Political Participation Test

If the United States functioned under a proportional electoral system, how would the general election results change?

• George HW Bush would have been declared the winner.

• Bill Clinton would have received an even greater share of the electoral votes.

• A runoff election would be necessary, as Bill Clinton would not have had a majority share of the votes to win.

• Ross Perot would have secured a share of the electoral votes.

Which element of America's two party electoral system best explains why Ross Perot failed to receive any electoral votes, despite the popular votes he earned?

• Single-member districts

• The winner-take-all system

• Exclusion from presidential debates

• Electoral College bias

Why might major parties criticize the role of minor parties in general elections?

• Minor party candidates and platforms simply confuse voters.

• While minor parties never win, they can impact the outcome of general elections by drawing votes away from major parties.

• Minor parties occupy too much media attention, thus impacting the campaigns of major parties.

• Minor parties slow down the final election count in the general election.

According to the data in the graph and your knowledge of U.S. politics, what is the strongest predictor of how someone will vote?

• Their age

• Their party affiliation

• Their sex

• Their education level

The graph above best displays the concept of

• retrospective voting

• prospective voting

• rational-choice voting

• party-line voting

What is one valid reason for the data shown in the pie chart above?

• Most states choose primaries, because they make for a faster voting process.

• Caucuses are only held in west coast states.

• Fewer states are allowed to host caucuses, due to the requirements they must meet.

• Caucuses are only held in swing states.

What is the ultimate purpose of caucuses and primaries?

• To vote for individual state propositions.

• To elect a state governor every four years.

• To vote for members of Congress during non-presidential election years.

• To vote for the delegates that will nominate the two major party candidates for the general election.

Which of the following is an accurate trend displayed in the graph?

• The total cost of congressional elections has increased, while the cost of presidential elections has decreased.

• The total cost of presidential elections has increased, while the cost of presidential elections has decreased.

• The total cost of both presidential and congressional elections has increased.

• The total cost of both presidential and congressional elections has decreased.

How has the Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. FEC contributed to the data in the graph?

• The case increased the total amount of hard money individuals could give to candidates.

• The case gave rise to Super PACs, which can spend unlimited amounts of money on independent expenditures.

• The case ruled that there was no limit to how much a candidate could spend of his or her own money.

• The case ruled that the federal government would match all funds raised by a candidate during the primaries.

Which of the following is a common argument regarding the amount of money in U.S elections?

• Special interests have far too much influence due to the amount of money they spend supporting candidates during elections.

• Individuals are allowed to contribute far too much money to individual candidates.

• The country should be using election money to pay off the national debt.

• Elections would be far less expensive if every state used computerized voting.