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PLSC (Political Science) final exam

Number of questions: 49

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1) Soft money refers to
  1. campaign contributions made by overseas donors
  2. matching grants made by the federal government to campaigns that raised over $1 million
  3. small campaign donations of $100 or less made by individuals
  4. campaign contributions to political parties that escaped limits of federal or state election law
 2) In 2008, all Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses allocated delegates
  1. in a 70/30 split between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
  2. on a winner-take-all basis
  3. on a proportional basis
  4. according to the results of “beauty contests.”
 3) As detailed in the Constitution, the formal requirements for the office of president include that he or she must be
  1. a citizen for at least seven years
  2. a citizen for at least nine years
  3. at least twenty-five years old
  4. at least thirty years old
 4) Candidates who accept federal financing for presidential general elections
  1. cannot raise funds privately
  2. can raise an equal amount of funds privately as provided by the government
  3. are generally looked down on by voters
  4. have a greater chance of winning the election
 5) Before the advent of ______, a strong party organization at the local, state, or national level could furnish most of the services candidates needed.
  1. Democratic dominance
  2. widespread political scandal
  3. political apathy
  4. television campaigning
 6) At the national convention, each political party uses a ______ to determine which delegates may participate.
  1. grassroots coalition
  2. caucus committee
  3. credentials committee
  4. secret ballot
 7) The Hatch Act of 1939 is best known for
  1. facilitating the growth of political action committees
  2. placing no limit on overall campaign spending
  3. restricting the political activities of civil servants
  4. being the first law designed to regulate campaign financing
 8) ______ may be more likely to campaign for and hold political office because they have more flexible schedules, and political involvement can make a valuable contribution to their careers.
  1. Lawyers
  2. Doctors
  3. Educators
  4. Blue-collar workers
 9) When voters can vote in either party primary without disclosing their party affiliation, it is called
  1. a closed primary
  2. an open primary
  3. a run-off primary
  4. a blanket primary
 10) In Buckley v. Valeo, the Supreme Court
  1. ruled that issue advocacy advertising was unconstitutional
  2. ruled that the use of focus groups in political campaigns was unconstitutional
  3. dissolved the Federal Election Commission
  4. ruled that the amount candidates could spend on their own campaigns should be limited
 11) The organizations that came to be known as “527s”
  1. have been ineffective in impacting campaigns
  2. were named after the number of members legally required to one
  3. run issue ads to energize voters
  4. must pay taxes to the government to help with public funding of elections
 12) Holders of political office in the United States are predominantly
  1. representative of the general public
  2. evenly divided between men and women
  3. white and male
  4. males from diverse racial and religious backgrounds
 13) The people who wanted to be the Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential campaign first needed to raise enough funds to
  1. win the title of highest-funded candidate
  2. put up billboards in urban areas
  3. run for local office
  4. tour the nation to see if they had enough local supporters
 14) A meeting of party members designed to select candidates and propose policies is called
  1. an open primary
  2. a caucus
  3. a winner-take-all primary
  4. a local election
 15) State and national candidates are typically nominated through a
  1. general election
  2. primary election
  3. judicial appointment
  4. runoff election
 16) The job of a political consultant may include all of the following EXCEPT
  1. choosing the candidate’s official portrait
  2. choosing campaign colors
  3. overseeing campaign advertising
  4. nominating a candidate for office
 17) Tracking polls are
  1. taken on a nearly daily basis as the election approaches
  2. used by the government to determine if candidates receive illegal contributions
  3. only relevant early in the campaign
  4. usually not reliable sources of information
 18) In 2008, total campaign spending for ______ reached $2.4 billion.
  1. the presidential candidates alone
  2. the presidential and congressional candidates
  3. all national and state candidates for office combined
  4. all national, state, and local candidates for office combined
 19) The process in which more and more states move their primaries into the first months of the year is known as
  1. impact-minimization
  2. holding a “top-two” primary
  3. holding blanket primaries
  4. front-running
 20) A secret ballot prepared, distributed, and tabulated by government officials at public expense is known as the
  1. Australian ballot
  2. American ballot
  3. Geneva ballot
  4. open ballot
 21) The selection of electors is governed by
  1. the Bill of Rights
  2. the Freedom of Information Act
  3. the National Electoral College Selection Act
  4. local laws
 22) Recruiting candidates is
  1. easier for Democrats
  2. easier for higher offices with more prestige
  3. harder for the office of sheriff
  4. harder for the office of county commissioner
 23) As a result of ______, the number of African American public officials has increased throughout the United States.
  1. improved educational opportunities
  2. public-awareness campaigns
  3. the Tenth Amendment
  4. major civil rights legislation in the 1960s
 24) When only declared party members can vote in a primary election, it is called
  1. a closed primary
  2. an open primary
  3. a run-off primary
  4. a blanket primary
 25) With regard to candidates for office, all of the following are true EXCEPT
  1. until recently, women were considered to be appropriate candidates only for lower-level offices
  2. today, only 35 percent of Americans say they would vote for a qualified woman for president
  3. most candidates are white and male
  4. the number of women running for office is increasing
 26) The number of political action committees (PACs)
  1. has remained stable since the 1970s
  2. grew after 1976 but declined in the 1990s
  3. grew significantly after 1976 but has leveled off since the 1990s
  4. grew significantly between 1900 and 1950 but leveled off in the 1960s
 27) Most candidates in state and local elections are chosen by
  1. “beauty contests.”
  2. caucuses
  3. superdelegates
  4. direct primaries
 28) In 1954, fewer than 20 percent of adults identified themselves as ______, whereas today that share is about 40 percent.
  1. Republicans
  2. Democrats
  3. Libertarians
  4. Socialists
 29) As detailed in the Constitution, the formal requirements for the office of senator include that he or she must be
  1. a citizen for at least seven years
  2. a natural-born citizen
  3. a resident of the state from which elected
  4. a resident of a different state from the president
 30) The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 banned
  1. soft money contributions to national parties
  2. campaign ads by special interest groups
  3. independent expenditures by special interests
  4. the practice of lobbying
 31) One of the reasons that campaigns no longer depend on political parties is
  1. the recent changes in election laws that have stripped parties of their power over elections
  2. the resentment candidates feel about the control that parties demand regarding the kinds of campaigns the candidates will run
  3. that fewer people identify with them
  4. the fact that so many candidates are choosing to run as independents, rejecting the labels of both Democrat and Republican
 32) The qualifications for state legislators are
  1. set by the state constitutions
  2. set by the U.S. Constitution
  3. usually higher for those in the lower chamber of the legislature
  4. usually much more stringent than the legal qualifications for serving as governor
 33) When the top two candidates in a primary compete in another primary for a majority of votes, it is called
  1. a closed primary
  2. an open primary
  3. a run-off primary
  4. a blanket primary
 34) The series of acts passed by Congress in an attempt to limit and regulate the size and sources of contributions and expenditures in political campaigns are known as the
  1. full disclosure acts
  2. freedom of information acts
  3. federal election commission acts
  4. political activities acts
 35) If a candidate is a highly visible incumbent seeking reelection,
  1. name recognition may be a serious problem
  2. they should leave the major parties and run as an independent
  3. there may be little need for campaigning except to remind the voters of the officeholder’s good deeds
  4. the strategy will be to keep as low a profile as possible
 36) A ______ is when professional consultants organize a discussion about candidates or certain political issues among small groups of ordinary citizens.
  1. tracking poll
  2. focus group
  3. telephone survey
  4. national mood
 37) Reforms to the Federal Election Campaign Act in 1974 did NOT
  1. limit campaign contributions
  2. provide public funding for presidential elections
  3. provide public funding for congressional elections
  4. require disclosure of contributions and spending
 38) Advertising paid for by interest groups that support or oppose a candidate (or a candidate’s position on an issue) without mentioning voting or elections is called
  1. a PAC advertisement
  2. a soft-money contribution
  3. issue advocacy advertising
  4. a hard-money expenditure
 39) The number of members each state will have in the Electoral College
  1. cannot exceed fifty members
  2. cannot be changed without a constitutional amendment
  3. changes every four years
  4. equals that state’s number of senators plus its number of representatives
 40) Some observers argue that an excessive concern with voting fraud makes it harder for
  1. Republicans to get voted into office
  2. tracking polls to accurately predict election results
  3. people to take election results seriously
  4. women to vote
 41) Independent expenditures by special interests are
  1. coordinated by law with a candidate’s campaign
  2. unregulated political expenditures by PACs, organizations, and individuals that are not coordinated with candidate campaigns or political parties
  3. only allowed by labor and agricultural interests, not business interests
  4. less important in the 2004 elections than in previous election years
 42) Felons and ex-felons, and new immigrants who are not yet citizens, are included in the
  1. voting-age population
  2. vote-eligible population
  3. local election turnout numbers
  4. state election turnout numbers
 43) The two major parties prefer a(n) ______ ballot because it encourages straight-ticket voting.
  1. absentee
  2. oral
  3. open
  4. party-column
 44) Regarding voter requirements, each state
  1. has different qualifications for voting and registration
  2. must have identical voter registration qualifications
  3. can impose residency requirements of any length in order for voters to register
  4. requires voters to register by mail
 45) The ______ limited the amount that candidates could spend on their own campaigns, a limit later ruled unconstitutional.
  1. Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court case of 2010
  2. Buckley v. Valeo Supreme Court case of 1976
  3. Hatch Act of 1939
  4. Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
 46) A committee set up by and representing a corporation, labor union, or special interest group to raise campaign donations is a
  1. focus group
  2. political action committee
  3. volunteer clearinghouse
  4. special interest committee
 47) Primary elections were first mandated
  1. by President Andrew Jackson
  2. to eliminate the practice of “beauty contests.”
  3. to strengthen the influence of party bosses
  4. in 1968 in Chicago
 48) Superdelegates are
  1. party leaders or elected officials who are given the right to vote at the party’s national convention
  2. the five delegates who raise the most money for the party
  3. no longer permitted at national conventions
  4. elected at the state level
 49) Today, in national elections, most campaign tasks are handled by
  1. former successful politicians
  2. professionals who donate their time for free
  3. amateur politicians
  4. paid professionals

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