Goal 5.1 and 5.2 Review Questions

1. Which of the following is the most accurate conclusion based on the data in the table? 2. How have most states responded to the reasons offered for non-voting? 3. Which of the following constitutional amendments did Congress seek to enforce when it passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965? A wage-earner who identifies as a political independent has heard a Senate candidate promise to push for an increase in the national minimum wage while her opponent does not support that. The citizen votes for this candidate primarily for this reason so his own pay might increase. 4. Which of the following models best explains this citizen’s voting behavior? Questions 5 and 6 refer to the Supreme Court opinion below. "A photo identification requirement imposes some burdens on voters that other methods of identification do not share. For example, a voter may lose his photo identification, may have his wallet stolen on the way to the polls, or may not resemble the photo in the identification because he recently grew a beard. Burdens of that sort arising from life’s vagaries, however, are neither so serious nor so frequent as to raise any question about the constitutionality of SEA 483 [the Indiana law requiring photo IDs]; the availability of the right to cast a provisional ballot provides an adequate remedy for problems of that character." 5. Which of the following statements best summarizes the Supreme Court’s opinion? 6. Which of the following constitutional principles did the Supreme Court follow in letting states implement the policy referred to in the opinion? 7. Which of the following statement best summarizes the voter registration process in the United States? Around 9:30 p.m. on election day, 75 percent of the precincts in the congressional district have reported their vote totals. The Democrat candidate has 46 percent of the vote so far, and the Republican candidate has 53 percent. A local news station calls the election and lists the Republican candidate as the winner. 8. Which of the following actions will the Democrat candidate most likely take? A political science professor is researching the effects that the Fifteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments have had on the American political system. 9. Which of the following is the most likely reason the professor is researching these amendments? To study the expansion of the right to equal protection under the law To study the expansion of voting rights To study the expansion of due process rights To study the expansion of federal authority over states 10. Which of the following describes the Twenty-Fourth Amendment? It desegregated places of public accommodation. It required elections for the United States Senate. It reduced barriers to political participation on the basis of gender. It eliminated poll taxes. 11. Which of the following scenarios explains how demographic factors affect voter participation in elections? Wealthier individuals are more likely to become involved in campaigns because they believe that their actions may influence the candidates. Individuals who belong to marginalized groups are likely to participate in elections because their issues are often highlighted by political party leaders. Political action committees (PACs) raise money from their donors, which they use to run television advertisements during campaigns. Gerrymandered districts are likely to produce competitive districts, which leads to lower turnout rates in elections. Use the graph to answer questions 12 and 13 12. Which of the following best explains how political parties are likely to respond to the data in the chart? Political parties are likely to continue to stand by their traditional positions and not bother to appeal to groups that have not previously been included in their base. Political parties will adapt their positions and find ways to appeal to voters from growing demographic groups. Political parties will adapt by switching from candidate-centered campaigns to campaigns that strategically mobilize voters across the country with a consistent message. Political parties will advocate for proportional representational systems so that groups with larger populations are able to win seats and be represented more fairly in government. 13. Which of the following is a likely effect of the trend depicted in the bar graph on voting and elections? There will be fewer restrictions placed on voting Voter turnout is likely to increase among non-Whites. Voter turnout will likely become more diverse. There will be more retrospective voting among young voters. 14. 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? Prospective votin g Retrospective voting Straight ticket voting Rational choice voting Use the image below to answer Questions 15 and 16 15. Which of the following best explains why eligibility criteria vary by state as shown on the information graphic? The Twenty-Sixth Amendment is not incorporated to the states. States can create criteria for voting rights so long as they do not violate the United States Constitution. The president is selected through the electoral college process, and therefore citizens do not actually have a real vote in presidential elections. The Voting Rights Act guarantees that each state may determine its own procedures for elections 16. Which of the following is true based on the information graphic? All citizens over 18 years old are eligible to vote regardless of where they live, but only about 56% actually do vote. Voters from 18 and 54 are far more likely to vote than voters over 54, but this can depend on which state they live in. Over 75% of the population is eligible to vote, but only about half the electorate actually voted in the 2016 presidential election. Voters ages 18–35 are less likely to vote because some states restrict voting only to citizens over the age of 21. 17. A citizen who uses the rational choice model of voting behavior selects candidates for office based on what is thought to be in the citizen’s own self-interest the label of the party running for office predictions of how a candidate will perform in the future the recent performance of the candidates running for office 18. A number of states, including Georgia and Ohio, have passed laws that revoke voter registration if a person did not vote in recent election cycles. Which of the following is a likely consequence of these laws? Voters would have a lower sense of efficacy, which would lead to lower turnout. Citizens would have to pay a fine if they tried to vote, which will significantly lower turnout. Younger voters will be less likely to register to vote since there is a chance their votes won’t be counted. Occasional voters will not be able to vote on election day, which could influence election results 19. 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? Prospective voting Straight ticket voting Retrospective voting Rational choice voting 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. 20. Senator Hoffman is hoping to appeal to which of the following voting behavior models? Retrospective voting Prospective voting Straight ticket voting Rational-choice voting 21. Which of the following scenarios best represents an example of straight ticket voting? A citizen always votes for the candidate who supports conservation of the environment. A homeowner votes for a candidate based on the candidate’s promise to lower property taxes. A citizen casts votes for all Republicans based solely on the candidates’ affiliation with the Republican Party. A citizen votes for the incumbent member of the House of Representatives after receiving help processing his disability claim. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government . . . “. . . Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. “He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise. “He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice. “He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men. . . . “Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides. “He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead. “He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns.” Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Seneca Falls Convention, 1848 22. Which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution addresses the grievance that a woman is not permitted “to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise”? Fourteenth Amendment Fifteenth Amendment Seventeenth Amendment Nineteenth Amendment 23. Which of the following is true of voter turnout in the United States? Three-fourths of the electorate votes in a presidential election. The South votes in larger numbers than does any other region of the country. Men vote in larger numbers than do women. There is no relationship between the age of the voter and participation rates. The voter-participation rate is one of the lowest of any industrialized nation. 24. Which of the following statements is true based on the data in the line graph? In 1988 and 1992, voters 18–29 years old favored the Democratic candidate more than voters 65 and older did. In the 2000 election, the gap between voters 65 and older and 18–29 years old was 2%, with voters older than 65 preferring the Democratic candidate. In 1972 and 1984, voters 65 and older favored the Democratic candidate more than voters 18–29 years old did. In the 2012 election, the gap between voters 65 and older and 18–29 years old was 8%, with 18–29-year-old voters preferring the Democratic candidate. 25. Which of the following scenarios is most related to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment? A primary election is held to determine the candidate who will run as the Republican for the United States Senate. An interest group purchases a television ad prior to an election. An eighteen-year-old votes in a presidential election. A woman votes in a local election. 26. Voter turnout tends to be highest among college-educated voters working-class voters African American voters young voters low-income voters 27. Citizens who believe that their votes will have no effect on the outcome of an election have a high level of trust in elected officials high level of political participation high level of political interest low level of political efficacy low level of political cynicism Use the graph to answer questions 28-30 28. Which of the following statements can best be supported by the survey data displayed in the bar graphs? Democrats with a high level of political efficacy are the most likely group to trust government most of the time. Democrats with a high level of political efficacy are the most likely group to be angry with government. Republicans with a low level of political efficacy are the most likely group to say that government often does a better job than given credit for. Republicans with a low level of political efficacy are the most likely group to say that government needs major reforms. 29. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the data in the graphs? Those with greater political efficacy are Republicans; as a result, they hold more conservative views on how the government needs to be reformed. Those with greater political efficacy have a more positive view of government; as a result, they are more likely to vote in elections. Those who are angry with government are more likely to be Republicans and vote in elections. Those who know more about government and politics tend to be more skeptical of both. 30. Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the graphs? Political efficacy is a major factor in shaping political views about government, but political ideology also plays a role. Regardless of party, there is a great deal of ideological agreement about the role of government among those with greater political efficacy. While trust in government has declined over time, this is due to a decrease in political efficacy. Republicans promote trust in government, which increases political efficacy. FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS: Concept Application Voter turnout is influenced by constitutional provisions, voting laws, and demographics. (a) Identify the effect of one of the following amendments on the electorate. Fifteenth Amendment Nineteenth Amendment Twenty-sixth Amendment b) Explain how each of the following factors may affect voter turnout. Motor voter laws Photo identification laws (c) Select one of the following demographic features and describe its relationship to the likelihood of a person voting in an election. Education Age (d) Explain why voter turnout is different in each of the following. Presidential versus midterm elections Primary versus general elections ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________