Name: ________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:_______
Unit 2 Exam – Political Behavior
1. A person’s ability to read or write, that is no longer used to qualify voters.
a. Literacy
c. Gerrymandering
b. Poll Tax
d. Electorate
2. ____ is a term regularly used to describe those people who have no specific major party
affiliation.
a. Electorate
c. Preclearance
b. Independent
d. Political efficacy
3. People who do not believe their actions can affect policies have no sense of ___.
a. Electorate
c. Preclearance
b. Independent
d. Political efficacy
4. In the United Sates, the ___, or the potential voting population, is made up of nearly 200
million people.
a. Electorate
c. Preclearance
b. Independent
d. Political efficacy
5. ___ is the practice of voting for candidates of more than one party in any one election.
a. Straight – ticket voting
c. Party identification
b. Split – ticket voting
d. Political socialization
6. People who are strongly loyal to a given party have strong ___.
a. Straight – ticket voting
c. Party identification
b. Split – ticket voting
d. Political socialization
7. To prevent fraudulent voting, most States require voters to
a. Register
c. Pay a poll tax
b. Be able to read and write
d. Be a natural-born citizen
8. Today many States require that all voters
a. Be citizens of the United States and residents of the State
b. Meet specific literacy requirements
c. Be familiar with the candidates and issues before voting
d. Be natural-born of the United States
9. All of the following have been used to keep African Americans from voting EXCEPT
a. Poll taxes
c. Federal court orders
b. Literacy tests
d. Threats and social pressures
Name: ________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:_______
10. A group of people joined together on the basis of common principles, who seek to control
government and public policy.
a. Precinct
c. Ward
b. Pluralistic society
d. Political Party
11. Parties that have broken off from one of the major parties.
a. Minor party
c. Ward
b. Plurality
d. Splinter parties
12. Because the United States has a _____, the only candidates who have a reasonable
chance of winning an
election are either Republicans or Democrats.
a. Splinter party
c. Two – party system
b. Minor party
d. One – party system
13. A ______ seeks to cause change on one public policy matter.
a. Single-issue party
c. Partisanship
b. Coalition
d. Precinct
14. People belong to a particular political party
a. According to regulations of State law.
b. Voluntarily, because they made a personal choice.
c. Based on location the location of the State in which they live
d. According to regulations of federal law
15. Minor parties have contributed MOST to the United States politics by
a. Causing major parties to adopt their ideas.
b. Providing more candidates from which voters can choose.
c. Placing their presidential candidates on the ballot.
d. Establishing political precedents.
16. Which of the following groups has tended to support the Democratic Party in recent
decades?
a. White men
c. Protestants
b. Minorities
d. Catholics
17. Which of the following groups has tended to support the Republican Party in recent
decades?
a. White men
c. Protestants
b. Minorities
d. Catholics
Name: ________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:_______
18. How many people were eligible to vote in the 2000 election?
a. 105.4 million
c. 220 million
b. 150 million
d. 205.8 million
19. How many people actually voted in the 2000 election?
a. 105.4 million
c. 220 million
b. 150 million
d. 205.8 million
20. How many people makeup the actual “non-voters”?
a. 105.4 million
c. 80 million
b. 150 million
d. 205 million
21. Which group of people made up the electorate when the constitution went into effect in
1789?
a. All immigrants
c. White, male property owners
b. Women
d. Black men
22. Which of the following are most likely to vote?
a. Men
b. Women
c. College students
d. Immigrants
23. Which is the most effective tool for measuring public opinion?
a. Polls
c. Sound bite
b. Mass media
d. Mandate
24. The NAACP is an interest group concerned with
a. Civil rights
b. Environmental interests
c. Economic interests
d. labor practices
25. How are interest groups and political parties similar?
a. Both try to attract a wide range of people with varying ideas.
b. Both are only concerned with a few specific issues.
c. Both nominate candidates for office
d. Both try to influence government
26. Under which Constitutional right does campaign finance fall?
a. Freedom of speech
c. Freedom of the press
b. Freedom of the press
d. Right to petition
27. The ideas and attitudes that a significant number of Americans hold about government
and political issues
a. Straw poll
c. Political efficacy
b. Public opinion
d. Political socialization
Name: ________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:_______
28. All the means for communicating information to the general public, such as newspapers,
magazines, radio, TV, and the Internet
a. Public opinion
c. Mass media
b. Universe
d. Grassroots lobbying
29. A type of interest group whose members focus their work on influencing policies that
they believe affect the general public, not just themselves
a. Public interest group
c. Ideological group
b. Single issue interest group
d. Economic group
30. The process by which individuals learn their political beliefs and attitudes from family,
school, friends, coworkers or other sources
a. Political efficacy
c. Public opinion
b. Political socialization
d. Private opinion
31. A technique in which everyone in a group has an equal chance of being selected
a. Straw poll
c. Push polling
b. Random sampling
d. Mass media
32. An unscientific attempt to measure public opinion
a. Straw poll
c. Push polling
b. Random sampling
d. Mass media
33. The group of people that is to be studied
a. Universe
b. Galaxy
c. Body
d. Sampling group
34. One way interest groups learn about public opinion is
a. Asking government officials
c. Conducting polls
b. Educating voters
d. Influencing voters
35. Mass media most directly influences public policy by
a. Choosing what issues and events received exposure
b. Encouraging citizens to seek out information from multiple sources
c. Reporting the details of all current national and international events
d. Serving as a mouthpiece for government officials
36. The First Amendment restricts which of the following from prior restraint of the press?
a. Any federal agency, excluding Congress
b. Federal, state, and local government
c. Only federal and state government
d. Only federal government
Name: ________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:_______
37. Which online tools would interest groups most likely use to recruit direct civic
participation among the public?
a. Action alerts and electronic petitions
b. Mass media websites
c. Social media bloggers
d. Voter registration sites
38. Shield laws protect media sources
a. In a few states, at the local and state level
b. In most states, at the state and local level
c. Throughout the nation, at all levels of government
d. Throughout the nation, at the federal level only
39. When evaluating information from special interest website, one should first consider the
special interest’s
a. Hiring practices
b. Membership
c. Political agenda
d. Popularity
40. Why are shield laws important to the freedom of the press?
a. So that individuals and businesses will not be afraid to sue for libel
b. So that the media outlets will not be afraid to expose corrupt practices
c. So that reporters will not be afraid to publish controversial opinions
d. So that sources will not be afraid to share sensitive information
41. The FCC regulates
a. Censorship
b. Fees and licenses
c. Prohibitions on monopolies
d. The fairness doctrine
42. Which type of media coverage most often causes tension between the press and the
government?
a. Controversial court decisions
c. Political campaigns
b. National security leaks
d. Wartime reports
43. People who use social media for political purposes are
a. Less likely to vote
c. Less involved politically
b. More involved politically
d. More likely to be conservative
Name: ________________________________ Date:____________________________ Period:_______
44. The most political power is likely to be held by the Democratic Party in which of these
geographic locations?
a. Mountain West
c. Southeast
b. Northeast Coast
d. Southwest
45. Which of these people is likely to self – identify as a Republican?
a. African – American, middle – class woman who lives in Atlanta
b. Hispanic, working – class man who lives in Philadelphia
c. White, middle – class, religious woman who lives in a Denver suburb
d. White, working – class man who lives in New York City