POLS 207 LIM EXAM 3 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Turnout is highest in elections for___________________. - Answers- President
Which of the following is part of voting age population but not part of voting eligible
population for an election? - Answers- a. Non-US citizen
b. Citizens who are not residents of the state or locality where the election takes place
c. Those not competent to conduct their own affairs
Approximately what percent of the public runs for elective office? - Answers- Less than
1%
Which of the following empirical relationships exist and show that voter turnout affects
what governments do? - Answers- Higher turnout is positively correlated with better
match of partisanship preferences between residents and state legislators
The federalists, the first political party is the US, organized to ________________. -
Answers- Ratify the current US constitution
The impact of electronic and print news media causes Americans to focus most on
_______________ politics. - Answers- National
What is the correlation between democratic control of state legislatures and state tax
burdens? - Answers- Positive
The major difference between interest groups and political parties is that - Answers-
Interest groups do not choose candidates for election
In the mayor/council form of government "strong" mayors have __________ powers. -
Answers- a. Budget
b. Veto
c. Appointment
In the council/manager form of government, city managers are _____________. -
Answers- Appointed by the city council
Referendum - Answers- Allows citizens to approve or disapprove proposals of state
legislatures
Initiative - Answers- Allows voters to bypass legislature and propose laws or
constitutional amendments by getting enough signatures on a petition
True or False: Initiative is the most common in western states where citizens gather
signatures and then put a bill on a ballot to initiate and repeal laws, without going
through a governor - Answers- True
, What are the Poll Difficulties for Scientific Studies - Answers- a. SELF-REPORTED
INFORMATION
b. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
c. BIAS IN RESPONSE
Self Reporting Characteristics: - Answers- a. Polling is inherently self-reporting and
what people report may not actually be the truth.
b. Those being polled may not be educated enough to adequately answer.
Reliability and Validity characteristics: - Answers- a. A valid poll should be valid for the
general population
b. Pollers also must reduce errors
c. All error can NEVER be eliminated
d. Political science polls used to have an error of about 5%
e. Through better software error is now 2-3%
Bias in Response Characteristics: - Answers- a. Some polls are created with an agenda
b. May give very limited response options or little to no context.
c. This is disingenuous and will lead to a misinterpretation of results.
The American Voter: - Answers- a. Regarded as the "Bible" of Political Science
b. Data published from a project asking people about ideology and voting
c. They discovered that the number of ideologies in society is very few
d. Roughly only 10% of the population is actually consistent in their ideology, the other
90% are inconsistent
True or False: Most people tend to vote for a candidate based on party identification and
not issues. - Answers- True
How do people mainly acquire party identification? - Answers- Generally through their
parents
Which of the following is true about school districts? - Answers- The number of school
districts has decreased since WWII
What are the forms of local governments in the US? - Answers- Counties- 3,000
Municipalities- 19,000
Townships- 17,000
School Districts- 15,000
Special Districts- 37,000
More than ____% of the population does not participate in government and those
people are called___________. - Answers- 60%
Habitual non-voters
Turnout is highest in elections for___________________. - Answers- President
Which of the following is part of voting age population but not part of voting eligible
population for an election? - Answers- a. Non-US citizen
b. Citizens who are not residents of the state or locality where the election takes place
c. Those not competent to conduct their own affairs
Approximately what percent of the public runs for elective office? - Answers- Less than
1%
Which of the following empirical relationships exist and show that voter turnout affects
what governments do? - Answers- Higher turnout is positively correlated with better
match of partisanship preferences between residents and state legislators
The federalists, the first political party is the US, organized to ________________. -
Answers- Ratify the current US constitution
The impact of electronic and print news media causes Americans to focus most on
_______________ politics. - Answers- National
What is the correlation between democratic control of state legislatures and state tax
burdens? - Answers- Positive
The major difference between interest groups and political parties is that - Answers-
Interest groups do not choose candidates for election
In the mayor/council form of government "strong" mayors have __________ powers. -
Answers- a. Budget
b. Veto
c. Appointment
In the council/manager form of government, city managers are _____________. -
Answers- Appointed by the city council
Referendum - Answers- Allows citizens to approve or disapprove proposals of state
legislatures
Initiative - Answers- Allows voters to bypass legislature and propose laws or
constitutional amendments by getting enough signatures on a petition
True or False: Initiative is the most common in western states where citizens gather
signatures and then put a bill on a ballot to initiate and repeal laws, without going
through a governor - Answers- True
, What are the Poll Difficulties for Scientific Studies - Answers- a. SELF-REPORTED
INFORMATION
b. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
c. BIAS IN RESPONSE
Self Reporting Characteristics: - Answers- a. Polling is inherently self-reporting and
what people report may not actually be the truth.
b. Those being polled may not be educated enough to adequately answer.
Reliability and Validity characteristics: - Answers- a. A valid poll should be valid for the
general population
b. Pollers also must reduce errors
c. All error can NEVER be eliminated
d. Political science polls used to have an error of about 5%
e. Through better software error is now 2-3%
Bias in Response Characteristics: - Answers- a. Some polls are created with an agenda
b. May give very limited response options or little to no context.
c. This is disingenuous and will lead to a misinterpretation of results.
The American Voter: - Answers- a. Regarded as the "Bible" of Political Science
b. Data published from a project asking people about ideology and voting
c. They discovered that the number of ideologies in society is very few
d. Roughly only 10% of the population is actually consistent in their ideology, the other
90% are inconsistent
True or False: Most people tend to vote for a candidate based on party identification and
not issues. - Answers- True
How do people mainly acquire party identification? - Answers- Generally through their
parents
Which of the following is true about school districts? - Answers- The number of school
districts has decreased since WWII
What are the forms of local governments in the US? - Answers- Counties- 3,000
Municipalities- 19,000
Townships- 17,000
School Districts- 15,000
Special Districts- 37,000
More than ____% of the population does not participate in government and those
people are called___________. - Answers- 60%
Habitual non-voters
