Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions

What are the two major political parties in the United States?

• Democratic and Libertarian

• Republican and Green

• Democratic and Republican

• Green and Constitution

What is a political party?

• A group of people who hold a primary, caucus, and convention

• A group of people who share similar political views about how government should run and solve societal problems

• A group of people who vote in elections

• A group of people who sponsor presidential candidates

What role do minor parties often play in elections?

• They usually win the presidential election

• They bring attention to issues that major parties ignore

• They create the rules for the Electoral College

• They prevent major parties from winning elections

What was the effect of Teddy Roosevelt creating the Progressive Party in 1912?

• He won the presidential election

• He took enough votes away from the Republican candidate to allow the Democratic candidate to win

• He changed the two-party system to a multi-party system

• He established the "winner-take-all" nature of the Electoral College

Which of the following is a major third party in the U.S. whose mascot is a porcupine?

• Democratic Party

• Republican Party

• Green Party

• Libertarian Party

What is a nomination in the context of political parties?

• The process of voting for the president.

• The formal choice of who their official presidential candidate will be.

• A type of primary election.

• The selection of delegates for the national convention.

What is the purpose of a national convention?

• To elect the president of the United States.

• To determine the party's nominee for president.

• To vote on the party's platform and policies.

• To hold a general election between different parties.

What are the three main things that the results of a primary or caucus determine?

• The party's nominee, the vice-presidential candidate, and the party platform.

• The number of delegates each state has, the party's nominee, and the election date.

• The state's preference for the party's nominee, the number of delegates the state will send to the convention, and who those delegates will vote for.

• The party's nominee, the election rules, and the date of the national convention.

Why were primaries originally developed?

• To allow citizens to directly vote for the president.

• To give more power to political party bosses.

• To take power away from corrupt party systems.

• To create a more complicated election process.

What reform in the 1890s through the 1920s helped to make the process of nominating candidates more democratic?

• The introduction of the Electoral College.

• The use of secret ballots.

• The establishment of the two-party system.

• The creation of the national convention.