8
Campaigns and
Elections
Multiple–Choice Questions
1. Elections for members of Congress occur __________.
a. on the second Tuesday in November
b. every two years in odd-numbered years
c. on the irst Tuesday after the irst Monday in November of
even-numbered years
d. in the irst week of November in odd-numbered years
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 228
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
2. The term of oice for senators is __________.
a. 2 years
b. 4 years
c. 6 years
d. 8 years
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
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Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 229
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
3. Which candidate in 2000 lost the Electoral College vote and did
not become president?
a. Al Gore
b. George H. W. Bush
c. Bill Clinton
d. John McCain
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 231
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
4. California has 53 seats in the House of Representatives. How
many Electoral College votes does it have?
a. 12
b. 25
c. 53
d. 55
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 230
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Diiculty Level: Diicult
5. Women in what two states were allowed to vote well before
women throughout the country were granted the right to vote?
a. Colorado and New York
b. New Jersey and Wyoming
c. Pennsylvania and Virginia
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d. Massachusetts and Missouri
Topic: Counting Votes
Learning Objective: LO 8.2: Identify problems associated with
administering elections and evaluate proposed solutions to
those problems.
Page Reference: 234
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
6. Barack Obama’s successful campaigns for president in 2008 and
2012 resulted in __________ in both elections.
a. a gain of House seats for Republicans
b. a gain of seats in the House and a loss of seats in the Senate
for Democrats
c. a loss of House seats and a gain of Senate seats for
Republicans
d. a gain of both House and Senate seats for Democrats
Topic: Running for Congress
Learning Objective: LO 8.3: Explain how congressional
elections work and why they are generally not competitive.
Page Reference: 235
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
7. How often do candidates for House seats have to campaign?
a. every year
b. every 2 years
c. every 4 years
d. every 6 years
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 228
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
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8. Incumbent senators are able to outspend their challengers by
what ratio?
a. 2:1
b. 3:1
c. 5:1
d. 10:1
Topic: Running for Congress
Learning Objective: LO 8.3: Explain how congressional
elections work and why they are generally not competitive.
Page Reference: 237
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
9. What states did the Democratic National Committee attempt to
punish in 2008 for moving their primaries to January?
a. California and Maine
b. Ohio and Georgia
c. Washington and South Carolina
d. Florida and Michigan
Topic: Running for President
Learning Objective: LO 8.4: Describe the stages in U.S.
presidential elections and the diferences in elections at each
stage.
Page Reference: 241
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
10. Which candidate in 1964 gave an acceptance speech that
included the words, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no
vice”?
a. Lyndon Johnson
b. John Kennedy
c. Richard Nixon
d. Barry Goldwater
Topic: Running for President
Learning Objective: LO 8.4: Describe the stages in U.S.
presidential elections and the diferences in elections at each
stage.
Page Reference: 245
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
11. Which constitutional amendment requires presidential electors
to vote for one person for president and another for vice
president?
a. the Twelfth
b. the Fifteenth
c. the Nineteenth
d. the Twenty-Second
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 231
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
12. What organization was created in 1974 to administer new
campaign reform laws?
a. U.S. Electoral Commission (USEC)
b. Federal Finance Commission (FFC)
c. Federal Election Commission (FEC)
d. Electoral Finance Commission (EFC)
Topic: Money in U.S. Elections
Learning Objective: LO 8.5: Evaluate the inluence of money
in American elections and the main approaches to campaign
inance reform.
Page Reference: 249
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
242
13. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act is also known as the
__________.
a. McCain-Kerry bill
b. Palin-Biden Act
c. McCain-Feingold bill
d. Reid-Boehner bill
Topic: Money in U.S. Elections
Learning Objective: LO 8.5: Evaluate the inluence of money
in American elections and the main approaches to campaign
inance reform.
Page Reference: 250 – 251
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
14. The Supreme Court decision in which case rejected the
longstanding ban on unions and corporations using their
general funds on ads about the election or defeat of a
candidate?
a. Citizens United v. FEC
b. McConnell v. FEC
c. McCain v. Buckley
d. Buckley v. Valeo
Topic: Money in U.S. Elections
Learning Objective: LO 8.5: Evaluate the inluence of money
in American elections and the main approaches to campaign
inance reform.
Page Reference: 253
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
15. Reformers who want more aggressive reforms than those found
in BCRA are most eager to control what kinds of groups?
a. 527s
b. PACs
c. Democratic action groups
d. Super PACs
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Topic: Improving Elections
Learning Objective: LO 8.6: Assess concerns regarding
presidential elections and reforms that have been proposed.
Page Reference: 257
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
16. Some critics of state presidential primaries argue in favor of
__________.
a. a national presidential runof race
b. a national presidential primary
c. a regional caucus
d. eliminating primaries altogether
Topic: Improving Elections
Learning Objective: LO 8.6: Assess concerns regarding
presidential elections and reforms that have been proposed.
Page Reference: 258
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
17. Competition in congressional elections is most likely when
__________.
a. both candidates have adequate funding
b. Super PACS spend money on campaign advertising
c. both candidates accept federal matching funds
d. electoral districts have been subject to partisan
gerrymandering
Topic: Running for Congress
Learning Objective: LO 8.3: Explain how congressional
elections work and why they are generally not competitive.
Page Reference: 234
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
18. In most parliamentary democracies, the party in power calls
elections __________.
244
a. at a time of the party’s choosing
b. every ive years on average
c. at ixed intervals of two years
d. only when the government receives a no-conidence vote
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 228
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
19. Term limits for members of the U.S. Congress can be imposed
only by __________.
a. state legislatures
b. congressional legislation
c. a public referendum
d. constitutional amendment
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 229
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
20. The constitutional amendment limiting presidents to two terms
was adopted in __________.
a. 1791
b. 1865
c. 1920
d. 1951
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 229
245
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
21. How many times has the House of Representatives determined
the outcome of a presidential election?
a. 0
b. 2
c. 5
d. 10
Topic: Elections: The Rules of the Game
Learning Objective: LO 8.1: Assess the implications of election
rules in the United States.
Page Reference: 231
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
22. In the early years of the United States, sufrage was a right for
__________.
a. white male property owners over 21
b. all white males
c. all property owners
d. all adults over 21
Topic: Counting Votes
Learning Objective: LO 8.2: Identify problems associated with
administering elections and evaluate proposed solutions to
those problems.
Page Reference: 234
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Easy
23. Which of the following was a source of controversy in the 2012
and 2014 elections?
a. the move by some states to allow noncitizens to vote
b. the move by some states to ban advertising funded by Super
PACs
c. the move in some states to reduce the number of early voting
days
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d. the move in some states to eliminate primaries
Topic: Counting Votes
Learning Objective: LO 8.2: Identify problems associated with
administering elections and evaluate proposed solutions to
those problems.
Page Reference: 232
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
24. According to political scientist Gary Jacobson, coattail efects
are __________.
a. large and unusual
b. modest and predictable
c. erratic and modest
d. large and predictable
Topic: Running for Congress
Learning Objective: LO 8.3: Explain how congressional
elections work and why they are generally not competitive.
Page Reference: 235
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
25. When running for the House of Representatives, a candidate’s
main hurdle is gaining __________.
a. ballot access
b. coalition support
c. visibility
d. support from his or her family
Topic: Running for Congress
Learning Objective: LO 8.3: Explain how congressional
elections work and why they are generally not competitive.
Page Reference: 236
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Diiculty Level: Moderate
247