Practice Quiz

CLEP US Government

Category - Parties

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What is the best explanation for the US developing and maintaining a dominant two-party system?
  1. Historically there have always just been two dominant parties. That’s just the way it is.
  2. The Constitution says that there should only be two parties.
  3. There are only two ideologies in the US, and one party represents each ideology.
  4. Legislative districts and election rules make it difficult for third-parties to succeed.
  5. There is a conspiracy going back to George Washington to maintain power in the hands of a few, and you need two parties to fool the people.
Explanation
Answer: D -The best explanation for the US developing and maintaining a dominant two-party system is that US elections operate on a “single-member district” and “first-past-the-post” system that makes it extremely difficult for more than two parties to strongly emerge. Basically, because only one person can win any given election-the person who has the most votes-there is little opportunity or incentive for multiple parties to run. It is rational for smaller political parties to merge with each other to compete against the larger party in order to have a chance at winning any election. Eventually, after all the merging is done, you end up with two major parties.
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