Review Questions
1. Which of the following makes it easy for a citizen to register to vote?
- grandfather clause
- lengthy residency requirement
- National Voter Registration Act
- competency requirement
2. Which of the following is a reason to make voter registration more difficult?
- increase voter turnout
- decrease election fraud
- decrease the cost of elections
- make the registration process faster
3. What unusual step did Oregon take to increase voter registration?
- The state automatically registers all citizens over eighteen to vote.
- The state ended voter registration.
- The state sends every resident a voter registration ballot.
- The state allows online voter registration.
4. What effect did the National Voter Registration Act have on voter registration?
6. If you wanted to prove the United States is suffering from low voter turnout, a calculation based on which population would yield the lowest voter turnout rate?
- registered voters
- voting-eligible population
- voting-age population
- voters who voted in the last election
7. What characterizes those most likely to vote in the next election?
- over forty-five years old
- income under $30,000
- high school education or less
- residency in the South
8. Why do Belgium, Turkey, and Australia have higher voter turnout rates than the United States?
- compulsory voting laws
- more elections
- fewer registration laws
- more polling locations
10. Why does age affect whether a citizen will vote?
11. If you were going to predict whether your classmates would vote in the next election, what questions would you ask them?
12. A state might hold a primary instead of a caucus because a primary is ________.
- inexpensive and simple
- transparent and engages local voters
- faster and has higher turnout
- highly active and promotes dialog during voting
13. Which of the following citizens is most likely to run for office?
- Maria Trejo, a 28-year-old part-time sonogram technician and mother of two
- Jeffrey Lyons, a 40-year-old lawyer and father of one
- Linda Tepsett, a 40-year-old full-time orthopedic surgeon
- Mark Forman, a 70-year-old retired steelworker
14. Where and when do Electoral College electors vote?
- at their precinct, on Election Day
- at their state capitol, on Election Day
- in their state capitol, in December
- in Washington D.C., in December
15. In which type of election are you most likely to see coattail effects?
- presidential
- midterm
- special
- caucuses
16. What problems will candidates experience with frontloading?
18. How do political parties influence the state’s primary system?
20. Susan is currently working two part-time jobs and is frustrated about the poor economy. On Election Day, she votes for every challenger on the ballot, because she feels the president and Congress are not doing enough to help her. What type of vote did she cast?
- retrospective
- prospective
- pocketbook
- straight ticket
21. Which factor is most likely to lead to the incumbency advantage for a candidate?
- candidate’s socioeconomic status
- gerrymandering of the candidate’s district
- media’s support of the candidate
- candidate’s political party
22. In what ways is voting your party identification an informed choice? In what ways is it lazy?
24. Which of the following is not a step in the initiative process?
- approval of initiative petition by state or local government
- collection of signatures
- state-wide vote during a ballot election
- signature or veto by state governor
25. A referendum is not purely direct democracy because the ________.
- voters propose something but the governor approves it
- voters propose and approve something but the legislature also approves it
- government proposes something and the voters approve it
- government proposes something and the legislature approves it
26. What problems would a voter face when trying to pass an initiative or recall?
27. Why do some argue that direct democracy is simply a way for the wealthy and businesses to get their own policies passed?
