American Government Exam #2

In the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln expressed the idea that democratic government must be responsive to

the will of the people.

__________ is (are) the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs about certain issues or officials.

Public opinion

__________ is the extent to which people believe their actions affect the course of government.

Efficacy

Political trust has __________ over the last fifty years.

decreased

In the 1800s, newspapers and other organizations used __________ polls to assess public opinion.

straw

The typical size of a national sample survey is __________ people.

1,000

What is a problem with Internet polling?

Older and poorer Americans may lack access to computers.

Polls that survey a sample of voters immediately after voting are called _________ polls.

exit

A(n) __________ poll is designed to manipulate opinions by providing biased information about a candidate or subject.

push

The wording of a question can create _________ in the results of a poll.

bias

The psychological attachment that a person feels to a political party is called ________.

party identification

Liberals tend to be __________ and conservatives tend to be __________.

Democrats; Republicans

Which of the following is NOT true of American voters’ knowledge about American politics?

Only about half know the name of the vice president.

A condition in which differences between parties and/or the public are so extreme that disagreement breaks out, fueling attacks and controversy, is

polarization.

The average level of education of the American public has increased, in part because older, less-educated citizens are dying.This is an example of

generational replacement.

Since most people cannot directly observe political events, they rely on _________ for information about politics and government.

mass media

At the heart of a democracy lies the ability of the press to inform the people free from government interference. This demonstrates its role as __________.

watchdog

Which Amendment to the Constitution protects the freedom of the press?

First

Which mass media task is demonstrated when a news story covers a political campaign by explaining a candidate’s previous experience, his or her personal temperament, and his or her view on important issues?

informing

In 1934, Congress created the __________, now a powerful agency that regulates all forms of electronic media, including radio, television and cable television, cell phones, and even wireless networks.

Federal Communications Commission

Statistics on the changing media environment suggest two main lessons:

Americans adopt new media quickly; (2) there are more options for getting news than ever before.

In 2012, nearly 50 million Americans listened to talk radio, and the majority of them listened to __________ programs.

conservative

__________ is news with fewer hard facts, more emphasis on personal stories that engage (or shock) the public, and often appeals to the emotions rather than the intellect.

Infotainment

The leading platform for social networking is

Facebook.

________, the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, is currently changing the media environment.

Latinos

The ________ model argues that the press serves the interests of government only.

propaganda

While not overstating the power of the media, the ___________ model acknowledges that the press has a substantial impact in subtle ways.

not-so-minimal effects

__________ is the ability of the media to alter the public’s view on an issue by presenting it in a particular way.

Framing

According to Gallup Poll data, most Americans feel that the news media has a _________ bias.

liberal

Although there will always be a gap of information, ___________ will eventually give older and less wealthy Americans a better chance to become informed about politics than they currently are.

the Internet

The primary way that the electorate expresses its opinion is through

voting.

__________ are the most reliable indicator of what the public is thinking, and a whole industry and science have grown up around measuring opinion on everything.

Public opinion polls

__________ is the extent to which people believe the government acts in their best interests.

Political trust

The text states that, overall, Americans’ commitment to the country and its core institutions is ________.

strong

__________ is a method of selection that gives everyone who might be selected to participate in a poll an equal chance to be included.

Random sampling

In order for a sample to be representative, everyone in a population must have a(n) _________ chance of being asked to participate.

equal

During presidential elections, nightly polls gauge changes in voters’ preferences for the major contenders. These are called __________ polls.

tracking

The most famous and consequential exit poll took place in Florida during the _____ presidential elections, fueling one of the most controversial electoral struggles of all time.

2000

The statistical range, with a given probability, that takes random error into account is called the

confidence interval.

The book suggests the future of survey research lies with

Internet polls.

A set of coherent political beliefs that offers a philosophy for thinking about the scope of government is __________.

political ideology

The measurement of how ideologically coherent individuals are in their political evaluations is called ___________.

levels of conceptualization

President Ford did not know how to eat a tamale and President H.W. Bush did not know the price of milk. This hurt both candidates in connecting with voters, demonstrating ________ information rationality.

low

In general, women are more __________ than men, and gender gaps are also evident on specific issues.

liberal

Among college graduates, __________ favored making it possible for those here illegally to become citizens.

75 percent

A subset of the mass media that provides the news of the day gathered and reported by journalists is

the news media.

The__________ scandal, uncovered by two reporters from the Washington Post, revealed questionable activities in the Richard Nixon administration.

Watergate

Another name for the news media is

the press.

When a journalist decides which information to put on the front page, and which to relegate to a back section, he or she is performing which media task?

interpreting

Any effort to monopolize the press or curtail its freedom is met with strong protests from those fearing a trend toward __________ rule.

authoritarian

The decline of newspapers raises concerns, because newspapers tend to contain more __________-fact-based stories, as opposed to interpretive narratives-than is reported on TV.

hard news

Of the cable news networks, __________ has the largest audience.

Fox

A__________ is a website that provides a forum for "bottom-up" commentary, description of events, video postings, and general conversation.

blog

Cell phone usage is nearly universal now, with text messaging so common that most people have __________ texting as part of their payment plan.

unlimited

As opposed to previous generations, at this point in their lives Millennials are _________ interested politics.

more

In a process known as __________, people secure information from sources that agree with them, leading to the reinforcement of beliefs, not to a change of beliefs.

selective exposure

In the 2012 presidential campaign, the media primed the public to make __________ a major issue of the election.

the economy

Which of the following is NOT a general concern about the news media?

The media emphasize hard news.

__________ are very brief snippets of information.

Sound bites

According to the text, the best word to describe today’s media environment is __________.

choice

In 1831, the political theorist __________ observed that Americans liked to form groups and join associations as a way of participating in community and political life, and that this was an important element of the success of American democracy.

Alexis de Tocqueville

A(n) ________ forms when a person sees an opening or opportunity to create the for social, political, or economic purposes.

proactive group

The act of trying to persuade elected officials to adopt a specific policy change or to maintain the status quo is called __________.

lobbying

What type of interest group has members with a common type of employment that seek better wages and working conditions?

union

When a group forms in response to an economic or political event, but does not focus on only one issue, it is said to be a __________.

grassroots movement

The membership of economic interest groups tends to be exclusive because

their purpose is to secure tangible economic benefits for themselves.

The American Bar Association (lawyers), the American Medical Association (doctors), and the American International Automobile Dealers Association (car dealers) are examples of

professional associations.

In recent years, __________ by public sector unions, such as those representing teachers and government employees, has come under attack by advocates for small government.

collective bargaining

In recent years, public employee unions have come under increasing challenge over issues related to

wages and pensions.

Citizen groups like, Common Cause, and single issues groups such as, National Rifle Association are examples of __________.

ideological interest groups

According to the text, one of the best known organizations that seek to influence foreign policy is the __________.

American Israel Public Affairs Committee

When the Sierra Club posted a notice on its website informing members about EPA regulations that took a strong stance against climate change, they were acting in their capacity to ________.

inform

Which organization was the top spender on lobbying in 2013?

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

When lobbyists deal directly with legislators and their staff to seek specific policy or to stop one they are engaging in a(n) _________ strategy.

inside

Groups formed to raise and contribute funds to support electoral candidates, subject to campaign finance laws, are _________.

political action committee

Given the amount of money that PACs spend on campaign support, many are concerned that

PACs exert a disproportionate influence over legislators.

Generally speaking, the Supreme Court has ruled that campaign spending is a form of speech and requires that Congress show a _________ interest before it can regulate it.

compelling

In Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, the Court ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions can

spend as much money as they want on campaign ads.

Robert Dahl uses the term ________ to describe his view of democratic society in which interest groups will compete over policy goals, and elected officials are mediators of group conflict.

pluralist

E.E. Schattschneider believed that interest groups were a threat to __________.

democracy

In assessing the power of interest groups in a democracy, it is important to remember that interest groups

do not pass or implement laws.

The relationship between interest groups, members of Congress, and federal agencies is referred to be scholars as the ________.

iron triangle

President Eisenhower was greatly concerned about an iron triangle of __________, but now the term applies to a wide range of issues.

the military-industrial complex

Movement of members of Congress, lobbyists, and executive branch employees into paid positions in each other’s organizations is known as __________.

the revolving door

Over a hundred years ago, Robert Michels coined the phrase __________ to describe when interest group leaders do not properly serve their members, and argued that larger interest groups were especially susceptible to unresponsive or abusive leaderships.

iron law of oligarchy

The simple pleasure of being surrounded by people with similar interests and perspectives and who share professional or personal concerns is an example of a(n) __________ benefit.

solidary

__________ goods are available to all, whether they have contributed toward the provision of that good or not.

Public

When a group lobbies for public goods or collective benefits that are so widespread that members and nonmembers alike receive them, incentives to join the group disappear. Olson called this the

free rider problem.

Interests groups can achieve financial stability by

creating not-for-profit businesses within the organization.

Interest group fundraising has gotten easier because

of the Internet.

Alexis de Tocqueville noted that the formation of group life was an important element of the success of _________ in America

democracy

The First Amendment provides for the right _________, which is the cornerstone of interest group protection.

of association

Abolitionist and women’s suffrage groups paralleled each other in using the principle of _________ as a rationale for supporting their policy goals.

lobbying

The__________ enforces mandatory standards for worker safety and oversees bargaining agreements between management and labor unions.

Department of Labor

Workers organized _______ to protect their interest and counteract the power of wealthy business corporations.

unions

__________ are a subcategory of economic interest groups that focus on particular businesses or industries. Examples include the National Association of Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce, and the National Retail Federation.

Trade associations

Trade associations form out of a belief that _________ they can better influence the policy process

collectively

In recent years private sector union membership has ________.

declined

__________ are typically formed to draw attention to public issues that affect all citizens equally, such as environmental protection, transparency in government, consumer product safety, ethics reform, and campaign finance reform.

Citizens’ groups

__________ are not affiliated with any government and work hard to preserve their neutrality so that they can operate in as many parts of the world as possible.

Nongovernmental organizations

When the federal government shut down in October 2013, some of the congressmen who refused to vote for continued funding did so due to lobbying pressure from the ________.

Club for Growth

The __________ restricted corporations and unions from using television and radio ads for "electioneering communications" that refer to a candidate by name within thirty days of a primary and sixty days of a general election.

McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

In McCutcheon et al. v. Federal Election Commission, the Court expanded the right of a(n)_________ to spend unlimited money on federal elections, but not on one candidate.

individual

__________ worried that a power elite controlled power in the American democracy.

C. Wright Mills

A set of groups seeking a particular benefit for themselves in the policy process are ________ interests.

special

MoveOn.org describes itself as a(n) ________ interest group, even though it was founded by two wealthy entrepreneurs.

grassroots

Critics of the influence of interest groups argue all but which of the following?

Iron triangles are too easily broken.

Hugh Heclo suggests that the term __________ is better than iron triangle, and argues that interest groups, members of Congress, and bureaucrats all share information constantly, and that their interactions are actually quite open and transparent, rather than closed.

issue networks

A(n) __________ organizes citizens into a formal group that agrees on a united purpose, and then takes a leadership role in directing the group’s activities.

interest group entrepreneur

In order to keep group membership stable, interest groups offer ________ benefits to their members.

selective

Being able to express an opinion in the larger social or political sphere can be considered a(n) __________ benefit of interest groups.

expressive

Benefits that are offered exclusively to members of an interest group are __________.

selective benefits

What is an example given in the text of an interest group that is succeeding itself out of business?

NAACP

__________ is among the most successful large-scale interest groups in American history. In 2013, it claimed a membership of 37 million.

AARP

Interest groups engage in several methods to influence economic, social, and foreign policy. Which of the following is NOT one of these methods?

nonpartisan alliances

Political parties provide a key function in American politics by providing voters with a mechanism in which to _____________.

hold government accountable

A(n) __________ lays out the party’s core beliefs and policy proposals.

party platform

Classic political scientists, such as V.O. Key, use the term __________ to describe the general patterns of voters’ party identification and their behavior on election day.

party in the electorate

An attachment or allegiance to a political party is referred to as

party identification.

What is typically required to register to vote?

proof of identity and address

Besides raising funds, one of the primary jobs of the congressional party committees is to recruit _______.

qualified challengers

An election in which voters choose their elected officials is known as a(n) _________.

general election

A(n) __________ primary is one in which party-affiliated voters cast votes in their party’s primary, and nonaffiliated voters can choose which party’s primary to vote in.

semiclosed

In California Democratic Party v. Jones, the Court ruled that blanket primaries were ________.

unconstitutional

A meeting of party members in town halls, schools, and private homes to choose a presidential nominee is known as a(n) ________.

caucus

In a proportional representation system, a candidate receives delegates based on the _______ of the votes received in a primary or a caucus.

percentage

Initially the idea of _______ was not intended to be part of the makeup of the U.S. political system.

political parties

__________ believed that a stable federal government that could collect tax revenue, fund and regulate a national army, regulate foreign and domestic trade, and stabilize currency would make the American democratic experiment a success.

Federalists

By changing the location of the nomination process to the state level instead of in Congress, parties _______ the number of people involved in making the decision about who could run for president.

enlarged

Minor political parties that present a third alternative to the two dominant political parties in the American political system are known as ________.

third parties

Parties used the patronage system as a way to _____________.

build party loyalty

In 1883, the __________ reformed the civil service by requiring that government jobs be filled based on merit, not political connections.

Pendleton Act

The median voter theorem suggests that all things being equal, if voters select candidates based upon ideology, the _________.

party closer to the middle wins

The nature of single-member plurality system in the United States encourages a _________ party system.

two-

What type of vote requires the winner to win more votes than any other candidate?

Plurality vote

In total, how many contenders from significant third parties have entered presidential elections?

6

__________ was given credit for forcing the two major party candidates in 1992, President George H. W. Bush and Governor Bill Clinton, to address the federal deficit.

Ross Perot

The Tea Party movement’s success in defeating incumbent Republicans in primaries and electing Republicans who espoused more __________ views created a more polarized and less effective governing environment in Congress.

conservative

Parties are most responsive to interest groups when they threaten to withdraw their support or start their own ____________.

party organizations

When voters identify with a party in repeated elections, it is referred to as ________.

party alignment

Today’s voters might describe themselves as __________ and ____________, but voters before 1932 typically saw themselves as connected with a political party.

liberal; conservative

Over time, voters will adjust their long-term allegiance from one party to another in a process called __________.

realignment

The most loyal demographic constituency to the Democratic Party is __________.

African Americans

__________ changed his party’s direction with a campaign platform that advocated dropping opposition to the death penalty, being open to a more free-trade stance, and promising a middle-class tax cut.

Bill Clinton

When political parties offer voters a clear choice through a distinct range of policies and programs, they are acting as __________.

responsible parties

A(n) __________ is a group of individuals who join together to choose candidates for elected office, whether by informal group voting or a formal nominating process.

political party

The main purpose of a political party is to _______ in order to to control government and implement its policies.

win elections

If political parties can develop a solid majority of the party in the electorate, that can translate this into a strong majority of the __________.

party in government.

The broadest and most open gateway to participation is offered to the American people by _______.

political parties

__________ are at the top of the party organization, and their members are chosen by each state party organization.

National committees

One manner in which political parties select candidates when more than one person is seeking the office is to hold a(n) ________.

primary election

The state of Oklahoma, as well as several others, has a closed primary. This means that voters must ________.

affiliate with a political party

A(n) __________ primary is one in which voters do not have to affiliate with a party before voting. Instead, voters are given ballots with each party’s list of candidates; they can choose which ballot to use but are restricted to voting for only one party’s set of nominees.

open

In presidential primaries, voters are not actually voting for the candidates themselves; rather, they are choosing _______ who will support that nominee at the party nominating convention.

delegates

In an electoral system known as __________, whoever wins the most votes in a primary or state nominating convention wins all of the delegates.

winner-take-all

Which African American delegate for the Democratic Party helped increase the participation of minorities’ convention participation?

Jesse Jackson

James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, writing in Federalist 10 and 51, predicted the rise of __________, groups of individuals who share a common political goal and ally with each other on a temporary basis to accomplish that goal.

factions

After winning the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson used his victory to transform his fledgling political party into a viable, long-term organization known as the __________ Party.

Democratic-Republican

From 1832 to 1856, the __________ dominated American politics and presidential elections.

Democrats and Whigs

How many major political parties are there in the United States today?

2

The erosion of party organizations’ control over government jobs and elections can be attributed to a change in the way nominees were selected, ballot reform, and _____________.

a merit-based system for government employment

The __________ is a voting system in which state governments run elections and provide voters the option of choosing candidates from multiple parties; also known as the secret ballot.

Australian ballot

__________ is a vote in which the winner needs to win 50 percent plus 1 of the votes cast in an election.

Majority vote

An electoral system that assigns one seat in a legislative body to represent citizens who live in a district based on which candidate wins the most votes is known as a ________ system.

single-member plurality

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt ran for president as the __________ Party candidate.

Progressive

The Progressive Party was successful in getting Congress to pass and the states to ratify the __________ Amendment on April 8, 1913, which allowed for the direct election of U.S. senators by the voters themselves.

Seventeenth

During the 2000 election, __________ ran for president on the Green Party ticket, promoting a platform that called for stronger environmental and consumer protections.

Ralph Nader

There are several ways that the two major parties restrict third party access, including challenging signatures for ballot access and preventing _________.

them from participating in presidential debates

In 2013, 77% of Democrats favored _______ gun control.

stricter

A set of consistent political views about the way government should work is referred to as ________.

political ideology

Today the __________ viewpoint builds on the New Deal perspective by favoring government redistribution of income through higher taxes on the wealthy to provide social benefits, such as health care, unemployment insurance, and welfare payments to the poor.

liberal

During the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, all of the following were signed into law EXCEPT the ________.

New Deal

In 1980, __________, former Republican governor of California, defeated the incumbent President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, partly by appealing to those who opposed the Supreme Court’s legalization of abortion in Roe v. Wade (1973).

Ronald Reagan

What was President Clinton’s political misstep that set the stage for a Republican Party resurgence?

Emphasizing socially liberal policies on abortion and gays in the military

Obama and the Democrats in Congress built on the _______ legacy of government social policy by passing the Affordable Care Act.

Great Society

The constitutional requirements regarding elections indicate that the Framers wanted to set up barriers against

direct democracy.

The formal selection of the president of the United States is in the hands of the

electors in the Electoral College.

To win the presidency, a candidate needs to win __________ electoral votes.

270

If no candidate achieves a majority of electoral votes, the _________ decides the outcome of the election.

House of Representatives

Depending on patterns of population growth or decline, states win or lose congressional seats with each new census. State legislatures are responsible for drawing the district lines, in a process known as

redistricting.

The Constitution requires that members of the House of Representatives be apportioned, within each state, according to population, which is counted in a(n)

census.

Once a candidate decides to run for president, he or she enters what has been called the__________. No votes are cast, but candidates are jockeying for position so they can be ready to do well in the initial primaries and caucuses.

invisible primary

The__________ caucus, the nation’s first and most famous caucus, requires that people attend a meeting of about two hours in which they indicate their preferences and then try to convince those who are undecided to join their candidate’s group.

Iowa

In 1971, Congress tried to put candidates on an equal financial footing and make them less beholden to special interests through the

Federal Election Campaign Act.

Who monitors campaign finance?

Federal Election Commission

One of the consequences of the Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC was the rise of _________, which can raise unlimited funds from such groups as corporations, unions, and individuals without legal limits.

Super PACs

States that are not clearly reliable to vote for one of the two major political parties are referred to as ___________ states.

swing

The technique of __________ includes identifying and tracking potential supporters so that campaign strategists can design specific political messages tailored for each of the "voting profiles" found from the data.

microtargeting

_____________ almost always win congressional elections.

Incumbents

A congressional district that is deemed to be noncompetitive is said to be a(n) _______ seat.

safe

Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution states, "The Times, Places, and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed _____________ ."

in each State by the Legislature thereof

The right to vote is referred to as __________, or franchise.

suffrage

The__________ model holds that more participation yields a more involved and engaged public and that, in turn, produces better outcomes.

Jeffersonian

Which amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote?

Nineteenth Amendment

Overcoming one of the biggest gates to the Latino voters, Congress extended the Voting Rights Act in 1975 to include

language assistance.

Presidential elections are referred to as being high-stimulus events, as opposed to midterm elections, which are known as ___________ elections.

low-stimulus

Women are more likely to identify themselves as __________ than men.

Democrats

One of the strongest predictors of whether or not a person will vote is his/her ___________.

level of education

The__________ model of voting starts with the assumption that all choices involve a calculation about self-interest that balances costs and benefits.

economic

William Riker and Peter Ordeshook argued that Anthony Downs’ theory of economic voting was incomplete because it did not calculate __________ as a benefit of voting.

civic duty

_____________ is the belief that one’s involvement influences the course of government.

Efficacy

Compared to other democracies, voter turnout in the United States is

low.

Calculating the rate of participation by dividing the number of voters by the number of people in the country who are over 18 yields the _____________ population.

voting-age

In the late nineteenth century, the __________ called for a series of reforms to the voting process to end corrupt practices.

Progressives

The 1993 law that requires states to allow citizens to register to vote when they apply for or renew their driver’s license is commonly known as the ________ Voter law.

Motor

According to the U.S. Constitution, only the ____________ was(were) to be elected directly by the people.

House of Representatives

How many electoral votes does each state get?

Equal to the number of senators and members of the House of Representatives

The __________ has never worked as the Framers had envisioned, as an institution that would allow a group of independent decision makers to get together in the many states and deliberate over who would make the best president.

Electoral College

The__________ Amendment combined the vote for president and vice president into one ballot, with the person running for each office named.

Twelfth

The staggering of senatorial elections helps to insulate senators from shifts in __________.

public sentiment

When political parties redraw district lines in order to benefit one political party over another, it is called

gerrymandering.

Many have expressed concern over what has been called the__________, a worry that politicians, especially presidents, spend too much time working toward reelection and not enough time governing.

permanent campaign

At the party conventions, the __________ is formally adopted, laying out the plan for government.

party platform

Since the Courts ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC, individuals have no limit on the ________ they can contribute.

number of campaigns to which

The requirements that are in place to receive public financing during presidential nomination campaigns discourage _________ from running.

third party candidates

Although there is a high level of partisanship in the American electorate, ________ voters, people who do not fall into either the Republican or Democratic camp, still exist.

swing

In 2012, both Romney and Obama campaigned hard in Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Nevada, and Wisconsin because these were __________ states that each thought he had a chance to win.

battleground

A __________ issue is a vague claim to a goal, such as a "strong economy," "improved education," or "greater national security." These are goals all candidates talk about and voters seek.

valence

In the last 60 years, the number of competitive congressional seats has been declining in a trend called __________.

vanishing marginals

In recent years, there has been a growing call for ________ on members of Congress, which would force retirement.

term limits

The Constitution spells out in some detail the workings of the ___________, which chooses the president.

Electoral College

The__________ model of participation sees risks in greater participation and, thus, favors a larger role for elites.

Hamiltonian

After the Civil War, voting rights were extended to African American males in the __________ Amendment.

Fifteenth

Citizens of the ________ did not receive the right to vote in presidential elections until 1961.

District of Columbia

While recent voter registration laws have intended to reduce voter fraud, they have had the consequence of ____________.

decreasing voter turnout.

The tendency for women to support Democrats over Republicans is referred to as the _______.

gender gap

Which income group has the highest percentage of voters?

$100,000-$150,000

The primary reason that college-educated people vote is most likely

they were raised in an environment that urged them to vote.

In An Economic Theory of Democracy, Anthony Downs describes ___________ voting as a puzzle since voting is not in one’s self-interest and in fact is irrational.

rational

The __________ model views voting as a product of citizens’ attitudes about the political system.

psychological

In the __________ model, voting is understood to be shaped by the rules of the system, by political party behavior, by the ways candidates run their campaigns, and by the context of the election.

institutional

The practice that requires citizens to vote in elections or face punitive measures such as community service, fines, or imprisonment is called ___________ voting.

compulsory

The concept of __________ describes a trend in which older voters who pass away are replaced by less reliable young voters.

generational replacement

The practice of using a dead person’s name to cast a ballot is known as ___________.

graveyard voting

Some states, such as Oregon, have started to make use of a(n) __________ in which voters get ballots in the mail two weeks prior to the election, providing them a chance to research the candidates and cast their ballots.

vote-by-mail system