5.1-5.5 Practice

Which of the following best explains how most candidates are recruited to run for office?

• Candidates for office usually first work as lawyers for political parties before running for office.

• Most candidates who run for office are recruited by political leaders to do so because they are famous.

• Political parties usually recruit and train people at the local level they believe are most fit to run for office.

• Most candidates running for office are selected after earning merit working for the government.

Which of the following statements about voting behavior in the United States is correct?

• College graduates are more likely to vote than are those who have at most a high school diploma.

• Voters under the age of 25 are more likely to vote than are those in any other age group.

• Registration requirements have no significant effect on voter turnout.

• Since 1920, the proportion of women who have voted is approximately the same as the proportion of men who have voted.

• During the twentieth century, the proportion of African Americans who voted was approximately the same as the proportion of White Americans who voted.

Which of the following statements about political parties and the United States Constitution is true?

• The Constitution specifies that political party leaders must be native-born United States citizens.

• The Constitution indicates that political party leaders at the national level be elected by political party leaders at the state level.

• The Constitution requires political parties to be restricted by both federal and state law.

• According to the Constitution, only two major political parties may exist at any time.

• The issue of political parties is not addressed in the Constitution.

The concept of “critical elections” is most closely associated with

• the electoral college process

• elections during wartime

• the nomination process

• economic recession

• party realignment

Critical elections in the United States typically have occurred

• when voter turnout has declined significantly from the previous election

• when groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties

• as a result of a temporary shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties

• each time a Republican has been elected President

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about political parties in the United States?

• National party organizations are generally the strongest party organizations.

• Most candidates prefer to run as independents rather than as Democrats or Republicans.

• National party organizations are generally the strongest party organizations.

• The percentage of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans has been declining since the 1970's.

Which of the following best describes the concept of political efficacy?

• It is the belief that the average citizen can make little or no difference in an election.

• It is the belief that an intelligent voting decision cannot be made without information.

• It is the belief that the media must provide unbiased information for citizens to be able to make well-informed choices.

• It is the belief that politicians must keep the electorate well-informed if they are to govern efficiently.

Which of the following describes a fundamental difference between political parties and interest groups?

• Political parties are prohibited from sponsoring campaign advertisements, and interest groups are not.

• Political parties are more likely to focus on national politics, whereas interest groups focus on local politics

• Political parties tend to have strength in particular regions, whereas the power of interest groups is more consistent across states.

• Political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas interest groups are more likely to focus on narrow sets of issues.

Considering all elections at all levels of government, which of the following best describes electoral behavior in the United States?

• Primary elections tend to elicit a higher voter turnout than do general elections.

• The majority of the electorate does not vote in most elections.

• Voters with strong party identification vote less regularly than do independents.

• Voter turnout plays an insignificant role in election outcomes.

• Adult citizens under the age of 30 tend to have the highest rate of voter turnout.

Since the early 1980s, the Republican Party platform has been increasingly influenced by

• environmental activists

• civil libertarians

• evangelical Christians

• labor unions

• active military officers