Deck 7: State Legislatures

Question 1

What is the paradox regarding the competitiveness of state legislative elections?

A)At the aggregate level,state legislative elections appear to be extremely competitive,but at the district level they appear to be uncompetitive.
B)When voters show majority support for one party,the other party remains in control.
C)The competition is so great in state legislative elections that voter turnout is ultimately depressed on Election Day.
D)Although a healthy democracy needs electoral competition,state legislative elections are extremely uncompetitive.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Today,roughly three percent of all state lawmakers are

A)openly gay or lesbian.
B)millionaires.
C)blind.
D)African American

Answer 2

A

Question 3

State legislative elections

A)are usually an important consideration for most voters on Election Day.
B)rely heavily on paid advertising on TV and radio.
C)are usually overshadowed by "up the ticket" races for Congress,governor,and president.
D)tend to be extremely competitive at the district level.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is one of the criteria that must be met by any redistricting plan?

A)Each legislative district must be apportioned according to the latest public opinion poll.
B)Each legislative district must be geographically contiguous.
C)Each legislative district must be compact and racially representative.
D)Each legislative district must respect local government boundaries.

Question 5

The unequal representation of people living in different districts is known as

A)district packing.
B)malapportionment.
C)gerrymandering.
D)electioneering.

Question 6

All of the following are true of legislative professionalism EXCEPT

A)because pay is low,members typically supplement their legislative income by holding another job.
B)the legislatures meet most of the year.
C)the legislative offices are well staffed.
D)states with larger,more urban,growing,and diverse populations tend to have the most professionalized legislatures.

Question 7

Legislative districts that had been equal in population in 1900

A)remained relatively equal up to 1960.
B)experienced population shifts by 1960,but did not experience malapportionment.
C)were very unequal in population by 1960.
D)experienced population shifts by 1960,but kept the same political identification.

Question 8

One of the main reasons individuals run for state legislature is

A)better working conditions.
B)a boost in salary.
C)plain ambition.
D)fame and eventual fortune.

Question 9

The "one person,one vote" principle and the policies that ensued resulted in a shift in power from the

A)rural areas of the states to the urban and suburban areas.
B)executive and legislative branches of the state to the judicial branch.
C)urban and suburban areas of the states to the rural areas.
D)judicial and executive branches of the state to the executive branch.

Question 10

Democratic state lawmakers are twice as likely to be

A)investment bankers than their Republican counterparts.
B)female than their Republican counterparts.
C)elected in Northeastern states than in Southern states.
D)defeated by Independent and Third Party candidates today than they were a century ago.

Question 11

In the 1960s,the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.Constitution required that districts in the same legislative chamber must be

A)"substantially equal" in population.
B)redrawn when a "significant change in the population occurs."
C)redrawn every bicentennial.
D)increased when a state legislature votes with a two-thirds majority to redraw the districts.

Question 12

What is the most important predictor of how a legislator will vote on bills?

A)General ideology
B)Party affiliation
C)Committee jurisdiction
D)Personal feelings

Question 13

In 2010,which political party made historical gains in terms of its share of legislative seats?

A)Democratic
B)Republican
C)Green
D)Libertarian

Question 14

Two independent chambers,each having equal policy-making power,represent what type of legislature?

A)Dualistic-chamber
B)Bicameral
C)Multi-member
D)Multi-chamber

Question 15

Multimember districts were once used as a means to

A)dilute minority voters' influence at the polls.
B)reflect communities of interest,especially in rural areas.
C)decrease the administrative costs of state legislatures.
D)pack legislative districts with party members to win a majority of legislative seats.

Question 16

The overall percentage of women in state legislatures

A)has declined steadily since 1971.
B)nationally,today,is roughly 25 percent.
C)indicates that women are represented in state legislatures equally across the states.
D)is higher among Republicans than among Democrats.

Question 17

Which state recently adopted a Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC)that is unusual both for its independence and the complex process used to ensure its independence?

A)Pennsylvania
B)Florida
C)California
D)Colorado

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT one of the broad factors in deciding state legislative district boundaries?

A)The conflicts of interests among those drawing the maps
B)The general public's lack of interest in,or knowledge about,the redistricting process
C)The lack of clear criteria for redistricting
D)The necessary approval of Congress

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT true regarding state legislative elections?

A)Incumbents who run for reelection win roughly 50 percent of the time.
B)The candidate's party largely determines a voter's choice in state legislative races.
C)Voters sometimes make their vote choice based on the recognition of a candidate's name.
D)Many voters make their choice right in the voting booth because of little thought given to the state legislative race.

Question 20

Legislatures have been dubbed

A)the laboratories of democracy.
B)the engines of democracy.
C)growth machines.
D)quorum seekers.

Question 21

Which of the following is a typical characteristic of a citizen-legislature?

A)Legislators earn less than $20,000 per year.
B)The legislature meets all year.
C)Lawmaking is a full time job.
D)Legislative offices are well-staffed.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a basic duty of the state legislature?

A)Oversee the activities of the federal judiciary.
B)Create and revise state laws.
C)Oversee the executive branch's implementation of the state's laws
D)Represent the interests of the state's citizens before the state government.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT true regarding state legislative districts?

A)The size of legislative districts varies dramatically from state to state.
B)The average state legislature has House districts with about 57,000 people and Senate districts with about 157,000 people.
C)Each state legislature is allocated a specified number of districts by the U.S.Constitution that must be distributed evenly throughout the population.
D)Small districts represented by state legislators are often very homogeneous.

Question 24

Formal proposals to change state law are called

A)sponsors.
B)votes.
C)committees.
D)bills.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a duty assigned to legislators by their state constitution?

A)Overseeing the executive branch
B)Lawmaking
C)Enforcing statutes
D)Representing the state's citizens in the state government

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT true regarding state legislative majorities?

A)A party whose members control 51 percent of the seats or more will have disproportionately more control over legislative decisions than the other party.
B)Gaining a majority in a chamber is the "Holy Grail" of parties in state legislatures.
C)If the majority party wants to paint its chamber polka dot,it can.
D)Frequently,the minority party is able to crack the majority party,creating a coalition government.

Question 27

Those who feel that a legislature should have plenty of resources to be a strong force in state government advocate legislative

A)professionalism.
B)activism.
C)institutionalism.
D)imperialism.

Question 28

When the legislature checks up on an agency to make sure it is implementing policy according to legislative intent,it is known as

A)casework.
B)policy policing.
C)executive supervision.
D)ex post oversight.

Question 29

Which of the following is the main source of bill ideas?

A)Media
B)Constituents
C)Lobbyists
D)Legislators

Question 30

To prevent executive agencies from straying too far from legislative intent,a legislature can

A)embed lawmakers in executive agencies to watch over them.
B)create ex post undersight committees.
C)specifically direct leaders of executive agencies every time a decision is to be made.
D)pass specific and detailed legislation.

Question 31

A quorum is

A)the minimum number of legislative members needed to conduct official business.
B)the overruling of a governor's veto by a legislature.
C)the minimum number of legislative members needed to stop a filibuster.
D)a partisan advantage when gerrymandering legislative districts.

Question 32

Which of the following is true regarding women and minority state legislators?

A)African American and women legislators tend to be more interested in education and social welfare policies than their white counterparts.
B)African American state legislators are less likely than white legislators to have started their political careers outside of government.
C)Women and minority legislators often work against each other in the legislative arena.
D)White legislators are less likely to have a pessimistic view of race relations than African American legislators.

Question 33

What do state lawmakers do to help solve the collective action problem?

A)Select political party leaders.
B)Pass specific legislation outlawing the collective action problem.
C)Sign a contract agreeing to mutually cooperate.
D)Provide monetary incentives to their members to secure their votes.

Question 34

Occasionally,a majority party leader will use his or her power to advance or kill a particular bill.

A)gatekeeping
B)veto
C)ad hoc
D)sine die

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a duty of a committee chair?

A)Call committee meetings.
B)Schedule when legislation is to be heard and voted upon in committee.
C)Organize and structure committee hearings and schedule votes.
D)Negotiate with the Governor to ensure his or her agenda is advanced.

Question 36

All of the following are true of pork barrel projects EXCEPT

A)typically they are public works and economic development ventures whose benefits accrue largely to a specifically defined geographic area.
B)legislative leaders shower the districts of their electorally threatened co-partisans with them in hopes of avoiding a party switch in those districts.
C)legislators believe they will help their chances of winning reelection.
D)conservative legislators who are ideologically opposed to government spending always shun such projects for their districts.

Question 37

Which legislator is considered to be the most powerful in a state Senate?

A)Joint-committee chair
B)Rank-and-file commander
C)Majority party leader
D)Lieutenant Governor

Question 38

Which committee is convened in order to craft a bill that can pass both chambers?

A)Joint
B)Standing
C)Select
D)Conference

Question 39

Which type of committee deals with an ongoing,specified type of policy,such as new technologies,capital punishment,environmental policy or transportation policy?

A)Joint
B)Standing
C)Select
D)Special

Question 40

Getting a variety of people to work together to accomplish a common goal is known as the

A)legislative paradox.
B)political quorum.
C)collective action problem.
D)political conundrum problem.

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT true of the targeting electoral strategy utilized by legislative party leaders?

A)Leaders ensure that the minority party does not nominate qualified candidates.
B)Leaders leverage their powerful positions to attract campaign contributions.
C)Leaders specifically target competitive districts.
D)Leaders hire and work closely with election consultants.

Question 42

When it comes to gerrymandering of legislative districts,what have the courts ruled regarding the question of race and ethnicity? Have these decisions increased the representation of minorities in state legislatures?

Question 43

Discuss the merits and pitfalls of legislative term limits.Would your state legislature be better (or worse)with (or without)term limits? How?

Question 44

Following the 2010 elections,state Senators of which state fled to Illinois to avoid a quorum in having to take a vote on a piece of legislation?

A)Wisconsin
B)Indiana
C)Michigan
D)Iowa

Question 45

How well are women represented in state legislatures? How has this changed over time? Are there any implications for policy making when looking at women representation in state legislatures across states?

Question 46

What key factors influence voter choices in state legislative races? What barriers are there to voters receiving accurate information on these races?

Question 47

In 2012,in which state did Republicans win control of both chambers of the state's General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction ended in 1874.

A)Alabama
B)Alaska
C)Arkansas
D)Arizona

Question 48

Discuss the role of parties and committees in the legislative process.How is the legislative process shaped by both parties and committees? Do legislative parties and committees differ across states?