POL Ch. 8 Political Participation and Voting

Which of the following is NOT a traditional form of political activity?

visiting a candidate’s website

What was the primary venue for citizen participation in national politics until the early 1900s?

U.S. House elections

Accidental mobilization occurs when

individuals are exposed to political information that they did not explicitly seek out.

Social capital refers to

community networks that motivate political participation.

SOPA and PIPA were

bills considered by Congress in 2012 to extend U.S. copyright laws beyond U.S. borders.

Which of the following did NOT take part in the 2012 protests against SOPA and PIPA?

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Nearly ________percent of Americans lack high-speed Internet access in their homes.

33

The Twenty-Sixth Amendment was ratified

during the Vietnam War.

What was the main cause for dropping the legal voting age to eighteen?

Government officials hoped it would lead to a decline in disruptive student protests.

About ________ percent of eligible voters turn out for midterm congressional elections.

33

Which of the following methods of participation was an important part of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s?

sit-ins and marches

The protests against SOPA and PIPA are an example of how

new media can be effectively used to mobilize offline participation in politics.

Which of the following statements about the impact of the SOPA and PIPA protests is most accurate?

The protests created a grassroots backlash that caused the bills to lose support among many members of Congress.

Which of the following statements about the digital divide is NOT true?

All racial and ethnic groups in the United States are equally likely to have online access.

World War I was an important factor in advancing the cause of women’s suffrage because

President Woodrow Wilson and members of Congress believed that women would support the war effort if they were granted the right to vote.

When did African Americans truly gain voting rights in the United States without fear of reprisal?

1965

What bloc of voters has recently been called "the sleeping giant"?

Latino Americans

Which of the following statements about Asian Americans is true?

Although a majority of Asian Americans voted Republican in the 1990s, in the 2000s they have been voting increasingly Democratic.

On average, more women vote for ________ candidates and more men vote for ________ candidates.

Democratic; Republican

About ________ percent of U.S. senators and U.S. representatives serving in Congress are women.

17

About ________ percent of political advertising is aimed at Americans between 18 and 34 years of age.

14

Which of the following groups have had the highest levels of political participation?

senior citizens

Which of the following is NOT a key factor affecting one’s level of participation?

geographic location

Which of the following characteristics constitutes one’s socioeconomic status?

level of income, level of education, and prestige of occupation

The Supreme Court justices ruled that prayer in public schools was unconstitutional in ________.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Evangelical Protestants are more likely to be associated with ________.

the Republican Party

Which statement is correct?

Religion has played an important role in organizing political participation.

African Americans

have linked fate when it comes to political participation.

What is one reason that political parties and politicians view Latinos as a critically important group?

The Latino population in the United States is large and rapidly growing.

Women are disadvantaged as candidates for office because

male candidates are more likely to have the advantage of incumbency in office.

The strongest critique of the socioeconomic status model’s explanation of political participation is that

education levels are rising while rates of participation are falling.

Which of the following statements is true?

Voter turnout in California decreases in a presidential election when the race is not close.

Which of the following statements about the gender gap is FALSE?

The gender gap in voting behavior has always been about 20 percentage points since women’s suffrage in 1920.

Which of the following statements is true about political participation?

African Americans and Latinos are less likely to participate in politics than whites.

The power of the Christian Coalition in the 1990s was due to

its success in mobilizing a large grassroots base.

What is the best explanation for the fact that Latinos have tended to favor Democratic Party candidates in national elections?

They disagree with the Republican Party’s stance on immigration.

What has been one of the most pressing questions concerning socioeconomic status?

Why has the level of participation in politics not increased as a result of the rising level of education among Americans?

The political power of Asian Americans has recently been hindered because of the

diversity of national backgrounds and cultures.

Nonelectoral forms of participation usually require more ________ than voting.

time, money, and effort

Studies have discovered ________ to be the key element of successful mobilization efforts.

personal contact

Political parties have been doing less ________ in recent years.

mobilizing of voters

Statewide initiatives on the ballot

increase voter turnout in elections.

Which of the following statements is true?

all of the above

Studies show that people are most likely to participate in politics when

someone asks them to get involved.

Which of the following statements about the 2004 presidential election is true?

both b and c

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the criteria for determining one’s eligibility to vote were established by ________.

state governments

Which of the following is NOT a reform that has attempted to make voting easier?

voter ID laws

What was the original purpose of voter registration?

to reduce corruption by making it more difficult to vote

Under the Constitution, ________ has/have the power to regulate elections

state legislatures

According to political scientists, voter registration requirements reduce voter turnout by as much as ________ percent.

50

About ________ percent of registered voters have voted in recent elections.

82

________ typically has the highest voter turnout among the states.

Minnesota

Compared with western Europe, the United States has a(n) ________ turnout in elections

lower

About ________ million Americans have lost their voting rights as a result of felony convictions.

5

The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, mandated that

no state could prevent the right to vote on account of race.

Which of the following statements about voter identification laws is most accurate?

Voter identification laws in the states disproportionately affect minority citizens and the less affluent.

It is likely that eliminating state-level voter registration laws would

increase voter turnout among younger people.

________ is the only state that does not require voter registration

North Dakota

Which of the following states does NOT permit Election Day registration?

Indiana

________ conducts its elections entirely by mail.

Oregon