Which of the following is MOST likely the primary reason that President Ronald
Reagan sought to undo legislative actions that protected the environment?
A) He did not believe the federal government should play a role in protecting the
environment.
B) The laws put in place did not adequately protect the environment.
C) The oil embargo ended, so environmental laws were unnecessary.
D) He believed that alternative energy sources had succeeded in saving the
environment.
E) Energy policy would run contrary to his desires to expand the space program.
_______ led to the drafting of the 1861 Constitution.
A) Secession
B) Presidential reconstruction
C) Congressional reconstruction
D) Independence
E) Statehood
Only ____ Supreme Court justices could be named by at least ten percent of those
questioned in a 2010 poll.
A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five
Public interest groups rely on funding from all of the following EXCEPT
A) earmarks.
B) private foundations.
C) wealthy donors.
D) tax credits.
E) dues.
When President George W. Bush took office in 2001,
A) he directed his attorney general to make race and sex discrimination enforcement a
priority.
B) a record number of career lawyers in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights
Division resigned over disagreements with enforcement policies.
C) federal attorneys were assigned additional religious discrimination cases.
D) he urged Congress to expand civil rights protections.
E) he abolished the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
The lion’s share of the media’s coverage of Congress is concentrated on
A) the leadership of both houses.
B) key committee chairs.
C) local senators and representatives.
D) the most senior members of each body.
E) newcomers to Congress.
A hallmark of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s strategy to achieve equality was
A) the use of illegal marches.
B) nonviolence.
C) working with women’s groups such as the National Organization for Women.
D) sit-ins.
E) nationally televised speeches.
The Supreme Court uses the power of judicial review an average of
A) less than once per Supreme Court term.
B) fifteen times per term.
C) 10 percent of the time.
D) one time every three years.
E) 50 percent of the time.
Why are there 254 constitutional county courts in the State of Texas?
A) Under the law establishing these courts, the Texas Legislature set a cap of 254
statewide for the courts in 1929, a number which was reached just after the start of the
Korean War
B) The Texas Constitution establishes one such court in each of the 254 counties
C) The Texas Supreme Court, acting as the chief administrative body of the Texas
judicial system, authorized the creation of 254 of these courts
D) Under their home-rule authority, 209 counties have added constitutional county
courts to the 45 courts established by the Constitution
E) The Texas Supreme Court ruled that under the equal protection clause, constitutional
county courts must be distributed evenly according to the 254 Census tracts that
comprise Texas
Which of the following is NOT an argument against electronic voting systems?
A) Computers are susceptible to hardware, software, and virus problems.
B) Electronic voting is insecure.
C) Electronic voting systems provide insufficient means to verify votes.
D) The length of the ballot often leads to voter mistakes.
E) Computer hackers can penetrate the system and distort the actual vote.
Which of the following is an example of a survey that uses self-selection?
A) A sports Web site asks readers to vote for which NBA team LeBron James should
play.
B) A polling firm calls 1000 people randomly to ask them a question about presidential
approval.
C) A poll asks if people had a good day, giving them “yes” and “no” as options.
D) A poll was conducted with the responses of only ten respondents being measured.
E) Some surveys ask questions only to Ferrari owners.
About ________ percent of eligible Americans vote regularly.
A) 30
B) 40
C) 55
D) 65
E) 70
Business groups, labor unions, trade associations, and other such groups are examples
of ________ interest groups.
A) multi-issue
B) single issue
C) public
D) economic
E) occupational
Which of the following public policy areas has become a larger concern due to
increases in the Texas population?
A) Homestead provisions
B) Community property laws
C) Groundwater rights
D) Public school financing
E) Terrorism
Based on current trends, which ethnic group is expected to be Texas’s majority
population in thirty-five years?
A) Anglos
B) African Americans
C) Hispanics
D) Asian Americans
E) Native Americans
The decade deemed “the environmental decade” occurred during the
A) 1960s.
B) 1970s.
C) 1980s.
D) 1990s.
E) 2000s.
In the George W. Bush administration, key priorities of the Civil Rights Division
included
A) race, sex, and religious discrimination.
B) religious discrimination and sex trafficking.
C) voting rights and sex trafficking.
D) voting rights, race, and sex discrimination.
E) immigration and deportation.
Studying rankings provided by the __________________ is one way to evaluate how
hospitable a country is to business.
A) Better Business Bureau
B) Federal Reserve System
C) AFL-CIO
D)World Economy Fact Book
E) Economic Freedom of the World Index
Among the tools of judicial oversight of the bureaucracy are
A) issuing injunctions even before rules are formally promulgated.
B) the development of specialized courts.
C) the ability to pressure the president.
D) general judicial strategies.
E) ruling laws unconstitutional.
According to the text, people offer several reasons why they don”t vote, but
A) they may just be making excuses.
B) they may be too ashamed to give the real reason.
C) the vast majority of Americans do vote.
D) almost all registered voters actually cast a ballot.
E) most people simply forget to do so.
The group that drafted a constitution for the 1974 convention was the
A) Constitutional Advisory Committee.
B) Committee of the Whole.
C) Constitutional Revision Committee.
D) Citizens Committee on the Constitution.
E) League of Constitutional Revisionists.
Israel and the United States’ elections laws are similar in what way?
A) The length of campaigns is almost identical.
B) Both countries allow primary election campaign contributions from foreign citizens.
C) Neither country has individual campaign contribution restrictions.
D) Neither country allows foreign contributions in the general election.
E) Both countries have limits of fifteen days in which individuals can contribute money.
As chief justice, John Marshall initiated several reforms to strengthen the Court and the
power of the chief justice. These included all of the following EXCEPT
A) meeting with his cousin Thomas Jefferson to avert conflict between the two
branches of government.
B) ending the use of seriatim opinions.
C) instituting the writing of a single opinion of the Court.
D) claiming the authority of judicial review.
E) authoring more than 500 opinions.
Which of the following is NOT one the functions of the county clerk?
A) Keep records for county commissioners court
B) Keep records for county courts
C) Keep records for real estate titles
D) Keep records of marriage licenses
E) Keep records for district courts
Which of the following steps is NOT required for a bill to pass and be sent to the
governor?
A) Be reported out of its assigned committee
B) Be read on three separate days in the House
C) Be read on three separate days in the Senate
D) Pass both chambers in exactly the same form
E) Obtain the approval of the Lieutenant Governor
Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams were among the leaders of the
A) Sons of Liberty.
B) Stamp Act Congress.
C) Philadelphia Parliament.
D) Continental Congress.
E) Virginia House of Burgesses.
Which of the following is a potential problem with exit polls?
A) If people see the results of earlier exit polls before they vote, they may think the
election has already been decided.
B) Exit polls influence people waiting to cast a vote at polling places.
C) They are viewed generally as inaccurate measurements.
D) Candidates rely on them too heavily.
E) Exit polls influence legislative policy priorities.
According to the text, which of the following is NOT responsible for holding the
bureaucracy accountable?
A) The president
B) Congress
C) Interest groups
D) The bureaucracy
E) Other countries
The rights of labor to organize and bargain collectively come from the
A) Glass-Steagall Act.
B) Fair Labor Standards Act.
C) Townshend Act.
D) Organized Labor Act.
E) Wagner Act.
“A source at the White House said”” is an example of an attribution based on
information obtained
A) on the record.
B) off the record.
C) on background.
D) on deep background.
E) in secret.
What is the Tenure of Office Act?
A) A bill that was never signed into law that guaranteed a president at least one full
term in office.
B) A law preventing a sitting president from removing people appointed to
Cabinet-level positions by previous administrations.
C) An act that was used to justify the impeachment proceedings of President Bill
Clinton.
D) Legislation that attempted to establish term limits for members of the Senate.
E) A law that was an initial attempt at setting term limits for presidents.