Deck 8: Public Opinion and Voting

Question 1

Complications for telephone poll takers include:

A)the lack of network coverage.
B)the rising costs of getting a cell phone connection.
C)the high costs of installing a landline.
D)the increase in the use of cell phones.
E)its limitations to prerecorded messages.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The framers of the Constitution:

A)granted suffrage to all those who professed a belief in Christianity.
B)granted the power to set suffrage qualifications to the individual states.
C)limited suffrage to those who had been delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
D)limited suffrage to adult white males and females who owned property.
E)granted suffrage to all persons over the age of twenty-one.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is a similarity between opinion leaders and peer groups?

A)Both are involved in contesting elections.
B)Both comprise co-workers.
C)Both comprise well-known political personalities.
D)Both comprise celebrities.
E)Both can influence an individual's views.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

In the context of public opinion and voting, women on average are more likely than men to _____.

A)support the conservative values and beliefs of the community.
B)believe in the conservative values of self-reliance.
C)be narrow-minded and skeptical about the happenings around them.
D)believe in following traditional gender roles.
E)have a stronger commitment to the liberal value of community.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is true of a house effect?

A)Polling firms with a house effect are always right.
B)All polling firms face the house effect during elections.
C)A firm with a house effect is not always wrong.
D)Polling firms that exhibit a house effect miss out on important points unlike its competitors.
E)Polling firms with a house effect are disqualified from voting in elections.

Question 6

Push poll interviews typically last for five to thirty minutes, whereas legitimate pollsters typically interview a respondent for less than a minute.

Question 7

In a polling survey, people are asked, "How would you rate the epic movie Titanic?" In this case, which of the following issues associated with a polling survey is most likely to affect the results?

A)The issue of framing misleading questions
B)The house effect
C)The issue of inadequate information in questions
D)The issue of weighting
E)The biased sampling error

Question 8

Which of the following is a new restrictive law implemented by Arizona?

A)Voters must be twenty-one years of age to be eligible to vote.
B)Voters must first obtain a driving license before registering to vote.
C)Voters must cast their votes only through the mail-in voting system.
D)Voters who have just turned eighteen should register themselves only on Election Day.
E)Voters must provide his or her proof of citizenship to vote in state elections.

Question 9

Graham has a strong allegiance to the Democrats and his entire family supports the Democratic Party. This is an example of__________.

A)party identification
B)the bandwagon effect
C)political identity
D)the house effect
E)party-line voting

Question 10

The Twenty-fourth Amendment outlawed _____ in national elections.

A)white primaries
B)literacy tests
C)poll taxes
D)discrimination based on race
E)the grandfather clause

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true of the generation that came of age during the Vietnam War?

A)It is skeptical of American interventionism in foreign affairs.
B)It believes that the federal government should step in during times of economic crisis.
C)It believes that American intervention in foreign wars should be encouraged.
D)It supports the Republican Party.
E)It believes that the Democratic Party is concerned about the fate of ordinary people.

Question 12

The results of opinion polls are most often cast in terms of percentages.

Question 13

The level of education has little influence on a person's political values.

Question 14

To obtain accurate results, professional poll takers must ensure that there is no bias in their polling questions.

Question 15

The intent of push polls is to:

A)back the winning candidate.
B)identify voters with fake voter's registration.
C)estimate the voter turnout after weighting the responses to the poll.
D)drive voters away from one candidate and toward another.
E)provide adequate information to the voters about the upcoming elections.

Question 16

Which of the following is most likely to happen when an electoral candidate, to gain popularity, claims that all the polls show that he or she is ahead in the race?

A)All the other candidates will form a partnership with this candidate to increase the voter turnout.
B)Journalists are likely to participate in rallies to raise a voice against such false declarations.
C)The candidate will be banned from contesting the elections.
D)The turnover at the voting booths will increase.
E)People who want to support the winner will back this candidate despite their true feelings.

Question 17

A random sample is a poll sample that does not accurately represent the population being polled.

Question 18

A__________is a nonscientific poll in which there is no way to ensure that the opinions expressed are representative of the larger population being polled.

A)decision poll
B)statistical poll
C)straw poll
D)model poll
E)telephone poll

Question 19

In the context of the influence of occupation and income on the attitudes of voters, which of the following is the reason behind businesspersons opting to vote for the Republican Party?

A)The party favors institutional and social changes.
B)The party members hold a history of supporting labor unions in business houses.
C)The party encourages the youth to contest in elections.
D)The party adopts a pro-business stand.
E)The party supports low-income sections of society.

Question 20

In the context of public opinions, which of the following statements is true of the media?

A)The media have negligible impact on the political socialization of high school students as their respective families have a stronghold over them.
B)Political information available on social media is typically unreliable.
C)The media tend to wield the most influence over the views of persons who have not yet formed opinions about various political issues or candidates.
D)People go online, watch television, or read articles without any preconceived ideas about the political issues.
E)Politicians should publicize themselves using means other than social media as it causes the house effect.

Question 21

What is the primary goal behind the implementation of new restrictive voting laws by states?

A)To prevent the manipulation of the grandfather clause
B)To increase voter turnout
C)To encourage the absentee ballot service
D)To reduce voter fraud
E)To monitor the men to women voting ratios

Question 22

In the context of economic status and occupation influencing public opinions, business managers are most likely to:

A)favor government assistance programs for employees working in business houses.
B)favor tax laws helpful to businesses.
C)favor the views of opinion leaders who support social causes.
D)support government spending in their business area.
E)support a government that provides aids to the needy.

Question 23

Which of the following statements is true of the relationship between religious and ethnic background and voter attitudes?

A)White Christian voters who attend church rarely are more likely to favor the Republicans.
B)Jewish voters are strongly Democratic, regardless of whether they attend services.
C)Today, the number of churches that promote conservative values is much lesser than those that promote liberal ways of thinking.
D)African Americans are one of the most solidly Republican constituencies in the United States.
E)Today, Muslim Americans are the most Republic religious group in the United States.

Question 24

Which of the following was used to discourage the African Americans and the poor whites from voting?

A)The voting ticket
B)The citizenship clause
C)The poll tax
D)The primary tax
E)The election ticket

Question 25

In the state of Oregon, all elections, including presidential elections, are conducted exclusively:

A)on the Internet.
B)at polling places located inside school buildings and public libraries.
C)through telephone.
D)at polling places located in supermarkets.
E)by mail.

Question 26

Which of the following is true of Sunday early voting in North Carolina that has been eliminated?

A)It refers to the practice of marching as a group to polling places at the conclusion of Sunday services.
B)It refers to the practice of queuing at the polling places if the election was to be held on a Sunday.
C)It refers to the practice of holding rallies every Sunday prior to Election Day.
D)It refers to the practice of conducting fraudulent activity checks every Sunday.
E)It refers to the practice of giving interviews by electoral contestants every Sunday to attract early voters.

Question 27

Polling firms respond to the difficulties of obtaining a body of respondents that truly reflects the population at large by:

A)sampling the responses of the target group.
B)weighting the responses of various groups.
C)randomly selecting the best responses.
D)counting the number of positive responses.
E)counting the number of negative responses.

Question 28

Which of the following voting advantages was given to the residents of the District of Columbia?

A)Voters could ask volunteers to cast the vote on their behalf.
B)Voters could choose to mail-in their votes.
C)Voters could register up to or even on voting day.
D)Voters could choose to vote at a date convenient for them.
E)Voters are not required to register with local officials before voting.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true of the Help America Vote Act passed by Congress in 2002?

A)It reduced the minimum voting age to eighteen for all elections.
B)It encouraged the African Americans to vote by eliminating the poll tax.
C)It provided funds to the states to help them purchase new electronic voting equipment.
D)It automatically registered voters who were of voting age and had a driving license.
E)It made it mandatory for voters to register through the mail-in process.

Question 30

_____ were used in many southern states to limit the participation of African Americans in elections.

A)Statistical tests
B)Emotional Intelligence tests
C)Talent tests
D)Literacy tests
E)Aptitude tests

Question 31

The reintroduction of electronic machines in many states in 2012 can be attributed to:

A)the passing of the Help America Vote Act.
B)the introduction of the grandfather clause.
C)the requirement to provide proof of citizenship to be able to vote.
D)the introduction of poll taxes.
E)the development of voter-verified paper audit trail.

Question 32

Which of the following amendments gave residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote for president and vice president?

A)The Twenty-third Amendment
B)The Twenty-fourth Amendment
C)The Nineteenth Amendment
D)The Fifteenth Amendment
E)The Twenty-sixth Amendment

Question 33

Which of the following was a benefit of early voting at polling places that was demonstrated in the 2012 elections?

A)It allowed the voters to use absentee voting.
B)It allowed election workers time to ensure that all systems were working properly by Election Day.
C)It allowed the people to visit the polling place and decide the candidate of their choice.
D)It gave the candidates the opportunity to meet prospective voters at the polling place.
E)It allowed the election workers to carry the systems to their home where they could count the votes at leisure.

Question 34

James, who has been critically ill for over a month, wants to cast his vote during the upcoming midterm elections. Since his health will not permit him to go to the polling place on Election Day, he can make use of the _____ facility to cast his vote.

A)alternative ballot
B)absentee ballot
C)cardinal ballot
D)ancestral clause
E)grandfather clause

Question 35

According to a Pew Research Center survey, which of the following is one of the reasons for low voter turnout?

A)Nonvoters are restricted from voting due to their low income.
B)Women are less liberal in their outlook as compared to men and do not want to vote.
C)Nonvoters lack the confidence to cast their votes.
D)Nonvoters do not feel they have a duty to vote.
E)Men do not want to cast their votes because they are busy at work.

Question 36

Which of the following is the most accurate way of gauging overall public opinion between elections?

A)Through public opinion polls
B)Through public opinion tweets
C)Through direct mails to the public
D)Through direct phone calls to individuals
E)Through public opinion strategies

Question 37

Opinion leaders are:

A)well-known people who are able to influence others.
B)limited to political figures.
C)limited to media figures.
D)unlikely to participate in elections.
E)limited to religious figures.

Question 38

Which of the following statements is true of voting requirements for voters in the United States?

A)All voters should be twenty-one years of age.
B)Voters should be citizens of the United States.
C)Voters should abide by a residency requirement of at least sixty days.
D)Noncitizens need to take the president's permission to cast their vote.
E)To be exempted from voting, a voter needs to produce a medical certificate.

Question 39

The true result of a public opinion poll:

A)is a range of probabilities.
B)is a single figure.
C)needs to be kept anonymous.
D)is not statistical.
E)gives a clear winner.

Question 40

Luthansa, a developing city in the southern part of Curbhan, was recently hit by a massive earthquake that killed many people and left many others homeless. The country's government requested Henry Joe, a retired army official who is now a politician, to help raise funds to revive the city. The government chose Henry Joe due to his popularity among the citizens of the country. In this case, Henry Joe is a(n)_____.

A)pseudo politician
B)opinion leader
C)union representative
D)role player
E)pollster

Question 41

One consequence of the distinctive conservatism of southern white voters is that:

A)the concept of a "white vote" has emerged.
B)the concept of a "white vote" is misleading.
C)the concepts of a southern "white vote" and a northern "white vote" are no longer different.
D)the white working-class problem has been eliminated.
E)support for the democrats has evolved.

Question 42

A leading magazine wants to conduct a survey on various issues related to women. For the survey, it decides to include appropriate numbers of women in terms of age, race and ethnicity, geography, income, and religious affiliation. Which form of sampling is the magazine trying to incorporate in the survey?

A)Biased sampling
B)Cutoff sampling
C)Minimax sampling
D)Accidental sampling
E)Random sampling

Question 43

In the 2012 presidential elections, Barack Obama:

A)carried the female vote by 55 to 44 percentage points.
B)carried the male vote by 55 to 44 percentage points.
C)won the male vote by a 52 to 45 point margin.
D)lost the female vote by a 40 to 52 point margin.
E)won the female vote by a 52 to 45 point margin.

Question 44

The small, short-lived changes in polling results are caused due to random error known as:

A)sampling bias.
B)biased sampling.
C)random sampling.
D)statistical noise.
E)polling bias.

Question 45

The readers of Artistry and Fame Line, two leading entertainment magazines, were asked to take a common survey. However, on analyzing the survey outcomes, it was observed that the results were different. The opinion of the readers of Artistry was significantly different from those of Fame Line readers. In this scenario, the difference in the results represents a(n)_____.

A)biased sample
B)random sample
C)analytic sample
D)erroneous sample
E)general sample

Question 46

In 2012, Tea Party-backed Republicans in Missouri and Indiana looked like sure bets to gain Senate seats. Missouri's Todd Akin, however, made the mistake of claiming that women cannot become pregnant as a result of "legitimate rape" and it cost him the elections. This shows that voters often base their decisions on the _____ of the candidates rather than on their qualifications or policy positions.

A)religion
B)perceived character
C)professional background
D)past winning record
E)peer review

Question 47

The _____ requires states to provide all eligible citizens with the opportunity to register to vote when they apply for or renew a driver's license.

A)white primary clause
B)Motor Voter Law
C)grandfather clause
D)Congressional Act
E)Civil Rights Act

Question 48

Today, the most reputable polls sample between__________people.

A)100 and 500
B)50 and 100
C)500 and 800
D)1,000 and 1,500
E)5 and 10

Question 49

James Barry is contesting in the upcoming presidential elections. James is quite a popular figure among the youth. He tweets regularly and has around 71.5 million followers on his social networking profile. Which of the following sources of political information is James Barry extensively using to promote himself?

A)Magazine
B)Television
C)Radio
D)The local newspaper
E)The Internet

Question 50

Which of the following statements is true of the influence of education on an individual's political attitudes?

A)The level of education seldom influences a person's political values.
B)Schools generally make efforts to slow down the political socialization of students.
C)Students with more education have more knowledge about politics than those with less education.
D)The process of political socialization begins by the time students complete their education.
E)Schools typically encourage students to actively participate in politics.

Question 51

In today's presidential contests, states in the South, the Great Plains, and parts of the Rocky Mountains _____.

A)swing from party to party
B)are strongly Republican
C)are firmly Democratic
D)do not favor any party
E)favor the independent candidates

Question 52

For a given poll, a professional polling firm states that it has "95 percent confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points." What is the firm trying to say by claiming "95 percent confidence"?

A)There is a 95 percent chance that the poll is off by four points or more.
B)There is a 5 percent chance that the poll is off by four points or more.
C)There is a 95 percent chance that the poll is off by five points or more.
D)There is a 4 percent chance that the poll is off by five points or more.
E)There is a 5 percent chance that the poll is off by ninety-five points or more.

Question 53

For established voters, _____, a standing allegiance to a political party, is one of the most important and lasting predictors of how a person will vote.

A)political identity
B)political position
C)party identification
D)party strength
E)party involvement

Question 54

The number of people who are actually qualified to vote in an American election is referred to as the _____.

A)voting ratio
B)voter turnout
C)voting community
D)registered population
E)vote-eligible population

Question 55

Which of the following statements is true of the right to vote?

A)The African Americans were given the right to vote in 1944.
B)Prisoners in the United States have the right to vote.
C)The voting age for U.S. citizens is 21 years.
D)In the United States, voters do not have the right to vote for public-policy decisions.
E)The right to vote helps keep elected officials accountable.

Question 56

In the United States today, citizens who are at least__________years of age and who are not felons have the right to vote.

A)sixteen
B)eighteen
C)seventeen
D)fifteen
E)twenty-one

Question 57

In the 2006 elections, about half of the states that were using new electronic voting systems:

A)reported problems.
B)reported high voter turnout.
C)had to conduct reelections.
D)implemented the grandfather clause.
E)implemented poll taxes.

Question 58

Which of the following resulted from the southern resentment of the Republicans for their role in the "War between the States" and their support of African Americans in the postwar era?

A)The Experimental South
B)The Fixed South
C)The Southern bias
D)The Solid South
E)The Southern divide

Question 59

Political analysts believe that a__________became a major determinant of voter decision making in the 1980 presidential elections.

A)gender role
B)gender bias
C)gender juncture
D)gender gap
E)gender change

Question 60

Which of the following was upheld by the Supreme Court on the grounds that the political parties were private entities, not public, and thus could do as they wished?

A)The cardinal ballot
B)The black poll
C)The ancestral poll
D)The grandfather clause
E)The white primary

Question 61

Explain how schools and churches have a strong influence on an individual's political attitudes.

Question 62

Discuss the development of telephone polls and Internet polls.

Question 63

Explain how "yes" and "no" questions and inadequate information during opinion polls can lead to problems. Give examples for each.

Question 64

Explain how ideology serves to be an indicator of voting behavior.

Question 65

In the context of the Solid South, explain how the ideologies of the Republicans and the Democrats have changed.