CHAPTER 9: CAMPAIGNS AND VOTING BEHAVIOR
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Multiple Choice Questions
1.A nomination refers to a(n)
a.media event in the course of a presidential election.
b.highpoint of public opinion in support of a particular candidate.
c.party’s official selection of a candidate to run for office.
d.monetary campaign contribution.
e.endorsement of elite press, such as the New York Times.
2.The Democratic and Republican candidates for president are formally nominated by the
a.presidential caucuses.
b.presidential primaries.
c.Electoral College.
d.national party conventions.
e.national committees.
3.The McGovern-Fraser Commission
a.chose presidential candidates for the Democratic Party.
b.investigated violations of campaign finance law in 1968.
c.established the dates of presidential primaries.
d.had a mandate to make the Democratic Party conventions more democratic.
e.strengthened the role of the party’s national committee.
4.The McGovern-Fraser Commission made the delegate selection process of the Democratic party more democratic by
a.giving the power of selecting delegates to party officials.
b.increasing the number of delegates chosen.
c.weakening the power of party leaders to choose convention delegates.
d.encouraging the use of presidential caucuses rather than primaries.
e.None of the above is true.
5.Which of the following did the Federal Election Campaign Act NOT do?
a.Require disclosure of campaign contributions by all candidates for federal offices
b.Provide public financing for the presidential nominees of both major parties
c.Provide public financing of House and Senate races
d.Limit presidential campaign spending
e.Provide public financing of Senate races
6.The Presidential Election Campaign Fund
a.consists of money collected from the $3 federal income tax check-off.
b.is distributed by the FEC to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns.
c.garners only about 10 percent of American taxpayers’ participation.
d.Both a and b are true.
e.All of the above are true.
7.Which of these is NOT one of the provisions of the McCain-Feingold Act?
a.The subjecting of 527 groups to contribution restrictions
b.The banning of soft-money contributions
c.The increase in the amount that individuals can give to candidates, to rise with inflation
d.The barring of groups from running “issue ads” within 60 days of an election if they refer to a federal candidate and are not funded through a PAC
e.The prohibition of corporations’ and unions’ use of general treasury funds to pay for electioneering communications in the last 60 days of an election
8.The McCain-Feingold Act of 2002
a.increased the limit on individual contributions to presidential and congressional candidates to $2,000.
b.decreased the limit on individual contributions to presidential and congressional candidates to $1,000.
c.increased the limit on individual contributions to presidential and congressional candidates to $3,000.
d.decreased the limit on individual contributions to presidential and congressional candidates to $3,000.
e.banned individual contributions to presidential and congressional candidates.
9.The phenomenon that people’s beliefs often guide what they pay attention to and how they interpret events, common among voters in political campaigns, is
a.selective perception.
b.gate keeping.
c.scorekeeping.
d.agenda setting.
e.frontloading.
10.Which of the following is an example of a 527 group?
a.MoveOn.org
b.JohnKerry.com
c.The Republican Party of Iowa
d.The Democratic Party of New Hampshire
e.EggPac
11.Which of the following statements regarding political campaigns is FALSE?
a.Most people pay relatively little attention to campaigns.
b.Party identification influences voting behavior regardless of what happens in campaigns.
c.Incumbents start with a substantial advantage in terms of name recognition and an established track record.
d.Campaigns never change voters’ minds.
e.In tight races, a good campaign can make the difference between winning and losing.
12.Researchers suggest that campaigns have three effects on voters; these are the following:
a.reinforcement, activation, and conversion.
b.reinforcement, gate keeping, and scorekeeping.
c.selective perception, gate keeping, and conversion.
d.agenda setting, gate keeping, and conversion.
e.activation, selective perception, and reconversion.
13.Suffrage refers to
a.a type of election unique to the United States.
b.the right to vote.
c.a voter registration system.
d.voter turnout rates.
e.voting procedures in the Electoral College.
14.According to a 2008 Census Bureau survey, the most common response given by nonvoters for not voting in the 2008 election was that they
a.could not find their polling place.
b.could not take off time from work or school that day.
c.forgot that it was Election Day.
d.did not know who the candidates were.
e.forgot to register in time for the election.
15.The greater one’s sense of political efficacy, the
a.less likely one is to vote.
b.more likely one is to vote.
c.greater one’s chance of being defeated in an election.
d.less likely one is to view the election process in the United States as legitimate.
e.more likely one is to see differences between the parties.
16.People with higher than average education
a.are no more and no less likely to vote than people of lower educational levels.
b.are more likely to vote than people of lower educational levels.
c.are somewhat less likely to vote than people of lower educational levels.
d.are much less likely to vote than people of lower educational levels because they know it won’t do any good.
e.are more likely to vote than high school dropouts but less likely to vote than those with high school diplomas.
17.A theory of voting according to which voters make their decisions based on their answer to the question “What have you done for me lately?” is called
a.policy voting.
b.the mandate theory of elections.
c.retrospective voting.
d.political efficacy.
e.prospective voting.
18.The Electoral College was originally established in order to
a.provide direct election of the president by the people, although its operation has had the opposite effect.
b.merely certify the results of the people’s choice for president and vice president.
c.give the nation’s elite, rather than the people directly, the power to choose the president and vice president.
d.insure high voter turnouts in elections throughout the country.
e.give legitimacy to the presidency, which was regarded suspiciously by most people as another potential monarchy.
19.The greater the policy differences between the candidates,
a.the less likely voters will be able to steer government policies by their choices.
b.the more likely voters will be able to steer government policies by their choices.
c.the less likely voters will turn out on Election Day.
d.the more likely voters will provide an “echo” rather than a “voice” on Election Day.
e.the more likely citizens will feel a sense of civic duty.
True/False Questions
1.Superdelegates are the supreme power within each of the parties.
2.A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention is called a primary.
3.Primaries emerged through reform efforts that sought to take nominations out of the hands of party bosses.
4.One result of modern campaigns is that a disproportionate amount of attention is given to caucuses and primaries occurring late in the calendar year.
5.The extended length of the nomination process advantages individuals who already hold prominent political positions.
6.Network news coverage of national political conventions has surged in recent decades.
7.The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.
8.The significance of the Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo is that it upheld restrictions on the amount of money an individual could contribute to his or her own campaign.
9.“Soft money” refers to political contributions that are earmarked for party building activities.
10.The Republican Party is a form of PAC.
11.The phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things that they already agree with is called selective perception.
12.According to Anthony Downs, rational people vote when they perceive meaningful policy differences between the candidates.
13.Voter turnout in state and national elections increased significantly after Congress passed the Motor Voter Act of 1993.
14.Older Americans are more likely to vote than are younger Americans.
15.The most widely accepted theory of voting behavior among political scientists is the mandate theory of elections.
16.It is possible for the Electoral College to choose a president who did not win a majority of the popular vote.
17.The greater the policy differences between the candidates, the more likely voters will be able to steer government policies by their choices.
Multiple Choice Questions
1.A(n) ______is a party’s official selection of a candidate to run for office.
a.appointment
b.nomination
c.conversion
d.imprimatur
e.endorsement
2.The way in which candidates attempt to manipulate money, the media, and momentum to achieve the nomination is through
a.campaign strategy.
b.primaries.
c.charisma.
d.propaganda.
e.party support.
3.In most advanced industrialized countries, election campaigns
a.are endless affairs, sometimes lasting a year or more.
b.are not limited by law.
c.last more than two weeks by law or custom.
d.last no more than two months by law or custom.
e.are limited by law to three months.
4.The specific goal of the presidential nomination game is to win a majority of votes
a.cast in presidential primaries.
b.cast in presidential caucuses.
c.among party delegates in order to win the party nomination.
d.in the Electoral College.
e.compared to the other party’s candidate in the general election.
5.The national party convention is
a.the supreme power within each of the two parties.
b.responsible for nominating the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.
c.the author of the party’s national platform.
d.All of these are true.
e.None of these is true.
6.The intention of the McGovern-Fraser Commission reforms of the Democratic Party was to
a.close delegate selection processes to the public.
b.make national conventions more democratic.
c.provide party leaders with more influence in national conventions.
d.construct rules for media coverage of national conventions.
e.grant the national convention the power to select party delegates.
7.The Democratic National Convention in ______led to serious reforms, now referred to as the McGovern Fraser Commission reforms, in the methods it used to choose its convention delegates.
a.1936
b.1968
c.1952
d.1984
e.1992
8.Following the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, the party chose to
a.limit attendance at future conventions to the elected officers of the party’s organizations nationwide.
b.limit attendance at future conventions to the party’s nationwide elected government officeholders.
c.tighten up its convention delegate selection to keep it from being overrun by women, minorities, youth, and single-issue groups.
d.allow party officers and Democratic officeholders, many of whom had not been seated at recent conventions, to serve as “superdelegates.”
e.open up its process of choosing delegates to the national convention in order to respond to demands for greater inclusion from women, minorities, youth, and other groups.
9.National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the national party convention are referred to as
a.party bosses.
b.McGovern-Fraser delegates.
c.superdelegates.
d.caucuses.
e.frontloaders.
10.In states with caucuses,
a.supporters of candidates attend a series of open meetings to express presidential preferences.
b.the state legislature selects the state’s delegates to the national conventions.
c.party leaders select delegates according to their own candidate preferences.
d.candidates appoint supporters to serve as delegates.
e.delegates are chosen through the general election of a candidate.
11.The presidential primaries are
a.elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate or delegates pledged to the candidate.
b.meetings of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention.
c.the supreme power within each of the parties, responsible for nominating the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.
d.the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party.
e.a master game plan through which candidates set out to guide their electoral campaign.
12.Today, a majority of the delegates to the national convention are selected through
a.state party conventions.
b.party caucuses.
c.presidential primaries.
d.local party conventions.
e.state legislatures.
13.The addition of superdelegates to the Democratic national conventions was spearheaded by
a.those who felt the Warren Commission had led to unrepresentative delegate selection.
b.President Jimmy Carter.
c.the McGovern-Fraser Commission.
d.those who felt the McGovern-Fraser Commission had opened up the delegate selection process too much.
e.the Warren Commission.
14.Historically, the presidential primary season begins in
a.winter in New Hampshire.
b.summer in New Hampshire.
c.winter in Iowa.
d.summer in Iowa.
e.winter in Missouri.
15.The tendency of states to hold primaries earlier in the calendar to capitalize on media attention is called
a.stacking the deck.
b.frontloading.
c.agenda setting.
d.framing.
e.politicking.
16.Frontloading refers to
a.a strategy employed by candidate press secretaries that seeks to bombard the media with positive news.
b.the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar year in order to capitalize on media attention.
c.a fundraising technique that candidates employ to amass large amounts of money before a campaign actually begins.
d.bargaining among superdelegates over which candidate they will support at the national convention.
e.candidates’ refusal to campaign in early primary states.
17.The state that has disproportionate power because it holds the first presidential primary each election year is
a.New York.
b.California.
c.Iowa.
d.New Hampshire.
e.Rhode Island.
18.Voters in presidential primaries and caucuses tend to be
a.very similar to the rest of the United States population in terms of education and income.
b.older and more affluent than the United States population as a whole.
c.minorities and notably younger than the general population.
d.somewhat less educated and somewhat poorer on average than the United States population as a whole.
e.far less educated and much poorer on average than the United States population as a whole.
19.In most caucus states, about ______percent of the registered voters typically show up for party presidential caucuses.
a.5
b.20
c.35
d.45
e.50
20.Which of the following is NOT a major criticism of the primary and caucus system?
a.Disproportionate attention goes to the early caucuses and primaries.
b.Prominent politicians find it difficult to take time out of their duties to run.
c.Money plays too big a role.
d.Participation is low and unrepresentative.
e.The system does not give enough power and access to the media.
21.Critics of primaries and caucuses contend that the new presidential “kingmakers” are now
a.party bosses.
b.the few who vote in the caucuses and primaries.
c.the media.
d.interest groups.
e.state party organizations.
22.Network television news coverage of national party conventions has
a.dramatically increased in response to the growing significance of national conventions in selecting presidential and vice presidential candidates.
b.dramatically decreased in response to the declining significance of national conventions in selecting presidential and vice presidential candidates.
c.experienced drastically larger audiences than news coverage of national party conventions in earlier decades.
d.outpaced audience viewing of popular events, such as the Super Bowl.
e.generally been limited to one major broadcast station, such as CBS or NBC.
23.The Federal Election Campaign Act
a.provided public financing for Senate and House races.
b.required broadcasters to provide free airtime to each major candidate for federal office.
c.ended public financing for presidential campaigns.
d.required all candidates for federal office to disclose all contributions made to their campaigns.
e.removed spending limits from presidential campaigns.
24.The administration of campaign finance laws and the enforcement of compliance with their requirements is handled by the
a.Fair Political Practices Commission.
b.Campaign Finance Bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
c.Department of Justice.
d.Federal Election Commission.
e.Government Accounting Office.
25.In Buckley v. Valeo (1976), the Supreme Court
a.ruled that the wildly unequal campaign expenditures of candidates for government office were a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and ordered Congress and the states to develop mechanisms to assure equal funding of all major candidates.
b.limited the activities of political action committees.
c.struck down the part of the Federal Election Campaign Act that restricted the amount individuals could contribute to their own campaign.
d.stated that the Federal Election Commission had no power to enforce compliance with their requirements.
e.declared the Federal Election Campaign Act unconstitutional.
26.Which of the following is permissible under current campaign finance regulations?
a.Mitt Romney’s spending of $44 million out of his own pocket in pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination in 2008
b.A donation to candidate Barack Obama in 2010 in the amount of $10,000 from a single individual.
c.An individual contribution to a congressional candidate in the amount of $5,000 in the 2008 elections.
d.A soft-money contribution to a political party in the amount of $10,000 in the presidential election of 2000.
e.None of these is permissible.
27.Contributions of up to $250 matched from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to qualifying presidential nominees are called
a.soft money.
b.hard money.
c.matching funds.
d.tax cuts.
e.illicit expenditures.
28.Soft money is
a.money donated by a person to his or her own campaign.
b.cash contributions that are not traceable and in some situations illegal.
c.small donations that, while important to a campaign, are not as important as larger contributions.
d.money loaned to a campaign but expected to be paid back.
e.money donated to parties rather than to candidates; this type of contribution was declared illegal by the McCain-Feingold Act.
29.The appearance and increase in ______was an unintended resulted of an amendment in 1979 to the original Campaign Reform Act, which allows parties to raise and spend money on voter registration and other campaign materials without limits on spending or the size of contributions that they can accept.