Deck 11: Political Participation and Voting Behavior

Question 1

Examples of voter suppression measures stimulated by the 2020 election results include

A) Limiting voting by mail
B) Increasing voter ID requirements
C) Initiating more aggressive voter roll purges
D) All of the above

Answer 1

All of the above

Question 2

Vote fraud in 2020 manifested itself in

A) Dead people voting
B) Absentee ballot "misplacement"
C) Recount errors
D) None of the above

Answer 2

None of the above

Question 3

Election security is

A) A nonpartisan issue supported by both parties equally
B) Constantly at risk in a democracy
C) A "code word" that can provide cover for undemocratic election reforms
D) Enforced by the Capitol police

Answer 3

A "code word" that can provide cover for undemocratic election reforms

Question 4

Record youth voter turnout in 2020 was stirred by

A) The pandemic
B) Racial injustice
C) Partisan polarization
D) All of the above

Question 5

Representative democracy rests of the notion that _________ have the right to influence decisions about who gets what

A) Political elites
B) Ordinary people
C) Economic elites
D) None of these

Question 6

Forms of political participation include

A) Voting
B) Campaign activities
C) Local community activities
D) All of the above

Question 7

Voter turnout in America is _______ than in other Western representative democracies, but participation in other forms of political activity is ______.

A) Higher, lower
B) Lower, higher
C) Lower, the same
D) Higher, the same

Question 8

Voter turnout has ________ over time.

A) Declined
B) Increased
C) Stayed the same
D) Fluctuated

Question 9

Elements of the American political system that might cause low voter turnout are all of the following EXCEPT

A) Voter registration practices
B) Voting laws
C) The scheduling and frequency of elections
D) The time it takes to vote

Question 10

The _____________ model uses group-level variables to explain voter behavior

A) Sociological
B) Social-psychological
C) Rational choice
D) Biological

Question 11

The __________ model focuses on individual attitudes to explain voter behavior

A) Sociological
B) Social-psychological
C) Rational choice
D) Biological

Question 12

The ___________ model views the decision to vote and the decision of whom to vote for as the product of individual cost-benefit analysis.

A) Sociological
B) Social-psychological
C) Rational choice
D) Biological

Question 13

__________ is the translation of personal preference into a voluntary action designed to influence public policy.

A) Political boycotting
B) Political sidelining
C) Political participation
D) Political tailgating

Question 14

There are _______ general categories of ways to participate in politics.

A) Two
B) Four
C) Five
D) Six

Question 15

The most common form of participation is

A) Campaign activities
B) Voting
C) Citizen-initiated contact with officials
D) Cooperative social and political action

Question 16

To explain the rationality of voting, Verba uses cost broadly to mean

A) Monetary cost
B) Difficulty of participating
C) Physical cost
D) Mental cost

Question 17

Voting participation has _________ over time while other forms of participation have ________.

A) Increased; increased
B) Increased; stayed the same
C) Decreased; increased
D) Decreased; stayed the same

Question 18

The constitutional or statutory right to vote is known as the

A) Suffrage
B) Franchise
C) Disenfranchise
D) Dissuffrage

Question 19

Disenfranchising convicted felons, while constitutional, is increasingly controversial because of the disproportionate effect on

A) African Americans
B) Native Americans
C) Men
D) Latino Americans

Question 20

Voter turnout is

A) The percentage of voters who cast votes in an election.
B) The percentage of eligible voters who casts votes in an election.
C) The percentage of all Americans who casts votes in an election.
D) None of these.

Question 21

Turnout in countries with compulsory voting laws typically exceeds ________ percent.

A) 50
B) 60
C) 65
D) 70

Question 22

In the United States, registering to vote is

A) An individual responsibility
B) A community effort
C) The government's job
D) None of these

Question 23

Downs (1957) famously argued that

A) The two party system gives voters the best options for candidates.
B) The two party system does not give voters a meaningful choice of candidates.
C) Candidates appeal to the extremes in the party, providing clear choices
D) None of these.

Question 24

Presidential elections are held on a

A) Monday
B) Saturday
C) Thursday
D) Tuesday

Question 25

The day of the presidential election was deliberately chosen due to the following historical conditions EXCEPT

A) Most Americans were agrarians at the time of the decision and election day did not interfere with harvest
B) Many Americans wanted to prevent lower socioeconomic classes from voting.
C) Most Americans took Sunday as a day of rest, making Tuesday the easiest day to commute
D) Many Americans had to commute some distance to vote, sometimes taking a day of travel to arrive.

Question 26

All of the following contribute to an individual's desire to participate EXCEPT

A) An individual's psychological engagement with politics
B) An individual's access to the resources needed to vote
C) Group characteristics
D) All of these contribute

Question 27

The social background and economic position of a person may be the ________ determinant of any form of political participation.

A) Least important
B) Most important
C) Easiest measured
D) None of these

Question 28

People who believe that their opinions are important and that government will respect and respond to their views are said to believe in

A) Political responsibility
B) Political activity
C) Political efficacy
D) Political determination

Question 29

The opposite of a politically alienated individual is an

A) Allegiant individual
B) Unalienated individual
C) Politically loyal individual
D) All of these

Question 30

The ___________ hypothesis posits that "participation is a response to contextual cues and political opportunities"

A) Voter
B) Mobilization
C) Get out the vote
D) Context

Question 31

All of the following are participation resources EXCEPT

A) Free time
B) Money
C) Post-secondary education
D) Civic skills

Question 32

The sociological model of voting behavior is also known as the

A) Columbia model
B) Michigan model
C) California model
D) Florida model

Question 33

The social-psychological model is also known as the

A) Columbia model
B) Michigan model
C) California model
D) Florida model

Question 34

The Michigan model argues that ________ is the most important determination of vote choice.

A) Party identification
B) Socioeconomic status
C) Ideology
D) None of these

Question 35

Candidate image is

A) Voter perception of a candidate's qualities
B) The physical image of a candidate
C) A candidate's image of him/herself
D) None of these

Question 36

According to Campbell et al., issues influence vote decisions only if ______ conditions are met.

A) Two
B) Four
C) Three
D) Six

Question 37

Fiorina (1981) suggests there are two basic types of issue voting:

A) Retrospective and prospective
B) Retrospective and forward-looking
C) Prospective and forward-looking
D) Forward-looking and disassociated

Question 38

All of the following are types of elections EXCEPT

A) A maintaining election
B) A deviating election
C) An abnormal election
D) A reinstating election

Question 39

Early voting, vote by mail, and absentee voting are exercised equally by Democrats and Republicans.

Question 40

An individual's desire and ability to participate politically are affected by socioeconomic status among other things.

Question 41

Elections turn on both short term and long term forces

Question 42

Significant electoral changes over the last 25 years have frayed the Democrats' New Deal coalition and aided Republicans, but there has been no long-term realignment to the GOP.

Question 43

Voting is the least widespread form of participation.

Question 44

In terms of majority rule, voter turnout appears high.

Question 45

Although Americans may vote less, participation in activities other than voting is higher than in most other democracies.

Question 46

Women and Native Americans gained the right to vote in the same year.

Question 47

Voter ID laws are potentially disenfranchising.

Question 48

Low voter primary elections are decided by middle-of-the-road voters.

Question 49

Identify a recent election at any level of government and subtract the total number of votes of the losing candidate from those of the winning candidate. That number represents the "swing" needed to change the outcome of the election. How widespread would voter fraud have to be to generate such a swing? How could it be identified and prevented? Given the size of the swing, does it seem likely voter fraud played any role in the outcome of the election?

Question 50

In spite of the available evidence, there is no doubt that many people believe voter fraud is widespread. Do such beliefs represent a problem for the integrity and legitimacy of the electoral process even if there is little empirical support for them? Why or why not?

Question 51

Is compulsory voting democratic?

Question 52

Are voter ID laws necessary?

Question 53

Think of different forms of political participation, e.g. voting, attending a rally, having a political discussion. Are some of these more likely to be socially stressful than others? Which are most socially stressful and why?

Question 54

Besides a tendency toward getting stressed out by social conflict, might political participation be driven by other traits not traditionally considered causes of political engagement? How about personality? Risk tolerance or impulsiveness?