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Government unit 1

Total questions: 36

Worksheet time: 9hrs 0mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of the following groups would be most likely to support a constitutional amendment banning all abortions?

a)

liberals

b)

conservatives

c)

libertarians

d)

independents

2.

Which of the following individuals would be most likely to vote in a Republican primary?

a)

A 55-year-old African American saleswoman from Georgia who has a master's degree

b)

A 65-year-old Hispanic male from California who is retired and lives on social security

c)

A 45-year-old white businessman from South Carolina who attends church weekly

d)

A 35-year-old female secretary from New York with an associate's degree who is a devout Catholic

3.

The electoral college system generally allocates electoral votes on the basis of

a)

majority rule

b)

candidate performance in each county within a state

c)

winner-take-all

d)

proportional representation.

4.

A voter's decision to support the incumbent president in an upcoming election is based on recent economic growth and record low unemployment. Which of the following models of voting behavior best characterizes this voter's decision?

a)

Prospective voting

b)

Party-line voting

c)

Retrospective voting

d)

Rational choice voting

5.

The process by which an individual acquires his/her political orientations is known as political:

a)

indoctrination

b)

demography

c)

orientation

d)

socialization

6.

In the past, some states limited voting rights by

a)

Eliminating literacy tests

b)

Overruling grandfather clauses

c)

Passing political socialization laws

d)

Charging a poll tax

7.

Which of the following scenarios is most related to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment?

a)

An eighteen-year-old votes in a presidential election.

b)

An interest group purchases a television ad prior to an election.

c)

A primary election is held to determine the candidate who will run as the Republican for the United States Senate.

d)

A woman votes in a local election.

8.

Which of the following is NOT a trait of a liberal democracy?

a)

Holding regular, frequent, and competitive elections

b)

Having a lively and free press

c)

Achieving income equality

d)

Protecting minority rights

9.

The most loyal Democratic voters in presidential elections are:

a)

Baptists

b)

Jews

c)

African Americans

d)

Hispanics

10.

Which of the following concepts refers to the beliefs about government and politics that people in the United States hold most deeply?

a)

Policy attitude

b)

Party identification

c)

Group identity

d)

Political culture

11.

Which of the following is TRUE about American elections over the past 50 years?

a)

Suffrage has narrowed, and the turnout has decreased.

b)

Suffrage has broadened, and the turnout has increased.

c)

Suffrage has broadened, and the turnout has decreased.

d)

Suffrage has narrowed, and the turnout has increased.

12.

Senator Hoffman is campaigning for reelection in her state. Her campaign message emphasizes how the policies she has supported have benefited her constituents. She has spotlighted job creation and an overall improvement in the standard of living in the state in the past six years. Senator Hoffman is hoping to appeal to which of the following voting behavior models?

a)

Prospective voting

b)

Party-line voting

c)

Rational-choice voting

d)

Retrospective voting

13.

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

a)

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

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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

14.

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 was designed to

a)

reduce the number of qualifications for voting

b)

prevent states from denying suffrage to convicted felons

c)

eliminate voter registration

d)

increase voter turnout

15.

All of the following are traditional political values held by most Americans EXCEPT

a)

representative democracy

b)

equality of outcome

c)

due process of law

d)

individual freedom

16.

A political science professor is researching the effects that the Fifteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments have had on the American political system. Which of the following is the most likely reason the professor is researching these amendments?

a)

To study the expansion of due process rights

b)

To study the expansion of the right to equal protection under the law

c)

To study the expansion of federal authority over states

d)

To study the expansion of voting rights

17.

A person votes for Democratic candidates based on the belief that the policies of the Democratic Party will be personally beneficial. This type of voting matches which of the following voting behavior models?

a)

Retrospective voting

b)

Rational-choice voting

c)

Split-ticket voting

d)

Prospective voting

18.

If voters are acting according to the retrospective model of voting, which of the following will be the most important consideration in their decision?

a)

The party affiliations of the candidates

b)

The campaign promises made by the candidates

c)

The effect of recent economic conditions on the voters

d)

Whether the candidates will act in the best interest of the voters if elected

19.

The party's vice-presidential nominee is chosen

a)

by party caucuses.

b)

through a competitive roll-call vote on the final day of the convention.

c)

on the basis of the second largest number of delegates at the convention.

d)

on the basis of the presidential nominee's recommendation.

20.

Typically, presidential candidates implement their campaign strategies by

a)

ignoring the electoral college, because more states are moving away from the winner-take-all system

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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

21.

The electoral college system leads presidential candidates of both parties to

a)

raise money from a diverse mix of states

b)

mobilize poor voters in urban areas

c)

lobby state legislatures for their support

d)

focus their campaigns on competitive swing states

22.

Which of the following statements about voting behavior in national elections is most accurate?

a)

Senior citizens are more likely to vote than are college students.

b)

Men are more likely to vote than are women.

c)

Democrats are more likely to vote than are Republicans.

d)

Those with less than a high school education are more likely to vote than are college graduates.

23.

The purpose of front loading is for

a)

political parties to have a smooth nominating process

b)

presidential candidates to save money that they might need in the general election

c)

states to have a chance to nominate favorite son candidates

d)

states to have greater influence in choosing the presidential nominees

24.

Political socialization can be defined as

a)

Allegiance to a family or school

b)

Learning how to be a politician

c)

The process by which each person acquires political opinions

d)

The choosing of a political party

25.

When party members meet and move around the room to nominate a candidate for office, they participate in which of the following?

a)

Closed primary

b)

Open primary

c)

Caucus

d)

General election

26.

Which of the following describes an effect of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment?

a)

It eliminated poll taxes

b)

It assured equal access to places of public accommodation regardless of race

c)

It increased the importance of the Speaker of the House of Representatives

d)

It reduced barriers to political participation on the basis of gender.

27.

A citizen who uses the rational choice model of voting behavior selects candidates for office based on

a)

the recent performance of the candidates running for office

b)

the label of the party running for office

c)

predictions of how a candidate will perform in the future

d)

what is thought to be in the citizen's own self-interest

28.

A major reason for America's level of voter turnout compared to other industrialized countries is

a)

the use of compulsion penalties in the US

b)

a more cumbersome registration process in the United States

c)

greater interest in democracy in the United States

d)

Americans' high sense of political efficacy.

29.

Voter turnout tends to be highest among

a)

working-class voters

b)

college-educated voters

c)

young voters

d)

low-income voters

30.

Which of the following is true of voter turnout in the United States?

a)

The South votes in larger numbers than does any other region of the country.

b)

Three-fourths of the electorate votes in a presidential election

c)

The voter-participation rate is one of the lowest of any industrialized nation.

d)

Men vote in larger numbers than do women.

31.

The greater one's sense of political efficacy, the

a)

lesser one's chance of winning an election

b)

more likely one is to be an independent

c)

more likely one is to be politically apathetic.

d)

more likely one is to vote.

32.

The most widely performed act of political participation in the United States is

a)

voting in presidential elections

b)

contributing money to political candidates

c)

attending local party meetings

d)

voting in local elections

33.

Which question is asked if an individual is engaging in retrospective voting?

a)

What have the candidates done while in office?

b)

Which political party is the candidate aligned with?

c)

Who is the more attractive candidate?

d)

Who will be lowering taxes?

34.

Party identification in the United States is most successfully transmitted by which of the following?

a)

Family

b)

Workplace

c)

Church

d)

The media

35.

When people vote for candidates from only one party, it is called

a)

dealignment

b)

republicanism

c)

party line voting

d)

ticket splitting

36.

Gender gap refers to

a)

greater poverty of women compared to men

b)

greater success of men than women in winning public office

c)

a pattern where women are more likely than men to vote Democratic

d)

difference in wages between men and women.