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Unit 2 Standard Test (10/2006)

Matching
 
 
IDENTIFYING KEY TERMS
Match each item with the correct statement below.  You will not use all the terms.
a.
 ward
b.
 electorate
c.
 minor party
d.
 plurality
e.
 political party
f.
 split-ticket voting
g.
 splinter parties
h.
 major parties
i.
 bipartisan
 

 1. 

 ____ a unit into which cities are divided for the election of city council members
 

 2. 

 ____ parties that have broken off from one of the major parties
 

 3. 

 ____ the greatest number of votes cast for a single office
 

 4. 

 ____ the people eligible to vote in any given election
 

 5. 

 ____ a group that seeks to control government by winning elections and holding public office
 

 6. 

 ____ the two major parties acting together and cooperating when making decisions
 
 
IDENTIFYING KEY TERMS
Match each item with the correct statement below.  You will not use all the terms.
a.
 electorate
b.
 poll tax
c.
 literacy
d.
 preclearance
e.
 political efficacy
f.
 independent
g.
 gerrymandering
h.
 split-ticket voting
 

 7. 

 ____, a person's ability to read or write, is no longer used to qualify voters.
 

 8. 

 Dividing electoral districts to limit the voting strength of a particular group is known as ____.
 

 9. 

 ____ is the term regularly used to describe those people who have no specific major party affiliation.
 

 10. 

 People who do not believe their actions can affect politics have no sense of ____.
 

 11. 

 In the United States, the ____, or the potential voting population, is made up of nearly 200 million people.
 
 
IDENTIFYING KEY TERMS
Match each item with the correct statement below.  You will not use all the terms.
a.
 nomination
b.
 coattail effect
c.
 runoff primary
d.
 polling place
e.
 blanket primary
f.
 closed primary
 

 12. 

 The ____ occurs when a strong candidate running for an office at the top of a ballot helps attract voters to other candidates on the party's ticket.
 

 13. 

 In the ____, the two top vote getters in a direct primary face one another, with the winner receiving the nomination.
 

 14. 

 A ____ is where voters who live in a particular precinct actually go to vote.
 

 15. 

 A ____ is a party nominating election in which only declared party members are allowed to vote.
 

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 
 
MAIN IDEAS
 

 16. 
In the United States, a political party is made up of a group of people who
a.
 disagree on how to resolve the basic issues affecting the country.
b.
 work to get candidates elected to political offices.
c.
 work separately to support one major program or policy.
d.
 support split-ticket voting.
 

 17. 
Which of the following is NOT a major function of either of the two major parties in the United States?
a.
 To keep the general public informed about key issues.
b.
 To monitor the conduct of its candidates in office.
c.
 To assure the qualifications of candidates for office.
d.
 To unite people and concentrate solely on one public policy matter.
 

 18. 
The State party organizations
a.
 are generally loosely tied to the national committee.
b.
 face tight control by the national committee.
c.
 are well-disciplined groups.
d.
 always cooperate with one another.
 

 19. 
Which of the following is a sign of weakened political parties?
a.
 split-ticket voting
c.
 newly registered voters
b.
 straight-ticket voting
d.
 campaigning for party candidates
 

 20. 
Which of the following groups has tended to support the Democratic party in recent decades?
a.
 the business community
c.
 union members
b.
 Protestants
d.
 white males
 

 21. 
The provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its amendments of 1970, 1975, and 1982 apply to
a.
 all national, State, and local elections.
b.
 federal elections only.
c.
 State and local elections only.
d.
 all federal and State elections, but not to all local elections.
 

 22. 
The phenomenon in which fewer votes are cast for offices farther down the ballot is called
a.
 voter alienation.
c.
 split-ticket voting.
b.
 straight-ticket voting.
d.
 ballot fatigue.
 

 23. 
All of the following are significant reasons for nonvoting in United States elections today EXCEPT
a.
 long-term mental or physical illness or illness on an election day.
b.
 rules and regulations that make registration and voting cumbersome.
c.
 widespread use of religious and literacy tests.
d.
 apathy or distrust of politics.
 

 24. 
The term political socialization can be defined as the
a.
 process in which individual initiative is abandoned in favor of party politics.
b.
 belief that one's vote does not count.
c.
 process by which people formulate their political attitudes and opinions.
d.
 practice of voting for candidates of only one specific party in any given election.
 

 25. 
Literacy tests worked to deny the right to vote to African Americans primarily because
a.
 all white voters had higher literacy rates.
b.
 the tests were only required in Southern States.
c.
 African Americans were asked questions that were more difficult than those asked of prospective white voters.
d.
 it was specifically provided for in the Constitution.
 

 26. 
All of the following have been used to keep African Americans from voting EXCEPT
a.
 poll taxes.
c.
 federal court orders.
b.
 literacy tests.
d.
 threats and social pressures.
 

 27. 
Gerrymandering is unfair because
a.
 no one has the right to divide electoral districts for elections.
b.
 it sets district boundaries to decrease one group's voting strength.
c.
 it makes voter registration difficult for uneducated white males.
d.
 it increases the voting power of minority groups.
 

 28. 
Why are voting machines used?
a.
 to eliminate the election process
b.
 to increase the number of persons needed to administer elections
c.
 to minimize vote-counting errors
d.
 to encourage manual vote counting
 

 29. 
Money is an indispensable campaign resource because
a.
 special interest groups have more money than political parties.
b.
 wealthy contributors win all elections.
c.
 it allows candidates to make themselves known to the public.
d.
 candidates might otherwise try to buy their way into office.
 

 30. 
The oldest form of the nominating process in the United States is
a.
 the convention.
c.
 the direct primary.
b.
 a congressional caucus.
d.
 self-announcement.
 

 31. 
The most costly items in a typical campaign budget today are
a.
 newspaper and magazine advertisements.
b.
 pamphlets and posters.
c.
 travel and entertainment.
d.
 television advertisements.
 

 32. 
In a closed primary
a.
 only declared party members may vote.
b.
 all qualified voters may vote.
c.
 voters must vote a split ticket.
d.
 voters must complete separate ballots for both parties.
 

 33. 
The smallest geographic unit for conducting an election is a
a.
 precinct.
c.
 county.
b.
 polling place.
d.
 ballot.
 

 34. 
The Constitution gives the power to set the date for holding congressional elections to
a.
 the President.
c.
 the States.
b.
 Congress.
d.
 local precincts.
 

 35. 
Which of the following is the earliest and one of the most significant agents in the political socialization process?
a.
 family
c.
 group affiliation
b.
 place of residence
d.
 gender
 

 36. 
Attitudes held by a significant number of people concerning governmental and political questions are known as
a.
 the mass media.
c.
 interest groups.
b.
 public opinion.
d.
 public policies.
 

 37. 
The term "public opinion" is misleading because
a.
 opinions have no place in politics or government.
b.
 Americans belong to many different publics, each with a distinctive viewpoint.
c.
 most Americans consider political opinions to be a private matter.
d.
 no two people in the public really agree on any issue.
 

 38. 
Which form of mass media is now the principle source of political information for about 80 percent of the population of the United States?
a.
 radio
c.
 newspapers
b.
 television
d.
 magazines
 

 39. 
A labor union is an organization of workers who
a.
 hold exactly the same political beliefs.
b.
 represent the interests of the business community.
c.
 work in the same job or industry.
d.
 work on farms.
 

 40. 
The term grass roots refers to
a.
 trade associations.
c.
 average voters.
b.
 party politicians.
d.
 interest groups.
 

 41. 
Interest groups are also called pressure groups mainly because
a.
 they seek to put pressure on the government to affect policies.
b.
 they put pressure on individuals to join in the group's interests.
c.
 belonging to a group can create pressure, or stress, in one's life.
d.
 they put pressure on group members to act in certain ways.
 

 42. 
Lobbyists today are people who generally
a.
 work within the governmental process to affect policies.
b.
 work illegally to get their group's needs met.
c.
 use unfair propaganda to get a group's point across.
d.
 are hired by the government to support certain policies.
 

 43. 
Propaganda is a technique
a.
 used to express the truth about a matter of public policy.
b.
 based on logical conclusions.
c.
 used to influence people to adopt a particular belief.
d.
 that depends upon people's preferences.
 

 44. 
Interest groups are MOST interested in
a.
 nominating specific candidates for office.
b.
 winning a broad range of elections.
c.
 influencing specific public policies.
d.
 affecting a broad range of public policy issues.
 

 45. 
Pressure groups operate
a.
 only at the national level of government.
b.
 at the State and local levels.
c.
 only within the legislative branch.
d.
 at all levels of government.
 



 
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