AP Government 5.8-Electing a President

Critics of the winner-take-all aspect of the electoral college are most likely to make which of the following arguments?

• The winner-take-all system of the electoral college undermines the rights of states.

• A state's presidential election results rarely mirror a state's congressional election results.

• The winner-take-all system of the electoral college drives presidential candidates to focus on winning states that are considered to be part of their core supporters.

• The winner-take-all system of the electoral college encourages presidential candidates to focus their time and effort disproportionately on battleground states with larger populations.

Which of the following arguments best supports a claim that the electoral college violates democratic principles?

• The winner-take-all system encourages candidates to campaign in every state, which limits the attention each state will receive from the candidates.

• Electors are chosen by the voters in each state, which gives parties undue influence over candidates' success.

• Smaller states are disproportionately advantaged by the two additional electoral votes granted to each state for its senators.

• The electoral college lacks transparency because electors frequently switch their vote during the national convention.

Typically, presidential candidates implement their campaign strategies by

• applying their resources evenly among the states, because they must win popular votes in a majority of the states to be elected

• focusing on larger, competitive states, because they might tip the balance of the electoral college

• focusing on small states, because these states have proportionally more electoral votes than more populous states have

• ignoring the electoral college, because the popular vote determines the outcome of the election

A primary election in which voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket is called

• Open primary

• Closed primary

• Blanket primary

• Runoff primary

Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliate to vote?

• Blanket

• Closed

• Open

• General

Which of the following would result from the direct election of presidential candidates?

• A national primary would be established.

• Party nominating conventions would be abolished.

• Each vote would count equally in determining which candidate won the election.

• The electoral college would become more influential in the electoral process.

Which of the following is true of the electoral college system?

• It encourages the emergence of third parties.

• It encourages candidates to concentrate their campaigns in competitive, populous states.

• It ensures that the votes of all citizens count equally in selecting the President.

• It requires that a candidate win a minimum of 26 states to obtain a majority in the college.

A state has 11 electoral votes. In a presidential election, the Democratic candidate receives 48 percent of that state's popular vote, the Republican candidate receives 40 percent of the vote, and an independent candidate receives 12 percent of the vote.

If the state is similar to most other states, how will the electoral votes most likely be allocated?

• The Democratic candidate will receive 5 electoral votes, the Republican will receive 4, and the independent will receive 2.

• The Democratic candidate will receive 6 electoral votes and the Republican will receive 5.

• The Democratic candidate will receive all 11 electoral votes.

• The votes will not be allocated until there has been a runoff election between the Democratic and Republican candidates.

When none of the presidential candidates receives a majority of the votes in the electoral college, the winner is chosen by the

• Federal Elections Commission

• Supreme Court

• House of Representatives

• Senate