Mass Media And Elections: U.s. Government

Front 1

Is the largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns devoted to day-to-day campaign activities?

Back 1

yes

Front 2

Is the largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns devoted to the platforms of the major parties?

Back 2

no

Front 3

Is the largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns devoted to candidates' policy stands on domestic issues?

Back 3

no

Front 4

Is the largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns devoted to candidates' stands on foreign policy issues?

Back 4

no

Front 5

Is the largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns devoted to candidates' experience and qualifications?

Back 5

no

Front 6

Regarding media coverage of elections, does coverage of presidential primaries give relatively equal power to states regardless of when they hold their primaries?

Back 6

no, more media coverage and power go to states with earlier primaries

Front 7

Regarding media coverage of elections, does coverage tend to focus on issues rather than on which candidate is ahead in public opinion polls?

Back 7

no, coverage tends to focus on which candidate is ahead in public opinion polls, not issues

Front 8

Regarding media coverage of elections, are reporters who use secret sources in their campaign coverage shielded by federal law from having to reveal those sources?

Back 8

not in all cases

Front 9

Regarding media coverage of elections, must radio and television stations on their news broadcasts provide equal time for and equal coverage of major party candidates?

Back 9

no

Front 10

Regarding media coverage of elections, is network news coverage usually dominated by reporters who offer relatively short sound bites from the candidates?

Back 10

yes

Front 11

Are public monies used to help finance presidential campaigns?

Back 11

yes

Front 12

Are public monies used to help finance congressional campaigns?

Back 12

no

Front 13

Are public monies used to help finance gubernatorial/governor campaigns?

Back 13

no

Front 14

Are critical elections when groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties?

Back 14

yes

Front 15

Are critical elections a result of a temporary shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties?

Back 15

no

Front 16

Are critical elections whenever a third party has secured more than fifteen percent of the presidential vote?

Back 16

no

Front 17

Are critical elections each and every time a Republican has been elected President?

Back 17

no

Front 18

Are critical elections when voter turnout has declined significantly from the previous election?

Back 18

no

Front 19

What is a realigning election or critical election?

Back 19

An election in which there is a significant shift in the bases of electoral support from one political party to another.

Front 20

What is a closed primary?

Back 20

A primary election in which voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket, which is voting for some Democrats and some Republicans.

Front 21

What is a plurality election?

Back 21

An election involving more than two candidates in which the person who receives the most votes is the winner, even if the most votes is less than half of the total.

Front 22

What is a majority election?

Back 22

An election involving more than two candidates in which the person who receives more than half, or more than 50%, of the total voters is the winner.

Front 23

Does communication between congressional representatives and constituents mainly occur through committee hearings?

Back 23

no

Front 24

Does communication between congressional representatives and constituents mainly occur through the media?

Back 24

no

Front 25

Does communication between congressional representatives and constituents mainly occur through the federal bureaucracy?

Back 25

no

Front 26

Does communication between congressional representatives and constituents mainly occur through staff members of congressional committees?

Back 26

no

Front 27

Does communication between congressional representatives and constituents mainly occur through the personal staffs of representatives?

Back 27

yes

Front 28

Does a candidate's incumbency status have the most influence on the outcome of a congressional election?

Back 28

yes

Front 29

Does the local performance of a candidate's party in the presidential race have the most influence on the outcome of a congressional election?

Back 29

no

Front 30

Does the amount of a candidate's campaign spending relative to that of his or her opponent have the most influence on the outcome of a congressional election?

Back 30

no

Front 31

Does the level of support from local party leaders have the most influence on the outcome of a congressional election?

Back 31

no

Front 32

Does the level of voter turnout have the most influence on the outcome of a congressional election?

Back 32

no

Front 33

Is a reason why incumbents in the House of Representatives enjoy an electoral advantage over challengers that incumbents get substantial financial support from their party's national committee?

Back 33

no; national party committees do not generally get heavily involved in congressional races

Front 34

Is a reason why incumbents in the House of Representatives enjoy an electoral advantage over challengers that incumbents are better known to voters than are challengers?

Back 34

yes

Front 35

Is a reason why incumbents in the House of Representatives enjoy an electoral advantage over challengers that incumbents find it much easier to raise campaign funds than do challengers?

Back 35

yes

Front 36

Is a reason why incumbents in the House of Representatives enjoy an electoral advantage over challengers that incumbents can use staff members to do constituent service?

Back 36

yes

Front 37

Is a reason why incumbents in the House of Representatives enjoy an electoral advantage over challengers that incumbents often serve on committees that enable them to help their constituency?

Back 37

yes

Front 38

Are incumbent senators less likely to be reelected than incumbent members of the House of Representatives?

Back 38

yes

Front 39

Do senators who have served the longest have the best chances of being reelected?

Back 39

not necessarily

Front 40

Does the amount of money spent by a challenger have little bearing on an incumbent's reelection
chances?

Back 40

no; the amount of money a challenger spends generally leads to more of a chance in defeating an incumbent

Front 41

Is an incumbent senator equally likely to be reelected or defeated?

Back 41

no; an incumbent senator is much more likely to be reelected

Front 42

Is the most important factor influencing the reelection chances of senators whether they belong to the President's party?

Back 42

no

Front 43

Is any advantage of incumbency in congressional elections that incumbents receive more campaign contributions than do challengers?

Back 43

yes

Front 44

Is any advantage of incumbency in congressional elections that incumbents are able to provide important services for individual voters?

Back 44

yes

Front 45

Is any advantage of incumbency in congressional elections that the government provides campaign funds for incumbents?

Back 45

no; government does not provide campaign funds for congressional elections

Front 46

Is any advantage of incumbency in congressional elections that the President usually endorses incumbents for reelection?

Back 46

no; the President usually does not endorse candidates in congressional elections

Front 47

Is any advantage of incumbency in congressional elections that most American voters believe Congress does a good job?

Back 47

no

Front 48

Do incumbents usually raise more campaign funds than their challengers?

Back 48

yes

Front 49

Do incumbents tend to understand national issues better than their challengers?

Back 49

yes

Front 50

Are incumbents usually better known to voters than their challengers?

Back 50

yes

Front 51

Do incumbents often sit on committees that permit them to serve district interests?

Back 51

yes

Front 52

May incumbents use legislative staff to perform campaign activities?

Back 52

no; congressman's legislative staff may only perform activities related to law-making

Front 53

Why does "pork barrel" legislation help the reelection chances of a member of Congress?

Back 53

"Pork barrel" legislation helps earn the member of Congress a reputation for service to his or her district.

Front 54

Do elections for the House of Representatives provide approximately equal representation for every voter?

Back 54

yes

Front 55

Do elections for the House of Representatives provide an equal chance of getting elected for both incumbents and challengers?

Back 55

no

Front 56

Do elections for the House of Representatives provide a system in which only those candidates who receive a majority of the votes cast win on the first ballot?

Back 56

no

Front 57

Do elections for the House of Representatives provide proportional representation based on the percentage of votes cast for each party?

Back 57

no; elections are winner-take-all

Front 58

Do elections for the House of Representatives provide proportional representation of racial and ethnic minorities?

Back 58

no

Front 59

What is the best definition of "gerrymandering"?

Back 59

The party in control of the state legislature draws district boundaries in such a way as to favor its own candidates in subsequent elections.

Front 60

Is the "franking privilege" an example of an incumbency advantage?

Back 60

yes

Front 61

Does divided party control of the presidency and Congress reflect a frequent election pattern since the 1960s?

Back 61

yes

Front 62

Is divided party control of the presidency and Congress a natural occurrence due to the constitutional system of checks and balances?

Back 62

no

Front 63

Does divided party control of the presidency and Congress rarely occur in United States elections because of straight-ticket voting?

Back 63

no

Front 64

Does divided party control of the presidency and Congress promote quick action by the President and Congress on such issues as the federal budget?

Back 64

no

Front 65

Does divided party control of the presidency and Congress result from the reapportionment of House seats after the decennial/once-every-ten-years census?

Back 65

no

Front 66

To what does the process known as "front-loading" refer?

Back 66

the tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calendar

Front 67

Does the use of direct primaries instead of the convention system in selecting presidential candidates result in a weakening of party control over nominations?

Back 67

yes

Front 68

Does the use of direct primaries instead of the convention system in selecting presidential candidates result in an increase in the number of people involved in the choice of candidates?

Back 68

yes

Front 69

Does the use of direct primaries instead of the convention system in selecting presidential candidates result in a reduction in the costs of election campaigns?

Back 69

no

Front 70

Does the use of direct primaries instead of the convention system in selecting presidential candidates result in an increase in voter turnout in midterm elections?

Back 70

no

Front 71

Since the mid-1970s, have reforms of the presidential nomination process had the effect of growing substantially the number of female delegates and minority-group delegates at Democratic national
conventions?

Back 71

yes

Front 72

Since the mid-1970s, have reforms of the presidential nomination process had the effect of the nomination process in both parties becoming less democratic and open?

Back 72

no

Front 73

Since the mid-1970s, have reforms of the presidential nomination process had the effect of growing substantially the number of Black delegates at Republican national conventions?

Back 73

no

Front 74

Since the mid-1970s, have reforms of the presidential nomination process had the effect of decreasing dramatically the number of candidates willing and able to seek the nomination?

Back 74

no

Front 75

Since the mid-1970s, have reforms of the presidential nomination process had the effect of State and local party organizations increasing their control over the process?

Back 75

no

Front 76

Does the electoral college system encourage candidates to concentrate their campaigns in competitive, populous states?

Back 76

yes

Front 77

Does the electoral college system encourage the emergence of third parties?

Back 77

no, because the system is winner-take-all

Front 78

Does the electoral college system ensure that the votes of all citizens count equally in selecting the President?

Back 78

no; a candidate can win the popular or people vote yet lose the electoral college vote.

Front 79

Does the electoral college system require that a candidate win a minimum of 26 states to obtain a majority in the college?

Back 79

no; a candidate must win at least 270 electoral college votes, which is more than half of the 538 total electoral college votes

Front 80

Does the electoral college system tend to make presidential elections appear closer than they really are?

Back 80

no; because whether a candidate wins a state by one people vote or one million people votes, he or she wins all of the state's electoral votes; this makes presidential elections look less close than they actually are

Front 81

When none of the presidential candidates receives a majority of the votes in the electoral college, the winner is chosen by whom?

Back 81

House of Representatives only

Front 82

If the president of the U.S. were chosen by direct election, would each vote count equally in determining which candidate won the election?

Back 82

yes

Front 83

If the president of the U.S. were chosen by direct election, would national primary be established?

Back 83

not necessarily

Front 84

If the president of the U.S. were chosen by direct election, would party nominating conventions be abolished?

Back 84

not necessarily

Front 85

If the president of the U.S. were chosen by direct election, would the electoral college become more influential in the electoral process?

Back 85

no, the electoral college's influence would decrease dramatically or even be abolished

Front 86

If the president of the U.S. were chosen by direct election, would third-party candidates have less chance of winning the election?

Back 86

no; third party candidates may have a better chance of winning the election

Front 87

Since 1960, has the presidential election process been affected by an increase in the proportion of independents in the electorate?

Back 87

yes

Front 88

Since 1960, has the presidential election process been affected by an increase in the influence of political consultants?

Back 88

yes

Front 89

Since 1960, has the presidential election process been affected by an increase in the number of primaries?

Back 89

yes

Front 90

Since 1960, has the presidential election process been affected by an increase in the role of television?

Back 90

yes

Front 91

Since 1960, has the presidential election process been affected by an increase in the turnout of voters?

Back 91

no; voter turnout has decreased since 1960

Front 92

Did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) ban soft money donations to national parties?

Back 92

yes

Front 93

Did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) create interest groups known as 527s?

Back 93

no

Front 94

Did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) make it illegal for unions to donate to presidential campaigns?

Back 94

no

Front 95

Did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) ban candidates from running negative advertisements?

Back 95

no

Front 96

Did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) ban third parties from federal funding?

Back 96

no