Page | 1
POLS 2311 REVIEW FOR EXAM
2 2026 ACTUAL QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS.
1. Political Action Committees (PACs) - correct answer-
Organizations that solicit and receive campaign contributions
from corporations, unions, trade associations, and
ideological and issue-oriented groups and their members,
and then distribute these funds to political candidates
2. 527s - correct answer-The independent organizations that
focus on specific issues and have no dollar limits on the size
of contributions they receive
3. Electoral college - correct answer-The 538 presidential
electors apportioned among the states according to their
congressional representation (plus three for the District of
Columbia) whose votes officially elect the president and vice
president of the United States
4. Open seat incumbent - correct answer-Seat in a legislature
for which no incumbent is running for reelection
, Page | 2
5. 25th amendment - correct answer-Presidential disability, vice
presidential vacancies
6. Cabinet level leaders - correct answer-The heads
(secretaries) of the executive departments together with
other top officials accorded cabinet rank by the president
7. Judicial review - correct answer-Power of the U.S. Supreme
Court and federal judiciary to declare laws of Congress and
the states and actions of the president unconstitutional and
therefore legally invalid
8. Precedent - correct answer-Legal principle that previous
decisions should determine the outcome of current cases
9. Law clerks - correct answer-The people who assist with the
judges' workload
, Page | 3
10. Concurring opinion - correct answer-Opinion by a member
of a court that agrees with the result reached by the court in
the case but disagrees with or departs from the court's
rationale for the decision
11. Dissenting opinion - correct answer-Opinion by a member
of a court that disagrees with the result reached by the court
in the case
12. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - correct
answer-Mutual-security agreement and joint military
command uniting the nations of Western Europe, initially
formed to resist Soviet expansionism
13. Marshall Plan - correct answer-U.S. program to rebuild the
nations of Western Europe in the aftermath of World War II in
order to render them less susceptible to communist influence
and takeover
14. Vietnam War - correct answer-War between non-
communist South Vietnam and communist North Vietnam
from 1956 to 1975, with increasing U.S. involvement, ending
with U.S. withdrawal in 1973 and communist victory in 1975.
, Page | 4
15. Korean War - correct answer-Communist North Korea
invaded noncommunist South Korea in June 1950, causing
President Harry S. Truman to intervene militarily, with UN
support.
16. Cuban Missile Crisis - correct answer-The 1962
confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United
States over Soviet placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba
17. Cold War - correct answer-Political, military, and
ideological struggle between the United States and the
Soviet Union following the end of World War II and ending
with the collapse of the Soviet Union's communist
government in 1991
18. START I - correct answer-First treaty between the United
States and the Soviet Union that actually reduced the
strategic nuclear arms of the superpowers, signed in 1991
POLS 2311 REVIEW FOR EXAM
2 2026 ACTUAL QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS.
1. Political Action Committees (PACs) - correct answer-
Organizations that solicit and receive campaign contributions
from corporations, unions, trade associations, and
ideological and issue-oriented groups and their members,
and then distribute these funds to political candidates
2. 527s - correct answer-The independent organizations that
focus on specific issues and have no dollar limits on the size
of contributions they receive
3. Electoral college - correct answer-The 538 presidential
electors apportioned among the states according to their
congressional representation (plus three for the District of
Columbia) whose votes officially elect the president and vice
president of the United States
4. Open seat incumbent - correct answer-Seat in a legislature
for which no incumbent is running for reelection
, Page | 2
5. 25th amendment - correct answer-Presidential disability, vice
presidential vacancies
6. Cabinet level leaders - correct answer-The heads
(secretaries) of the executive departments together with
other top officials accorded cabinet rank by the president
7. Judicial review - correct answer-Power of the U.S. Supreme
Court and federal judiciary to declare laws of Congress and
the states and actions of the president unconstitutional and
therefore legally invalid
8. Precedent - correct answer-Legal principle that previous
decisions should determine the outcome of current cases
9. Law clerks - correct answer-The people who assist with the
judges' workload
, Page | 3
10. Concurring opinion - correct answer-Opinion by a member
of a court that agrees with the result reached by the court in
the case but disagrees with or departs from the court's
rationale for the decision
11. Dissenting opinion - correct answer-Opinion by a member
of a court that disagrees with the result reached by the court
in the case
12. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - correct
answer-Mutual-security agreement and joint military
command uniting the nations of Western Europe, initially
formed to resist Soviet expansionism
13. Marshall Plan - correct answer-U.S. program to rebuild the
nations of Western Europe in the aftermath of World War II in
order to render them less susceptible to communist influence
and takeover
14. Vietnam War - correct answer-War between non-
communist South Vietnam and communist North Vietnam
from 1956 to 1975, with increasing U.S. involvement, ending
with U.S. withdrawal in 1973 and communist victory in 1975.
, Page | 4
15. Korean War - correct answer-Communist North Korea
invaded noncommunist South Korea in June 1950, causing
President Harry S. Truman to intervene militarily, with UN
support.
16. Cuban Missile Crisis - correct answer-The 1962
confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United
States over Soviet placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba
17. Cold War - correct answer-Political, military, and
ideological struggle between the United States and the
Soviet Union following the end of World War II and ending
with the collapse of the Soviet Union's communist
government in 1991
18. START I - correct answer-First treaty between the United
States and the Soviet Union that actually reduced the
strategic nuclear arms of the superpowers, signed in 1991
