
C) The major defeat of a party, with another
party taking its place
D) When a new issue of importance to voters
cuts across existing party divisions
E) When voters become apathetic and turnout
falls below 50 percent
The proportion of people identifying themselves
with a political party declined between 1960 and
1980. One of the reasons for this is
A) Decentralization of the party organizations
B) Split-ticket voting
C) Less media coverage of elections and
campaigns
D) The realignment of coalitions
E) A decrease in the number of people
identifying themselves as independents
Which of the following features have
encouraged the development of a two party
system in the United States (pick all that apply)
I. The plurality system of voting, where a
candidate need not win a majority of votes
to win an elections
II. The winner-take-all feature of the electoral
college
III. The numerous state and local elections
because of federalism
IV. The fact that the House of Representatives is
based upon a state’s population
All of the following statements accurately
describe American political parties EXCEPT
A) They sponsor candidates for political office
B) They influence the actions of government
officials
C) They designate people to represent the
organization
D) They link people with government
E) They adopt very similar policies in their
platforms
All of the following explain the proliferation of interest
groups EXCEPT
A) America is diverse, with countless immigrants, races,
and religions
B) Because of its federal system, there are multiple
points of access to government
C) Political authority is shared by several branches of
government, each of which might be targeted by
interest groups
D) Interest groups often run candidates for office to give
their supporters a voice in government
E) Political parties are relatively weak, which helps
explain the strength and number of interest groups
Why are lobbyists useful to members of Congress in
considering legislation?
A) Because most lobbyists are lawyers and can draft
bills using technical legal language
B) Because lobbyists have bigger research staffs than
members of Congress
C) Because lobbyists are policy generalists who have
knowledge about a broad range of topics
D) Because members of Congress must listen to
lobbyists in order to get electoral support
E) Because members of Congress are policy
generalists and lobbyists are policy specialists
with expert knowledge in their area
An interest group would use grassroots
lobbying on all of the following EXCEPT
A) Abortion
B) Medicare
C) Social Security
D) Complex corporate tax legislation
E) Affirmative action
Interest groups do all of the following
EXCEPT
A) Hire lobbyists to represent them in talking
with members of Congress
B) Attempt to influence the government to
enact policies they favor
C) Run candidates for state and federal office
D) Educate the public about issues
E) Monitor the activities of government
All of the following statements about political
action committees are true EXCEPT
A) They are formed by groups of like-minded
people
B) They must have at least 50 individual
members
C) They can give an unlimited amount of soft
money to political parties
D) PAC contributions to individual candidates
are limited to $5,000
E) Labor PACs give most of their money to
democrats
All of the following are examples of horserace journalism EXCEPT
A) Which candidate is ahead in the polls
B) Which candidate is raising the most
money
C) Which candidate opposed off-shore
drilling
D) Which candidate had the most TV ads
E) Which candidate received a celebrity
endorsement
The internet has affected politics in all of the
following ways EXCEPT
A) It makes it easier to raise money in small
donations
B) It makes it easier to organize people to attend
meetings
C) It makes it easier for campaigns to identify the
names of people they should contact
D) It makes it easier for a candidate to disseminate
negative information about an opponent
E) It contains less biased and more detailed
information than the newspapers
How does the American media differ from media in most
other countries?
A) Almost all American radio and television stations are
privately owned
B) The United States government has little power to
regulate broadcasters
C) The United States has very strict libel laws, and
untruths about public officials usually result in fines
D) Most other countries have a Freedom of Information
Act
E) Because of federal grants and special funding, the
media in the United States do not have to worry about
making a profit
When Gary Hart was caught in a sex scandal in
the 1987 Presidential race that is an example of
the media’s role as
A) A gatekeeper
B) A scorekeeper
C) A reporter who covers important facts in an
unbiased manner
D) A referee who balances coverage of all
candidates
E) A watchdog









527 organizations
Caucus
Federal Election Commission
General election
Gerrymandering
Incumbency
Independent expenditures
Malapportionment
Party relaignmnet









Political Action Committees (PACs)
Position issues
Primary election
Soft money
Spots
Party coalitions
Valence issues
Visuals
Divided government









Economic-protest party
Factional party
Ideological party
Jacksonian Democrats
Minor party
Nominating convention
One-issue party
Plurality system
Political machines









Political party
Republicans
Solidarity party
Split ticket
Sponsored party
Superdelegates
Third party
Two-party system
Winner-take-all system









Direct mail
Grassroots lobbying
Institutional interests
Interest groups
Lobbyist
Membership interests
Social movement
Unions
Adversarial press









Attack journalism
Feature stories
Federal Communications Commission
Insider stories
National media
Party press
Popular press
Sound bite
Trial balloon