Study Sheet Election 2020

Study Sheet Election 2020

I can describe some of the history of voting in the U.S.

Multiple Choice

During the first several decades of U.S. history, why were so few Americans (only 6%) eligible to vote?

Because you had to be . . .

• male

• white

• over 21

• a land owner

• all of the above

1) During the first several decades of U.S. history, why were so few Americans (only 6%) eligible to vote?

• You had to be male

• You had to be white

• You had to be over 21

• You had to be a landowner

Multiple Choice

States started to drop the requirement that people own land to vote once the US began to expand . . .

• North

• West

• East

• South

2) What was happening when many white American men gained the right to vote?

• The U.S. began to expand its states West

Multiple Choice

What war officially ended slavery in the US?

• American Revolution

• Civil War

• World War II

• Vietnam

3) Civil War

The Civil War officially ended slavery in the United States. This meant that millions of new Americans would soon want to be able to vote.

Multiple Choice

Which Amendment said:

"right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied . . . [due to] race, color, or previous [slavery]."

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 19th Amendment

4) What did the 15th Amendment do?

• It gave African Americans and other people of color the right to vote.

• The problem was, many southern states still found ways to deny them of that right.

Multiple Choice

What were some subtle and not so subtle ways of keeping African Americans and other people of color from voting?

• intimidation

• poll taxes

• literacy tests

• grandfather clauses

• all of the above

5) Why wasn’t the 15th Amendment successful? (3+ reasons)

• intimidation (esp. from groups like the Ku Klux Klan)

• literacy tests

• poll taxes

• grandfather clauses (you don't have to pay a tax if your grandfather voted . . . )

Multiple Choice

Which Amendment helped women gain the right to vote?

• 13th Amendment

• 14th Amendment

• 15th Amendment

• 19th Amendment

6) What did the 19th Amendment (1920) do?

It granted American women suffrage.

Multiple Choice

Which group became official US citizens thanks to the Snyder Act of 1924?

• Mexican Americans

• African Americans

• Chinese Americans

• Native Americans

7) What did the Snyder Act of 1924 do?

• Made Native Americans US citizens and therefore gave them the right to vote.

Multiple Choice

What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?

• Ended literacy tests

• Gave Native Americans citizenship (and therefore the right to vote)

• Gave women the right to vote

• Gave African American women the right to vote

8) What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?

• ended literacy tests

Multiple Choice

What did the 24th Amendment do?

• Ended poll taxes

• Gave Native Americans citizenship (and therefore the right to vote)

• Gave women the right to vote

• Gave African American women the right to vote

9) What did the 24th Amendment (1962) do?

• Ended poll taxes

Multiple Choice

Which war got Americans to question the age at which Americans were allowed to vote?

• Revolutionary War

• Civil War

• World War II

• Vietnam

10) What war caused Americans to reconsider the voting age in the US?

• Vietnam War

Multiple Choice

What did the 26th Amendment (1971) do?

• Ended poll taxes

• Gave women the right to vote

• Washington DC won the right to help elect the US president

• Gave 18-year-olds the vote

11) What did the 26th Amendment (1971) do?

• lowered the voting age to 18

Open Ended

How did many Americans win the right to vote? (3 examples)

12)  What are 5 specific ways that Americans fought for the right to vote?

• petitions

• speeches

• marches

• sit ins

• hunger strikes

• letter-writing

• purposely breaking the law and voting AND MORE!

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a requirement to vote in all 50 states?

• Being 18 or older

• Being a registered resident of your voting location

• Not being a felon

• Bing a citizen of the US

13) What are five requirements of being able to vote in the US?

• You must be a U.S. citizen.

• You must be a resident of a state

• You must register on time

• You must be 18

• (Some states) You can't be a felon

Multiple Choice

Which word means "the right to vote"?

• disenfranchisement

• suffrage

• electoral vote

• popular vote

14) What is suffrage?

• The right to vote

Multiple Choice

Which word means "to deny someone the right to vote"?

• suffrage

• electoral college

• disenfranchisement

• civil rights

15) What is disenfranchisement?

• Being denied the right to vote

Multiple Choice

What group of people could not vote for the US president until 1964?

• 18 year olds

• White women

• People living in Washington DC

• Native Americans

16) Which Amendment gave Washington D.C. citizens the right to vote for President (starting in 1964!!!):

• 23rd Amendment

Multiple Choice

Approximately how many eligible American voters took part in the 2016 Presidential election?

• 6%

• 24%

• 58%

• 74%

Approximately how many eligible American voters took part in the 2016 Presidential election?

• 58%

I can explain some of the powers of the Executive Branch.

Multiple Choice

How old you have to be to run for president?

• 21

• 25

• 30

• 35

Multiple Choice

How many consecutive years do you have to have lived in the US before running for president?

• 3

• 5

• 7

• 14

Multiple Choice

True or False: You have to have been born a US citizen to run for president.

• true

• false

1) What are the requirements of anyone who wants to run for president?

• You must be at least 35 years old

• You must be a natural born citizen

• You need to have lived in the US for 14 consecutive years before running.

Multiple Choice

Where does the US president get his authority?

• The US Constitution

• The US Military

• The American People

• The Executive Branch

2) All of your power is given to you and described by the US Constitution

Multiple Choice

True or False: The US President can declare war?

• true

• false

3) President & War

• Commander-in-Chief

• The President can't declare war (Congress must vote to do that)

Multiple Choice

What is the group of people that gives the president advice?

• cabinet

• Executive Branch

• Congress

• The Press

4) You get advice from the heads of the different departments in the Executive Branch. This group of advisors is your cabinet. 

Open Ended

What are some of the different departments of the Executive branch?

5) Executive Departments:

Treasury, Labor, Education, Defense, Justice, Agriculture, Homeland Security, The Interior, Energy, Transportation, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Housing & Urban Development, and Veteran Affairs 

Multiple Choice

True or False: The President can pardon people for offenses against the US, except in cases of impeachment.

• true

• false

6) Pardons

You can pardon someone for a crime, though you don’t do it often because it can cause you a lot of political backlash.

Multiple Choice

True or False: The President can pass laws on his own?

• true

• false

7) Suggesting Laws

You can suggest laws, but you can’t make them. That’s another job for Congress.

Multiple Choice

One of the president's powers is the ability to appoint ______________

• senators

• congressmen

• justices (judges)

• executive branch

8) Judges and Ambassadors

You can appoint judges and ambassadors (though, again, the Congress must vote to approve your choices)

Multiple Choice

What do you call the speech that the president gives each year in front of a joint session of Congress and the American people?

• Union of the State

• BIG Speech

• State of the Union

• Executive Speech

9) State of the Union

Each year, you give updates to the Congress and to the American people in a speech called the State of the Union.

Multiple Choice

What is a fancy way to say "make sure a law happens"?

• execute the law

• legislate the law

• judge the law

10) Execute the Law

10) It’s your job to make sure the laws are executed (carried out). Even if you disagree with a law, you still need to make sure that it is enforced.

Multiple Choice

If the president doesn't like the law, he/she can _______ it.

• sign

• veto

11) The President and Laws

You can sign or veto bills from the U.S. Congress.

Multiple Choice

Which event goes first when someone is running for president?

• national convention where you are declared candidate

• win primaries/caucuses

• announce candidacy

• win the electoral college

12) The Steps of Running for President:

Announce your candidacy and declare your political party Primaries and Caucuses for your party Declared the official candidate at the National Convention (VP running mate) Win the Electoral College

I can provide some information about the two major candidates for the U.S. President.

Multiple Choice

Who is the incumbent candidate?

• Donald Trump

• Joe Biden

Multiple Choice

Who is the former vice president of President Obama?

• Donald Trump

• Joe Biden

Multiple Choice

Who is the Democratic candidate?

• Donald Trump

• Joe Biden

Multiple Choice

Who is the Republican candidate?

• Donald Trump

• Joe Biden

Multiple Choice

Who is Joe Biden's vice presidential running mate?

• Kamala Harris

• Mike Pence

Multiple Choice

Who is President Trump's vice presidential running mate?

• Kamala Harris

• Mike Pence

Multiple Choice

Which candidate is known for having been a real estate mogul and reality TV star?

• Joe Biden

• Donald Trump

Multiple Choice

Which candidate is known for several decades as one of Delaware's senators and several unsuccessful runs for president.

• Joe Biden

• Donald Trump

Multiple Choice

What is one reason why Donald Trump might lose?

• Income inequality has continued to increase.

• He is a moderate Democrat

Multiple Choice

What is another reason why Donald Trump might lose?

• Support for the Black Lives Matter movement

• His Covid response

Multiple Choice

What is one reason why Joe Biden might lose?

• He is a moderate Democratic candidate -- he might not excite people enough

• His ideas about a federal mask mandate

Multiple Choice

What is another reason why Joe Biden might lose?

• The popular vote

• The Electoral College

I can explain how the electoral college works.

1) President and Vice President

The Electoral College is used to pick the President and the Vice President of the United States.

Multiple Choice

The Number of electors that a state has is equal to its

• senators

• house of representatives members

• Congress members

2) Electoral Votes = Congress Members

Each state has the same number of electors as its members in Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives)

Multiple Choice

How many electoral college votes does Maine have?

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 6

3) Maine and the Electoral College

Maine has 4 electors.

Multiple Choice

In the 1700s and 1800s, it was hard for citizens to _________ about a candidate who lived in another state.

• learn

• appoint

• vote

4) Ordinary Citizens = Popular Vote

• The Electoral College was created because many of the founding fathers did not trust regular citizens to choose the president with the popular vote.

Multiple Choice

True or False: in the early years of our country, the candidate to receive the most electors was the president and the runner up was the vice president.

• true

• false

5) Early President and Vice President

• In the beginning of our country, the candidate with the most electors became President and the candidate with the second most electors would become Vice President .

Multiple Choice

True or False: Modern candidates get to pick their own vice presidential running mate.

• true

• false

6) Picking the VP

Now the presidential nominee for each major political party can choose his/her own vice president running mate.

Multiple Choice

The only two states that do not have a "winner takes all" way of handing out their electoral votes are Maine and . . .

• Wisconsin

• New Mexico

• New York

• Nebraska

7) Maine and Nebraska

Every state but Maine and Nebraska have their electors vote based on the popular vote (winner takes all!).

8) How Maine's Electors Work

Maine gives one elector to the popular vote of each congressional district (we have two) and then the two remaining electors to the winner of the whole state’s popular vote.

9) 270 to Win

To win the presidency, a person must win 270 electoral votes.

10) President and VP - Different States!

The 12th Amendment says that the president and vice president cannot be from the same state. 

Multiple Choice

If there is a tie with the Electoral College then the __________ gets to vote for who they want to be president.

• Senate

• Supreme Court

• House of Representatives

11) House of Representatives and an Electoral Tie

The 12th Amendment also says that if there is a tie in the electoral college that the House of Representatives will pick the president. Each state will receive 1 vote.

12) VP Eligibility

You cannot run for VP if you are not eligible to be president.

Multiple Choice

Inauguration Day is . . .

• Sept 1

• Nov 3

• Jan 1

• Jan 21

13) Inauguration Day

The 20th Amendment says that the president starts his new term on January 21.

Multiple Choice

If the President dies between election day and his inauguration then the _____ becomes president.

• vice president

• wife or husband

• Speaker of the House

• a new candidate who is elected

14) President Dies . . .

It also says that if the President dies between election day and inauguration day that his/her vice president will become president.

15) 23rd Amendment and Washington DC

The 23rd Amendment gave citizens of Washington DC the chance to vote for president.

16) Washington DC Citizens Wait . . .

People living in Washington DC could not vote for president until 1964!