Question 1

What serves to protect the rights of lobbyists in their ability to contact/influence members of Congress?

Accepted Answer

First amendment protects lobbyists rights to contact and influence members of congress (lobbying considered protected form of freedom of speech)

Question 2

Retrospective

Accepted Answer

voting based on how that party/candidate has done in the past

Question 3

Prospective

Accepted Answer

voting based on how you think a party/candidate will do in the future

Question 4

Party-line voting

Accepted Answer

supporting a party by voting for candidates from one political party for all public offices across the ballot

Question 5

Rational Voting

Accepted Answer

voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen’s individual interest

Question 6

Motor Voter Act of 1993

Accepted Answer

requires states to offer voter registration opportunities at the same time as applying for a driver's license or certain social services; Reduces voting barriers, structural barriers to voter turnout in the United States (obviously), ID issues, Housing issues, Work and childcare, Location of polling places, Language barriers

Question 7

linkage function of political parties

Accepted Answer

Political parties connect citizens to the government by translating public opinion into policy by recruiting candidates, forming platforms, and organizing government action, allowing voters to influence policy.

Question 8

winner-take-all plurality system and its effects on multiple parties

Accepted Answer

No majority is needed - makes it hard for third parties to win

Question 9

“free-rider” problem

Accepted Answer

a scenario where individuals benefit from an interest group’s work (e.g., policy change, public goods) without contributing time or money. Because they can enjoy the benefits without paying, people often have little incentive to join, weakening large advocacy groups

Question 10

Iron triangle

Accepted Answer

Mutually beneficial three-way relationship between congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups. They collaborate to create policies with interest groups providing electoral support, bureaus implementing policies, and committees providing funding.

Question 11

Citizens United v. FEC

Accepted Answer

First amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations, unions, and associations.

Question 12

party realignment

Accepted Answer

reshapes party ideology, voting patterns, and power, replacing an old dominant party with a new one

Question 13

Factors that shape interest groups:

Accepted Answer

Influence of staff, Upper class bias, Ideological interest groups	organizations that attract members with shared convictions or principles

Question 14

Public-interest lobby groups

Accepted Answer

organizations that advocate for issues that benefit the public at large

Question 15

Amicus Curiae

Accepted Answer

“friend of the court” — legal documents filed by non-parties who have strong interest in the court case’s outcome; Documents look to provide extra info that can help the court make their decision; role of influencing judicial outcome

Question 16

What Interest groups do:

Accepted Answer

Lobbying and providing information; activities that attempt to influence the decision of policymakers

Question 17

closed primary

Accepted Answer

only voters registered with a given party can vote in that party’s primary

Question 18

Open primary

Accepted Answer

voters do not have to affiliate with a political party in advance in order to vote in its primary and any voter can vote in the primary of their choice

Question 19

candidate centered campaigns

Accepted Answer

some voters focus more on the candidate than his or her party identification (you don’t vote a candidate just because their democrat/republican)

Question 20

horse race journalism

Accepted Answer

media coverage style in political campaigns that focuses on polling data, public perception, and candidate standings (who is winning or losing) rather than in-depth analysis of policy issues, platforms, or candidate qualifications instead of focusing on real issues they focus on how their performance affects polling

Question 21

political action committees and what do they do?

Accepted Answer

Purpose: raise $ to support a candidate or cause. PACs can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money, can contribute directly to a candidate; corporations and unions cannot contribute to a PAC

Question 22

15th

Accepted Answer

African American men the right to vote in 1870; some states still used barriers like literacy tests and poll taxes

Question 23

19th

Accepted Answer

Gave women the right to vote

Question 24

24th

Accepted Answer

eliminated poll taxes

Question 25

26th

Accepted Answer

lowered the voting age to 18

Question 26

Electoral College and its effect on how candidates have to campaign

Accepted Answer

The electoral college forces candidates to focus on competing for “swing states” more than other states to secure more electoral votes

Question 27

what is considered a “critical election”

Accepted Answer

A turning point that redefines the political agenda and partisan loyalties; EXAMPLES: 1860: The rise of the Republican Party (Lincoln) over slavery, 1896: Republican party solidifies as the party of big business/industry, 1932: FDR’s New Deal coalition (laborers, minorities, Southerners). Causes: Major crises like the Great Depression (1932) or the Civil War (1860)

Question 28

revolving door

Accepted Answer

the cycle in which individuals move between roles as public officials (legislators, regulators) and jobs in the private sector as lobbyists, consultants, or strategists. Creates potential conflicts of interest, allowing industry insiders to influence policy, but also brings technical expertise to government

Question 29

Political polarization

Accepted Answer

when the public shifts to “sides” (different parties) rather than being moderate. Basically, the public becoming either far-right or far-left.

Question 30

Social Media goes along with political polarization

Accepted Answer

The rise of social media is accelerating political polarization because of algorithms. Social media algorithms try to give you more content of what you might like and then all you will see is that. For example, you like a post made by a Democratic politician and your feed recommends more videos by that politician and then you end up with videos from other democratic politicians and sooner or later your whole fyp ends up being just left-wing videos.

Question 31

review who votes what way (characteristics of a person and what party they would vote)

Accepted Answer

Democrats are more liberal, republicans are more conservative

Question 32

role of spoiler effect

Accepted Answer

When a non-winning candidate’s presence on the ballot affects which candidate wins; This one negative outcome of vote-splitting. Any non-viable or non-major candidate is often labeled as a potential “spoiler.” The most common example is a third party candidate competing alongside a Republican and a Democrat

Question 33

Frontloading

Accepted Answer

scheduling primary elections early in the election cycle—can impact the momentum and visibility of candidates; Focuses a large number on primaries early into the election which can bring more attention to leading candidates and cast aside other candidates; Candidates focus on states that hold early primary elections to gather delegates and media attention; Lesser known candidates can have a difficult time gaining attention if they do not perform well early in the election; Practically determines the party’s nominee

Question 34

effects of social media on traditional parties and campaigning

Accepted Answer

Enables direct, unfiltered communication with voters; It has lowered campaign costs through digital targeting, but increased political polarization, amplified misinformation, and forced faster, highly reactive campaign cycles.

Question 35

Political Action committee (PAC)

Accepted Answer

organizations that raise money for the sake of influencing the population to vote for their preferred candidate

Question 36

Connected PACs

Accepted Answer

Formed by corporations or other entities like labor unions, they can only collect funds from the members of their organization. The money can be donated directly to candidates in limited quantities. They can raise unlimited amounts of money provided the individual limits are obeyed.

Question 37

Hard Money

Accepted Answer

money that can be directly funded to candidates

Question 38

Soft money

Accepted Answer

money funded to the political parties that can be used for the candidates

Question 39

Non-connected PAC

Accepted Answer

Formed independently of an organization, usually around a specific public interest. Donations to non-connected PACs are limited by law, but they can accept donations from the public and donate it directly to candidates.

Question 40

Super PACs

Accepted Answer

They can be formed by anyone and are able to accept unlimited donations. But they are not able to directly coordinate with a candidate.

AP GOV unit 5 review