Political Terminology Quiz

What is the term for a legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body?

• Third party

• Minority party

• Independent party

• Majority party

What does the term 'bipartisanship' refer to?

• A political party's platform

• A process of cooperation through compromise

• A critical election

• A single party system

What is a 'critical election'?

• An election with a narrow margin of victory

• An election that represents a sudden, clear, and long-term shift in voter allegiances

• An election with a high voter turnout

• An election with multiple candidates

What is 'divided government'?

• A government with a coalition of parties

• A government with no clear majority

• A government where the executive and legislative branches are controlled by different parties

• A government where all branches are controlled by one party

What is 'first-past-the-post'?

• A system with ranked-choice voting

• A system where the candidate with the most votes wins

• A system requiring a majority vote

• A system with proportional representation

What does 'gerrymandering' involve?

• The fair distribution of electoral districts

• The manipulation of legislative districts to favor a particular candidate

• The creation of new political parties

• The process of redistricting based on population changes

What is 'majoritarian voting'?

• A voting system where the candidate with the most votes wins

• A voting system where the winning candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the votes

• A voting system based on proportional representation

• A voting system with ranked-choice voting

What is a 'party platform'?

• The physical location of a party's headquarters

• The collection of a party's positions on issues it considers politically important

• The list of candidates a party supports

• The financial plan of a political party

What is 'party polarization'?

• The alignment of party positions with public opinion

• The shift of party positions from moderate towards ideological extremes

• The creation of new political parties

• The merging of political parties

What is 'plurality voting'?

• A voting system with ranked-choice voting

• A voting system with proportional representation

• A voting system requiring a majority vote

• A voting system where the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of vote share