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CHAPTER 8

Political Participation

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Ans: CPage: 178Type: Factual

1. In U.S. presidential elections, voter turnout is typically

a. less than 25 percent.b. less than 30 percent.c. less than 60 percent.d. more than 80 percent.e. nearly 100 percent.

Ans: APage: 178Type: Factual

2. The text argues that conventional data comparing U.S. and European voter turnout rates are misleading because they

a. compute turnout by two different measures.b. are compiled by different agencies.c. fail to recognize different political cultures.d. disregard the levels of vote fraud. e. All of the above.


3. Compared with other Western nations, the percentage of registered voters in the United States who actually vote is

a. much lower.b. much higher.c. about the same.d. approximately the same as the number of eligible voters. e. unknown.

Ans: DPage: 179Type: Factual

4. In European countries, the burden of voter registration rests on

a. individual voters.b. political parties.c. interest groups.d. the government. e. party leaders.

Ans: BPage: 179Type: Factual

5. Political participation encompasses all of the following activities except

a. voting.b. paying your taxes.c. writing your congressional representative.d. signing a petition. e. discussing politics.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

152 Chapter 8: Political Participation


6. One unusual―but possible―explanation suggested by the text for the low rate of voter registration in the United States is that

a. participation in government is denied to so many people.b. many local governments do not require voters to register.c. the media discourage voter registration.d. people are happy with the way government is working. e. voters cannot actually find the places where they are supposed

to vote.


7. Today, the largest percentage of voter registration applications comes from

a. public assistance offices. b. motor vehicle offices. c. state-designated sites.d. disability services. e. the military.


8. A 2001 study found that motor-voter registrants were

a. much more likely to vote than other new registrants.b. slightly more likely to vote than other new registrants.c. about as likely to vote as other new registrants.d. less likely to vote than other new registrants.e. None of the above.

Ans: EPage: 181Type: Factual

9. Which of the following was required by the U.S. Constitution?

a. Free adult male suffrageb. Popularly elected presidential electorsc. Nonpartisan election commissionsd. Popularly elected Senatorse. Popularly elected House members

Ans: APage: 181Type: Conceptual

10. Which of the following statements about the right to vote in the United States is correct?

a. Not every U.S. citizen of voting age is allowed to vote.b. The original U.S. Constitution ensured women the right to

vote.c. In 1880 a higher percentage of British than Americans could

vote.d. The original U.S. Constitution specifically prohibited setting

property restrictions on the right to vote. e. The states originally had little say as to who could and could

not vote.


Chapter 8: Political Participation 153

Ans: DPage: 181Type: Conceptual

11. Which of the following statements about elections in the United States is correct?

a. The U.S. Constitution called for presidential electors to be picked by voters directly rather than by state legislatures.

b. The U.S. Constitution standardized the process by which members of the House were elected.

c. The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allowed all blacks to vote.

d. The U.S. Constitution left entirely to the states the decision of who could vote and for what offices.

e. All of the above.


12. Suffrage was extended to include virtually all white males by the administration of

a. John Adams.b. Thomas Jefferson.c. Andrew Jackson.d. James Monroe.e. James Madison.

Ans: DPage: 181-182Type: Factual

13. Which of the following was not a device intended to prevent blacks from voting?

a. The grandfather clauseb. The poll taxc. The literacy testd. The Australian ballote. The white primary


14. Which Amendment stated “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”?

a. The 12th Amendmentb. The 17th Amendmentc. The 15th Amendmentd. The 25th Amendmente. None of the above.


15. Blacks first voted in large numbers in the South

a. in the 1970s.b. after the Voting Rights Act of 1965.c. after World War II.d. early in the twentieth century.e. soon after the Civil War.


16. One way that blacks were prevented from voting prior to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was by requiring them to

a. meet qualifications found in Article III of the Constitution.b. register six months in advance of an election.c. become U.S. citizens.d. memorize the Bill of Rights.e. pass a literacy test.



Ans: BPage: 182Type: Conceptual

17. Between 1915 and 1925, the size of the eligible voting population in the United States almost doubled. The main reason for this was that

a. the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.b. women were given the right to vote.c. the grandfather clause that denied voting to blacks was ruled

unconstitutional.d. literacy tests for blacks were ruled unconstitutional. e. voter registration laws were abolished in seventeen states.


18. Until 1920, women were generally kept from voting by

a. intimidation.b. social custom.c. their own choice.d. tradition. e. law.


19. The first elections in which all persons between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one were able to vote were held in

a. 1944.b. 1956.c. 1972.d. 1984. e. 1985.


20. When Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1970 and lowered the voting age to eighteen,

a. the president vetoed the Act.b. the 14th Amendment was overturned.c. the Supreme Court declared the adjustment unconstitutional.d. thirty-five state governors protested the change.e. the number of eligible voters instantly doubled.


21. Suffrage was extended in the Twenty-sixth Amendment to

a. those aged eighteen to twenty.b. blacks.c. women.d. residents of the District of Columbia. e. felons who had received presidential pardons.


22. Which of the following statements about 18-24 year olds is correct?

a. They are voting at record levels.b. They vote about as often as senior citizens.c. They have consistently voted at about the same level for thirty

years. d. They appear to vote less but participate in civic activities more.e. They are voting less and participating in civic activities less.




23. In the first presidential election in which eighteen-year-olds were allowed to vote, they

a. turned out in far heavier numbers than the population as a whole.

b. voted heavily Democratic.c. voted heavily Republican.d. voted heavily Independent.e. made little difference to the outcome of the election.

Ans: CPage: 181-183Type: Factual

24. By 1972, those who had received the right to vote in all U.S. elections and who had been previously disenfranchised included

a. blacks only.b. blacks and women only.c. blacks, women, and eighteen-year-olds only.d. blacks, women, eighteen-year-olds, and prison inmates. e. blacks, women, eighteen-year-olds, and prison inmates who

had been pardoned.


25. By federal law, those areas in which less than 50 percent of the population has voted in presidential elections

a. can have federal elections canceled.b. lose a seat in the House of Representatives.c. are placed on probation until the turnout rises to 55 percent or

more.d. cannot be treated differently from any other area of the

country. e. can be subject to federal voter registrars and poll watchers.

Ans: EPage: 183Type: Conceptual

26. Which of the following statements applies to the voting rights of U.S. citizens who cannot speak English?

a. All U.S. citizens are guaranteed the right to a ballot written in his or her native language.

b. These citizens must pass a language test before they are allowed to vote.

c. Areas must only provide translators for Spanish-speaking persons under the age of twenty-one.

d. Areas must provide a translator to all non-English-speaking citizens wishing to vote.

e. Areas with many such citizens must provide ballots written in the citizens' languages.


27. The _____ Amendment gave voters in the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections.

a. Fifteenth b. Twentiethc. Twenty-secondd. Twenty-thirde. Twenty-sixth




28. States may not have residency requirements for voters of more than ____ days.

a. 15b. 30c. 60d. 90e. 100

Ans: CPage: 184Type: Conceptual

29. Which of the following statements about U.S. voter participation in presidential elections is correct?

a. It increased sharply after women, blacks, and youths were given the right to vote.

b. It has remained steady since at least the mid-nineteenth century.

c. It has declined since the latter part of the nineteenth century.d. It rose steadily throughout the first half of the twentieth century

but has recently declined. e. It has risen steadily since the campaign of Ross Perot.


30. In the late 1800s, voter turnout in a typical presidential election might be as high as ______ percent.

a. 55b. 60c. 65d. 70e. 75


31. One explanation given by the text for the decline in U.S. voter participation in presidential elections after 1900 is that

a. parties began functioning to mobilize mass voter turnout.b. fewer citizens were directly affected by the outcome of

presidential elections.c. other forms of political participation became less accessible to

citizens.d. election fraud was rampant in the nineteenth century. e. the Republican party began to attempt to mobilize individuals

who were least likely to vote.

Ans: APage: 185-186Type: Conceptual

32. The steady decline in U.S. voter turnout appears to be the unintentional result of

a. strict voter registration procedures.b. the poll tax.c. the fraudulent reporting of election results.d. literacy testing. e. media campaigns.


33. In the nineteenth century, voting ballots were printed by

a. the government.b. Congress.c. the courts.d. state legislatures.e. political parties.




34. Which of the following statements regarding the Australian ballot is incorrect?

a. It is printed by the government.b. It appeared first in the states.c. It appeared in the late 1800s.d. It is cast in secret.e. It eliminated vote fraud.


35. In the 19th century, the term “floaters” refer to

a. individuals who were undecided as election day approached.b. individuals who voted more than once.c. members of political parties who defected to the other side.d. voters who refused to support incumbents.e. voters who always supported incumbents.


36. The Voting Age Population (VAP) is calculated from

a. state voter registration lists.b. census reports.c. public opinion polls.d. legislative surveys.e. party membership lists.


37. If a researcher insists on using VEP statistics in a study of vote turnout, as opposed to VAP statistics, he/she is probably concerned about

a. creating a balance between males and females in the data.b. removing political party bias.c. generating a more accurate estimate of the number of female

voters.d. having a more reliable estimate of the number of voters across

time.e. removing individuals from the data who are actually ineligible

to vote.


38. When Voting Eligible Population (VEP) statistics are examined,

a. the decline in voter turnout is even more apparent.b. the apparent decline in voter turnout vanishes completely.c. it is apparent that voter turnout has not declined since the early

1970s.d. mid-term congressional elections routinely feature turnout rates

of above 55 percent.e. None of the above.


39. The texts suggests that, if the “party of nonvoters” had participated at a higher rate in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections,

a. Bill Clinton would probably have won by a wider margin.b. Bill Clinton would probably have won by a smaller margin.c. George Bush would probably have won by a narrow margin.d. Ross Perot would probably have won by a large margin.e. Ross Perot would probably have won by a narrow margin.




40. In a typical survey, one might expect ________ percent of respondents to claim to have voted when, in fact, they did not.

a. 2 to 4b. 6 to 8c. 8 to 10d. 15 to 20e. 30 to 40


41. Verba and Nie found that about ________ of the population was never active in politics in any way.

a. one-tenthb. one-fifthc. one-halfd. two-thirdse. one-half


42. Compared to the rest of the population, voting specialists tend to be

a. younger and more educated.b. younger and less educated.c. older and more educated.d. older and less educated. e. middle-aged and highly educated.


43. Youth, low income, and minority status are associated with which of the following participation groups?

a. Inactivesb. Parochial participantsc. Communalistsd. Campaignerse. Voting-specialists


44. The willingness to engage in partisan competition separates which two of the participation groups described by Verba and Nie?

a. Campaigners from complete activistsb. Inactives from campaignersc. Parochial participants from communalistsd. Inactives from parochial participantse. Communalists from campaigners


45. Campaigners are distinguished from the general population by their

a. higher education levels and stronger opinions.b. lower education levels and stronger opinions.c. higher education levels and weaker opinions.d. lower education levels and weaker opinions. e. lack of party identification and distaste for conflict.




46. Two of the participation groups Verba and Nie describe, campaigners and communalists, differ primarily in their

a. taste for conflict.b. political ideology.c. socioeconomic status.d. general level of participation. e. intensity of religious sentiment.


47. Which of the following participation groups is distinguished from the others by its higher education and willingness to take strong stands on issues?

a. Voting specialistsb. Campaignersc. Communalistsd. Parochial participantse. Inactives

Ans: CPage: 188Type: Conceptual

48. Which of the following participation groups appears to want to avoid conflict and tension more than the others?



49. Which of the following participation groups avoids both elections and community groups in its political activity?



50. Which of the following factors are highly correlated with a high rate of political participation?

a. More education, older than thirty-five years oldb. More education, age younger than thirty-five years oldc. Immigrant background, higher incomed. Nonimmigrant background, more educatione. High income, younger than twenty-five


51. Which of the following statements about the voting habits of men and women is correct?

a. Men vote at much higher rates than women.b. Men vote at a slightly higher rate than women.c. Men and women vote at about the same rate.d. Women vote at a much higher rate than men.e. Women vote at a much higher rate than men in midterm

elections.




52. The text suggests that one reason religious involvement increases political participation is because

a. politics is a more simplistic form of theology.b. a belief in God helps people make political decisions.c. the church provides a forum for differing viewpoints.d. it leads to inwardness and thus more political insight. e. it leads to social connectedness and increases awareness of

larger issues.


53. Which of the following statements about political participation by blacks is correct?

a. Blacks participate less than whites across the board.b. Blacks participate more than whites of the same socioeconomic

status.c. Blacks participate only at certain times, such as during the civil

rights movement of the 1960s.d. Blacks participate more heavily than whites in protest

movements, riots, and demonstrations. e. Blacks participate more than whites across the board.


54. According to studies, what effect does cynicism have on voter turnout?

a. It decreases turnout.b. It increases turnout across the board.c. It increases turnout for minor parties only.d. It decreases turnout when third parties are also a factor.e. It has no effect on turnout at all.


55. Which of the following statements is true of voter registration in recent years?

a. It has increased dramatically.b. It has decreased dramatically.c. It has become more difficult for eligible voters.d. It has changed little. e. It has become easier for eligible voters.


56. Since 1970, federal law has prohibited states from having residency requirements longer than ___ days for presidential elections.

a. 10b. 15c. 30d. 60e. 100


57. Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, and Wisconsin have each legislated voter registration

a. according to stricter standards than the federal ones.b. on the same day as the elections.c. by postcard up to one month before the election.d. by using door-to-door registrars. e. on the Internet.




58. Most of the states that initiated same-day voter registration (on election day) have experienced

a. a continuing voter turnout decline.b. a major increase in voter turnout.c. no change at all in voter turnout.d. a major increase in turnout of Democratic voters.e. slight improvements in voter turnout.


59. One cause of the decline in voter turnout may be the increasingly distant and bureaucratic image of

a. most candidates for office.b. most interest groups.c. state officeholders.d. local office holders.e. the major political parties.


60. All of the following have probably contributed to the recent declines in voter turnout except:

a. increasing difficulties with respect to registration. b. greater youthfulness of the population. c. the growing number of African Americans. d. the declining strength of political parties. e. a decrease in the number of people who think elections matter.


61. Two multinational studies of voter turnout concluded that party strength, automatic registration, and compulsory voting laws accounted for how much of the variance in turnout?

a. Almost noneb. About one-thirdc. About two-thirdsd. Almost alle. It could not be determined from the data.


62. One argument against compulsory voting in this country is

a. the expense involved.b. the variation in enforcement from state to state.c. its vulnerability to vote fraud.d. the impossibility of implementing it. e. voter objections to identification papers.


63. Which of the following forms of participation has been decreasing in recent years?

a. Votingb. Writing to public officialsc. Making demands on government officialsd. Public demonstrations and protest marchese. Contributing money to a party




64. If measures were taken to improve voter turnout, it is safest to say that

a. such measures would be more likely to benefit the Republicans.

b. such measures would be more likely to benefit the Democrats.c. such measures would help both major parties about equally.d. such measures would hurt both parties and help independent

candidates.e. we do not know which major party, if either, would benefit.


65. When Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1984, which of the following happened to black voter registration in the South?

a. It remained low.b. It increased but was more than offset by an increase in voter

registration by southern whites.c. It actually declined.d. It increased and played a major role in winning several states

for Jackson. e. It had no impact on registration.

Ans: BPage: 191 (Table 8.5)Type: Factual

66. Between 1967 and 1987, a considerable increase was noted in the proportion of Americans who

a. always vote in local elections.b. contacted public officials.c. attend political rallies or meetings.d. participate in a political club. e. actively worked for candidates.


67. Since 1960, the percentage of nonvoters with some college education or who held white-collar jobs has

a. decreased.b. stayed about the same.c. increased.d. decreased for blacks only. e. remained about the same for blacks only.


68. Compared to voters in the United States, most European voters have the opportunity to cast ballots

a. more frequently, for as many offices.b. less frequently, for as many offices.c. less frequently, for fewer offices.d. more frequently, for fewer offices. e. more frequently, for more offices.


69. Compared to the profile of voters in the United States, the social composition of voters in most European countries is

a. closer to the general population.b. more skewed toward the upper classes.c. more skewed toward the middle classes.d. more skewed toward the working classes. e. more skewed toward government employees.




70. The text suggests that the profile of voters in the United States may make the government more responsive to

a. conservative ideology.b. liberal ideology.c. the voices of the so-called silent majority.d. non-partisan elites who work in government.e. confronting ideologies of higher-status people.


71. The most powerful determinant of political participation, other than education and information, is

a. race.b. gender.c. employment.d. region. e. age.


72. The authors of the text believe that U.S. elections affect the conduct of government officials

a. hardly at all.b. considerably, but slightly less than in other nations.c. considerably, but much less than in other nations.d. about as much as in other nations. e. more than in other nations.


73. One excellent study explains the difference in the participation rates of blacks and Latinos as the result of the fact that blacks

a. are more likely to be college educated.b. are more likely to have higher incomes.c. are more likely to be members of churches that stimulate

political interest, activity and mobilization. d. are less likely to be affiliated with a political party. e. are less likely to live in rural areas.

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONSAns: FalsePage: 178

74. T F In this country, ninety percent of the voting-age population is registered to vote.

Ans: FalsePage: 178

75. T F Measured against the total adult population, voter turnout rates in the United States are on a par with those in Europe.

Ans: TruePage: 178

76. T F Measured against the total registered electorate, voter turnout rates in the United States are on a par with those in Europe.

Ans: TruePage: 179

77. T F In this country, the entire burden of registering falls on the individual voter.



Ans: FalsePage: 179

78. T F The motor-voter law was passed in 1983.

Ans: FalsePage: 179

79. T F In any given year, the percentage of new registrants obtained via motor-voter registration is quite small.

Ans: TruePage: 179

80. T F The findings of a 2001 study suggest that those who register in a process that is “costless” are less likely to vote.

Ans: TruePage: 179

81. T F Registration procedures rather than voter apathy are the major cause of low voter turnout in the United States.

Ans: FalsePage: 179

82. T F The text identifies voting as the sole measure of citizen participation in politics.

Ans: TruePage: 179

83. T F The United States is the only Western democracy to place the full burden of voter registration on the individual.

Ans: TruePage: 178-179

84. T F The text argues that get-out-the-vote campaigns are unlikely to improve voter turnout.

Ans: TruePage: 179

85. T F The motor-voter law has allowed a lot of people to register that way but without much impact on election results.

Ans: TruePage: 179

86. T F Very high levels of registration and voting, suggests the text, could be a measure of citizen dissatisfaction.

Ans: TruePage: 179

87. T F Other and perhaps more significant measures of political participation exist besides voter turnout.

Ans: TruePage: 182

88. T F Women did not receive the right to vote in all U.S. elections until the twentieth century.

Ans: TruePage: 181

89. T F Prisoners in the United States cannot vote.

Ans: FalsePage: 181

90. T F Initially, the U.S. Constitution, not the states, decided who could vote and for what offices.

Ans: FalsePage: 181

91. T F The Fifteenth Amendment conferred the right to vote on any U.S. citizen.



Ans: TruePage: 181

92. T F In the 1800s, Chinese Americans were widely denied the right to vote.

Ans: TruePage: 181

93. T F Poll taxes and literacy tests were methods used to keep blacks from voting.

Ans: TruePage: 182

94. T F Blacks did not begin to vote in large numbers until passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Ans: TruePage: 182

95. T F The Voting Rights Act of 1965 suspended the use of literacy tests.

Ans: TruePage: 182

96. T F For decades after receiving suffrage, women voted in smaller proportions than men.

Ans: FalsePage: 182

97. T F Women were first allowed to vote in the South.

Ans: FalsePage: 182

98. T F The number of eligible voters doubled when women were allowed to vote in 1920.

Ans: TruePage: 182

99. T F Several states permitted women to vote prior to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Ans: TruePage: 183

100. T F The Twenty-sixth Amendment gave eighteen-year-olds the right to vote in state elections.

Ans: FalsePage: 183

101. T F Most aspects of voter eligibility are controlled by the states rather than the federal government.

Ans: TruePage: 183

102. T F In areas with a significant number of non-English speaking persons, ballots must be written in the language of those people.

Ans: FalsePage: 183

103. T F States may not have residency requirements for voters that are longer than 25 days.

Ans: TruePage: 183

104. T F Residents of the District of Columbia could not vote in presidential elections until 1961.


105. T F The diminishing role of parties in voter registration and turnout is one probable reason for the decline in voting.

Ans: FalsePage: 185

106. T F Voter fraud today is more prevalent than in the nineteenth century and helps explain some of the reasons for declining voter turnout.



Ans: TruePage: 185

107. T F States first began adopting the Australian ballot around 1890.

Ans: TruePage: 185

108. T F The Australian ballot was cast in secret.

Ans: FalsePage: 185

109. T F The Australian ballot eliminated vote buying and fraudulent vote counts.

Ans: TruePage: 187

110. T F Conventional wisdom suggests that, if those who did not vote voted, the Democrats would benefit the most.

Ans: TruePage: 185

111. T F Strict voter registration requirements accomplished two things: they reduced fraud and they reduced voter turnout.

Ans: TruePage: 187

112. T F Relatively few Americans have ever contributed to a political campaign.

Ans: TruePage: 187

113. T F For Americans, voting is the most common form of political participation.

Ans: TruePage: 187

114. T F Survey figures on political participation tend to exaggerate the frequency of actual participation.

Ans: FalsePage: 188

115. T F Inactives and complete activists each comprise about 20 percent of the U.S. population.

Ans: TruePage: 188

116. T F Voting specialists do little else politically than vote.

Ans: FalsePage: 188

117. T F Communalists are like campaigners, but with a keener interest in the tension and conflict of campaigns.

Ans: TruePage: 188

118. T F Parochial participants will contact local officials about specific, often personal problems.

Ans: TruePage: 188

119. T F The text suggests that the key variable in political participation may be political information rather than schooling.

Ans: TruePage: 188

120. T F Voting rates for men and women are approximately equal.



Ans: FalsePage: 188

121. T F Recent declines in voter turnout for presidential elections can be adequately explained by the increasing numbers of young people and blacks.

Ans: TruePage: 189

122. T F Evidence exists to support the claim that people who are cynical about our leaders are just as likely to vote as people who are not.

Ans: TruePage: 189

123. T F Voter residency requirements in excess of thirty days have been prohibited by federal law since 1970.

Ans: FalsePage: 188

124. T F Religious involvement appears to have no effect on political participation.

Ans: FalsePage: 189

125. T F The evidence suggests that, if all states had same-day voter registration, voter turnout would probably increase dramatically.

Ans: FalsePage: 189

126. T F Over the past twenty years, registering to vote has become more difficult.

Ans: TruePage: 190

127. T F In some countries voting is compulsory.


128. T F We simply do not know whether currently proposed voter registration law reforms would help one political party or the other.


129. T F The text argues that Americans vote less than Europeans but participate more in politics in other ways.

Ans: TruePage: 191

130. T F Unlike voting, most other forms of political participation have been on the rise in recent years.

Ans: FalsePage: 192

131. T F Public demonstrations such as sit-ins and protest marches are less common than they were a decade ago.

Ans: TruePage: 192

132. T F In many European nations, voters get to vote just once every four or five years.

Ans: TruePage: 192

133. T F Compared to other countries, Americans vote in more elections and for more offices.



Ans: TruePage: 192

134. T F In the United States, voter turnout is heavily skewed toward higher-status persons: those in managerial, professional or other white-collar occupations.

Ans: TruePage: 192

135. T F Nonwhites and Latinos tend to be underrepresented among American voters.

Ans: TruePage: 192

136. T F Currently, little is known about the relationship between political participation and variables such as command of the language.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS137. Identify and explain three examples of how increasing federal control over registration and election rules

has led to the enfranchisement of more groups of voters.

Answer

a. Blacks: federal legislation and court decisions removed southern obstacles one by one in the Fifteenth Amendment, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

b. Women: Nineteenth Amendment in 1920

c. Eighteen- to twenty-year-olds: Voting Rights Act of 1970, then the Twenty-sixth Amendment in 1971

Pages: 181-183

138. Identify some of the formal state stratagems for keeping blacks from voting after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment.

Answer

a. Literacy tests

b. Poll taxes

c. Grandfather clauses

d. White primaries

Pages: 181-182

139. Identify and explain the two broad categories of explanations for why U.S election turnout in the twentieth century has been very low. Provide the view of the text on this question as well.

Answer

a. Real decline: parties more competitive, hardworking in nineteenth century, legal barriers low, elections meaningful and often close; all of these factors reversed in twentieth century

b. Apparent decline: earlier vote counts inflated by fraud, which became more difficult after twentieth-century reforms

c. Text viewpoint: costs of voting (registration, informing oneself, voting on weekday) outweigh benefits of voting (civic duty)

Pages: 184-187



140. Explain the difference between VAP and VEP measures and summarize what we know about voter turnout when we view it from these two perspectives.

Answer

a. VAP – voting age population, estimate based on census

b. VEP – removes ineligibles from pool (felons, prisoners, aliens, etc.)

c. VEP measure sometimes considerably higher at the state level

d. According to VEP, turnout has not declined at the national level since the 1970s but the days of 60 percent turnout rates appear to be over

Pages: 186-187

141. Discuss the causes of political participation. What factors are correlated with political participation?

Answer

a. Education: the more education one has, the more likely one is to vote.

b. Race and ethnicity: whites vote more than blacks or Hispanics.

c. Religion: churchgoers are more likely to vote and take part in politics than non-churchgoers.

d. Age: young people vote less frequently than older people.

e. Class: more affluent participate more often than the poor.

Pages: 188-191

ESSAY QUESTIONS142. The text discusses the reasons for political participation and also gives reasons for the decline in voter

turnout in the United States. With this information, formulate a strategy to increase voter participation. Consider target groups, electoral procedures, and legal requirements.

Answer

a. The method of voter registration should be made less cumbersome.

b. Target the groups who do not vote: young, non-college educated, and minorities.

c. Reduce the number of elections and the number of elected officials.

d. Allow political parties a larger role in elections to mobilize voters.

Pages: 178-191

143. The text argues that the methods used to compare voter turnout rates between the United States and Europe are misleading. Present four arguments that demonstrate the flaws in this comparison.

Answer

a. The comparisons are usually made between two different groups: registered voters participating in Europe and the total voting-age population participating in the United States.

b. Apathy is not as much the problem in the United States as the fact that fewer people are registered to vote in this country.

c. Many European countries have automatic registration procedures, while the burden of registration in the United States falls on the voter.

d. Voting is only one form of political participation. Involvement in other forms of political activity is much higher in the United States than in Europe.

Pages: 178-180



144. Describe the impact of ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment. What do we know about trends in voting and rates of political participation among young people in recent years.

Answer

a. 25 million new voters added

b. Turnout rate of 42 percent in 1972 presidential election

c. No tendency to vote for one particular candidate or the other

d. Younger voters continue to vote at lower rates than older voters (20 percent in 2002 midterm election)

e. Rates of participation in civic activities are at an all time high.

Page: 183
