Deck 7: Political Participation: Equal Opportunities and Unequal Voices

Question 1

Which of the following acts is generally the LEAST effective means by which individual citizens can make their political views apparent to political officials?

A) voting
B) volunteering for an electoral campaign
C) contributing money to a candidate
D) participating in a political protest
E) writing a letter to an elected official

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Cross-cultural studies show that political engagement is impacted by

A) the time of year an election is held.
B) the overall level of income inequality.
C) a voter's astrological sign.
D) the number of candidates in the election.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following qualities is the best predictor of political participation?

A) religion
B) economic status
C) race
D) education
E) gender

Answer 3

D

Question 4

________ is an attribute of political participants that is measured by one's concern for an election outcome and the positions of the candidates on the issues.

A) Internal political efficacy
B) External political efficacy
C) Political information
D) Political engagement
E) Political interest

Question 5

According to the rational actor theory,

A) calculating the costs of political participation is important, but calculating the benefits is not.
B) calculating the benefits of political participation is important, but calculating the costs is not.
C) a rational actor will not engage in any type of political participation.
D) a rational actor would likely decide not to vote in a presidential race.
E) a rational actor will do everything possible to counteract free riders.

Question 6

Which of the following instances best exemplifies the "free rider" problem?

A) unqualified candidates who are elected primarily because they share a ticket with a more prominent and popular candidate
B) incumbent political officials who exploit the privileges of their office to give themselves an advantage over their rivals
C) citizens who enjoy the benefits of a democratic system without actively participating in the democratic process
D) prominent citizens who use their political connections to lobby for legislation that benefits them personally
E) advocacy groups that pursue political goals through traditionally nonpolitical means

Question 7

________ is an individual's confidence in his or her ability to understand and influence politics.

A) Political efficacy
B) Political belief
C) Political information
D) Political engagement
E) Political interest

Question 8

Which of the following statements about race and political participation is most accurate?

A) There is no significant correlation between race and political participation.
B) Education has no discernible impact on narrowing the gaps among members of different racial groups.
C) White and Hispanic citizens both generally participate at higher levels than black citizens.
D) Black citizens have caught up to or surpassed white citizens on some measures of political participation.
E) Hispanic and black citizens generally participate at the same level, which is notably less than white citizens.

Question 9

Which of the following is true regarding trends in political participation?

A) Women now vote at higher levels than men.
B) Men contribute significantly less money to political leaders than women.
C) Men contact political leaders less often than women.
D) Men contact political leaders less often than women, but women now vote at higher levels than men.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 10

Across most types of political activity, participation rates of Hispanics are

A) higher than those of blacks, but lower than those of whites.
B) higher than those of both blacks and whites.
C) higher than those of whites, but lower than those of blacks.
D) lower than those of both blacks and whites.
E) essentially the same as those of both blacks and whites.

Question 11

What is one of the two core ways in which political participation differs from civic voluntarism?

A) Political activities are participated in by far fewer people.
B) Political activities are limited to those with highly partisan leanings.
C) Political activities require far less of a time investment.
D) Political activities have broader legal, social, or economic consequences.
E) Political activities have no direct intent of changing the world or the lives of individuals.

Question 12

In the act of political mobilization, who will Democratic Party candidates first make sure they have secured votes from?

A) independents
B) Democratic voters
C) Republican voters
D) Republican voters that lean independent
E) wealthy voters

Question 13

What are the three conditions necessary for political participation?

A) resources to participate, interest in the political process, and membership in a party
B) interest in the political process, having been asked to participate, and membership in a party
C) membership in a party, resources to participate, and having been asked to participate
D) resources to participate, interest in the political process, and having been asked to participate
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 14

Which of the following political activities has the highest capacity for a citizen to convey political information?

A) voting
B) serving on a local board
C) contributing money to a political campaign
D) contributing money to a political cause
E) affiliating with a political organization

Question 15

Which type of political participation is most likely to get the attention of a politician?

A) liking a post on the politician's Facebook page
B) voting for the politician
C) a letter to the editor about the politician
D) a letter written directly to the politician
E) regular, large campaign contributions to the politician

Question 16

In today's political climate, women are more likely than men to

A) run a political campaign.
B) vote.
C) contact political leaders.
D) contribute to political causes.
E) hold political office.

Question 17

How do some religious institutions help those of lower income acquire skills for political participation?

A) They provide them with the moral structure required for political participation.
B) They help them learn through assuming leadership positions.
C) They provide political participation training programs.
D) They encourage nonpartisan political opinions.
E) They provide opportunities to work overseas and witness other forms of political engagement.

Question 18

Active interest and participation in politics defines

A) internal political efficacy.
B) external political efficacy.
C) political information.
D) political engagement.
E) political interest.

Question 19

Which of the following instances best exemplifies the concept of buycotting?

A) withholding federal income taxes to protest an unpopular war
B) demonstrating outside a local restaurant that hires illegal aliens paid "under the table"
C) refusing to purchase items from a company that benefits from sweatshop labor
D) forgoing commodities such as bananas and coffee that cannot be produced locally
E) walking several blocks out of one's way, past several other eateries, to dine at a café that serves only eggs from free-range hens

Question 20

Which of the following political activities requires access to the most varied types of resources (i.e., time, money, skills)?

A) voting
B) campaign work
C) protesting
D) contributing to a political cause
E) affiliating with a political organization

Question 21

Which of the following is a recent trend in voter turnout?

A) growing African American turnout in numbers, but a declining share of total electoral turnout
B) decreasing rates of female turnout
C) rising rates of Asian American turnout
D) declining rates of Hispanic American turnout
E) decline in voter turnout with increasing age

Question 22

The degree of loyalty that an individual feels toward a particular political party is

A) known as party politics.
B) directly inverse to the individual's education level.
C) known as external political imprinting.
D) known as strength of party identification.
E) known as political efficacy.

Question 23

Which region of the United States has the highest rate of voter turnout (based on the 2016 election)?

A) Northeast
B) West
C) South
D) Midwest
E) All regions have about the same rate of voter turnout.

Question 24

In which of the following presidential elections was voter turnout the highest among 18-year-olds?

A) 1988
B) 1996
C) 2000
D) 2008
E) 2012

Question 25

________ is the process whereby citizens are alerted to participatory opportunities and encouraged to become involved.

A) List server notification
B) A call-to-arms
C) Direct mobilization
D) Voter rallying
E) Political mobilization

Question 26

A person in which of the following education categories is LEAST likely to vote?

A) a person with an eighth-grade education
B) a person with a high school diploma
C) a person with an associate's degree
D) a person with a bachelor's degree
E) a person with an advanced degree

Question 27

Examples of direct mobilization include all of the following EXCEPT

A) displaying yard signs.
B) door-to-door canvassing.
C) direct mail solicitation.
D) circulation of petitions.
E) letter-writing campaigns.

Question 28

Nine states and the District of Columbia have made voter registration easier by doing which of the following?

A) adopting mandatory voter registration
B) adopting automatic voter registration
C) eliminating "opt out" provisions for registration
D) sending registration agents door to door to speak to the unregistered
E) adopting a mail-only voter registration system

Question 29

The political knowledge an individual possesses concerning political issues, political figures, and the workings of the political system is known as

A) internal political efficacy.
B) external political efficacy.
C) political information.
D) political engagement.
E) political interest.

Question 30

At which of the following ages is a person most likely to vote?

A) 18
B) 25
C) 30
D) 35
E) 48

Question 31

It would likely be easiest for people to vote on which one of the following days?

A) a national voting holiday
B) Monday
C) Tuesday
D) Wednesday
E) Thursday

Question 32

What are the four dimensions, or elements, of political engagement?

A) political efficacy, political mobilization, political information, and strength of party identification
B) direct mobilization, political mobilization, political interest, and political information
C) political interest, political efficacy, political information, and strength of party identification
D) political mobilization, political interest, political efficacy, and political information
E) direct mobilization, political mobilization, political interest, and political efficacy

Question 33

The traditional role of the political parties in mobilizing voters has been most adversely impacted by

A) the rise of the mass media.
B) special interest groups.
C) social movements.
D) third parties.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 34

A person in which of the following education categories is most likely to vote?

A) a person with an eighth-grade education
B) a person with a high school diploma
C) a person with an associate's degree
D) a person with a bachelor's degree
E) a person with an advanced degree

Question 35

The process by which citizens are contacted personally by candidates or political organizations to take part in political activities is known as

A) getting out the vote.
B) direct mobilization.
C) energizing the base.
D) canvassing.
E) political solicitation.

Question 36

Which of the following is LEAST likely to vote (based on the 2016 election)?

A) Hispanic American aged 20
B) Asian American aged 30
C) white American aged 50
D) African American aged 40
E) African American aged 70

Question 37

Which of the following aspects of political structure in the U.S. might help explain the poor turnout of lower-income groups?

A) the strong appeal of third-party candidates in the U.S.
B) the centrist appeal of the major parties
C) the focus of major political parties on economic divisions in the populace
D) major-party disinterest in voter mobilization
E) the failure of major parties to campaign in a public and visible manner

Question 38

________ is the process by which political leaders use networks of friends and acquaintances to activate political participation.

A) Bundling
B) The "old boys" network
C) Indirect mobilization
D) Support group activation
E) Direct mobilization

Question 39

What is the most common reason given for not getting involved in politics?

A) belief that individuals cannot make a difference
B) boringness of politics
C) distastefulness of politics
D) not enough time
E) belief that politics has no direct impact on an individual's life

Question 40

Presidential elections typically bring out around ________ more eligible voters than midterm elections.

A) 5 percent
B) 15 percent
C) 25-30 percent
D) 45-50 percent
E) 35-40 percent

Question 41

Which of the following is a key difference between Britain's Labour Party and the Democratic Party of the United States?

A) The Labour Party has no chief organized opposition, while the Democratic Party must compete directly with the Republican Party.
B) The Labour Party derives its success principally from mandatory voting, while the Democratic Party must appeal directly to voters in order to encourage active support.
C) The Labour Party is identified with the working class, while the Democratic Party seeks to appeal to the vast middle of the economic and ideological spectrum.
D) The Labour Party is a minor party that must form a coalition with a larger British party, while the Democratic Party is one of the dominant parties of a two-party system.
E) Both the Democratic and Labour parties try to target working-class voters specifically, but the Labour Party takes much more extreme ideological stands.

Question 42

Frequent elections can result in

A) higher voter turnout.
B) more highly trained poll workers.
C) a lower use of "franking privileges" by congressional representatives.
D) lower voter turnout.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 43

Which of the following forms of political participation helped kill a proposed funding ban for Planned Parenthood?

A) online petition
B) hashtag activism
C) boycotting
D) buycotting
E) voting

Question 44

Which of the following Western European countries has a lower average turnout in national elections than the United States since 1945?

A) Ireland
B) Iceland
C) Portugal
D) France
E) None of these countries has lower average turnouts than the United States.

Question 45

In 2008, the Obama campaign demonstrated that large amounts of money could be raised through

A) public financing.
B) campaign fundraising events.
C) the use of the Internet.
D) campaign mailings.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 46

In addition to education, one path to gain the skills needed to become politically active is

A) through activities in a labor union.
B) participation in leadership roles in one's church.
C) family wealth.
D) All of these are correct: activities in a labor union, participation in church leadership roles, and family wealth.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 47

Which of the following is true of party identification percentages?

A) Republicans have the overall edge in party identification.
B) Democrats have the overall edge in party identification.
C) Party identification is equal for the two parties.
D) Roughly 34 percent of citizens have no identification with a party or lean in one way or the other.
E) Party identification is not a reliable measure.

Question 48

The practice of making a political or social statement with one's buying power is known as

A) checkbook democracy.
B) consumer activism.
C) direct mobilization.
D) indirect mobilization.
E) political engagement.

Question 49

What did Larry Bartels find in a study of Senate roll call votes?

A) Senators are much more responsive to the opinions of affluent constituents.
B) Senators seem to be most responsive to the opinions of middle-class constituents.
C) Senators on the whole display a remarkable lack of interest in public opinion as a driver of their voting policy choices.
D) Senators' voting patterns most strongly correlate with the choices of the president in office.
E) Senators make voting choices primarily based on the opinions of the economic or ethnic class that is most populous in their state.

Question 50

A contributing factor in lower voter turnout in the United States may be the number of opportunities to vote, a phenomenon known as

A) voter apathy.
B) over-voter syndrome.
C) ballot burnout.
D) voter fatigue.
E) poll pallor.

Question 51

A person with which of these characteristics is more likely to vote Democratic than Republican?

A) attends church regularly
B) lower income level
C) white male
D) married female
E) high income level

Question 52

The Supreme Court's 2010 rulings in the Citizens United and SpeechNow.org cases

A) greatly expanded the ability of those with money to influence elections.
B) put strict caps on individual campaign contributions.
C) put strict caps on corporate campaign contributions.
D) required public funding of all federal elections.
E) outlawed political action committees.

Question 53

Which group is far less likely to write letters, take part in community activities, contact political leaders, protest, or contribute time or money to a political campaign?

A) blue-collar non-union workers
B) college students
C) military veterans
D) those on government assistance
E) unskilled minimum wage workers

Question 54

The vastly higher voting rates for citizens of Australia, Belgium, and Greece versus the United States can be attributed in large part to what factor?

A) better education
B) long traditions of democratic governance
C) compulsory voting laws
D) an older and thus more duty-bound citizenship
E) the lack of voter registration requirements

Question 55

A voter who gauges a candidate based on her or his past performance is engaging in

A) retrospective voting.
B) prospective voting.
C) fatigued voting.
D) party identification voting.
E) irrational voting.

Question 56

Which of the following is true of independents?

A) A higher percentage of older Americans call themselves independents than younger Americans.
B) The percentage of those who call themselves independents has been steadily declining.
C) Most who say they are independents actually behave in partisan ways.
D) Independents tend to be more interested in party platforms than in candidate issues when they vote.
E) Independents vote almost exclusively based on prospective voting assessments.

Question 57

A candidate's specific views on a major issue will likely be most important in determining voting choice for which type of voter?

A) strongly committed Republican
B) moderately committed Republican
C) independent
D) strongly committed Democrat
E) moderately committed Democrat

Question 58

What issue, based on performance and voter response in most elections, led many to incorrectly predict a Democratic victory in 2016?

A) education
B) federal deficit
C) economy
D) immigration
E) terrorism and national security

Question 59

What was the most important factor in a candidate's success in the early and middle years of the country?

A) party loyalty
B) personal wealth
C) a nonpartisan nature
D) a strong moral public image
E) command of the issues

Question 60

Voter fraud in the United States is

A) on par with the amount of voter fraud in other developed nations.
B) believed by most to be negligible.
C) rampant among the states where "machine politics" is still strong.
D) not a concern where voter ID laws have been strengthened in recent years.
E) only a problem concerning provisional ballots.

Question 61

There are forms of political participation other than voting. What are they? How do they differ from voting? Which activity do you believe has the greatest impact for the individual's time, effort, or money? Should there be limits on an individual's contributions to these other forms of political participation, and why?

Question 62

How might schools change their policies in a way that could improve voter turnout among young people? Is ranked-choice voting a good option for reducing the overall burden of voting and getting more people involved?

Question 63

What are the various factors that influence how a voter will vote?

Question 64

Education is the most important factor in predicting a person's tendency toward being politically active. What other paths are there to political involvement? Are they equally available to both the working class and the affluent? How might society encourage those groups that are less politically inclined to commit to greater activity?

Question 65

Free riders receive the benefits of a politically active and vibrant society, yet they do not contribute. Do you believe free riders are a problem? If so, in what ways? What social strategies might be employed to encourage active participation and discourage free riders?

Question 66

The rational actor theory states that actions taken by the individual will be in his or her self-interest, yet voting has the lowest direct benefit of all political activities. What are some of the reasons that individuals vote? Why do some individuals find voting so satisfying? Do you find it satisfying yourself?

Question 67

Voting is a hallmark of a democratic society, yet not everyone votes. Which groups are most likely to vote? Which groups are least likely? Some industrial democracies have mandatory voting laws. Is this a good idea? How might one reconcile mandatory voting and a free society? Would mandatory voting work in the United States?