Question 1

Accidental mobilization occurs when

Accepted Answer

A) people are mistakenly contacted by a political party on Election Day. 
B) individuals are exposed to political information they did not explicitly seek out. 
C) a candidate makes a verbal gaffe that leads new groups of people to vote in an election. 
D) turnout in a midterm congressional election is much higher than analysts predict.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

A) African Americans 
B) Latino Americans 
C) Asian Americans 
D) middle-class whites

Question 3

A state with a roughly equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the population is often referred to as a ________ state.

Accepted Answer

A) battleground 
B) split-ticket 
C) red-blue 
D) gerrymandered

Question 4

During the colonial and early national periods of American history, suffrage was generally restricted to white males over the age of

Accepted Answer

A) 18. 
B) 21. 
C) 25. 
D) 30.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about women's suffrage is MOST accurate?

Accepted Answer

A) Women were given the right to vote under the Articles of Confederation, but not under the Constitution. 
B) Every state and territorial government adopted women's suffrage before the federal government granted women the vote. 
C) A number of state and territorial governments adopted women's suffrage before the federal government granted women the vote. 
D) The federal government adopted women's suffrage before any state or territorial government granted women the vote.

Question 6

What was the main cause for reducing the legal voting age to 18?

Accepted Answer

A) Young American citizens effectively organized and protested for the right to vote. 
B) The Constitution mandated that the draft age be equivalent to the voting age. 
C) Government officials hoped it would lead to a decline in disruptive student protests. 
D) A decision by the Supreme Court justices determined that voting requirements based on age were unconstitutional.

Question 7

Numerous barriers to suffrage have existed since the Founding.Write an essay that discusses some of these barriers as well as the various attempts by the federal and state governments to extend the franchise to more citizens.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Numerous barriers to suffrage have existed since...

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

A) The Latino population in the United States is large and rapidly growing. 
B) Latinos register to vote at higher levels than whites and African Americans. 
C) Latinos contribute more money to political parties and campaigns than whites and African Americans combined. 
D) Latinos consistently vote for candidates from the Republican Party.

Question 9

________ are now the largest age cohort in the United States.

Accepted Answer

A) Baby boomers 
B) Gen X-ers 
C) Millennials 
D) Members of the "Greatest Generation"

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

A) States with Republican-led governments were more likely to pass a new law requiring citizens to have photo identification in order to vote. 
B) Every state requires all voters to show identification before voting at the polls. 
C) The Supreme Court justices ruled that voter identification laws would not go into effect until after the 2016 elections. 
D) In every state with a voter identification law, a person must have a photo ID issued by the federal government in order to cast a legal ballot.

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

A) Asian Americans and Latinos are less likely to participate in politics than whites. 
B) Asian Americans and Latinos participate in politics at the same levels as whites. 
C) Asian Americans hardly participate in politics at all, while Latinos participate at extraordinarily high levels. 
D) Whites hardly participate in politics at all, while Asian Americans and Latinos participate at extraordinarily high levels.

Question 12

The belief among African Americans that their own self-interests are linked to the interests of their race is called

Accepted Answer

A) black power. 
B) racial resentment. 
C) ethnocentrism. 
D) linked fate.

Question 13

Compared to other developed democracies, the United States is ranked ________ in terms of voter turnout.

Accepted Answer

A) first 
B) second 
C) 32nd 
D) 112th

Question 14

It is likely that eliminating state-level voter registration laws would ________ voter turnout among ________ voters.

Accepted Answer

A) decrease; younger 
B) decrease; older 
C) decrease; all 
D) increase; younger

Question 15

When congressional districts are drawn to favor one political party over another, it is referred to as

Accepted Answer

A) partisan packing. 
B) partisan sorting. 
C) bundling. 
D) gerrymandering.

Question 16

The Black Lives Matter protest movement started after

Accepted Answer

A) the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. 
B) Rodney King's beating by Los Angeles police officers in 1991. 
C) Barack Obama's election in 2008. 
D) the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

Question 17

________ states currently require all voters to show some form of identification before voting at the polls.

Accepted Answer

A) Sixteen 
B) Twenty-seven 
C) Thirty-four 
D) Fifty

Question 18

The 1965 Voting Rights Act

Accepted Answer

A) authorized the federal government to register voters in states that discriminated against minority citizens. 
B) required that all citizens show a government-issued identification before voting. 
C) granted 18-year-olds the right to vote in federal elections. 
D) established the direct election of U.S.senators.

Question 19

Laws that automatically register residents to vote in elections

Accepted Answer

A) are explicitly prohibited by the Constitution. 
B) have been enacted by all 50 states. 
C) have been enacted by exactly half of states. 
D) have been enacted by only five states.

Question 20

The largest single-day protest in U.S.history was the

Accepted Answer

A) Taxpayer March on Washington in 2009 to protest federal government spending. 
B) Occupy Wall Street protest in opposition to income inequality. 
C) Women's March on Washington, D.C., to protest Donald Trump's inauguration as president. 
D) March on Washington in 1963 to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.

Exam 8: Political Participation and Voting