1. Political Beliefs and Behaviors
Questions from previous AP Tests
Chapters 11 and 13 in textbook

2. TEST A B C D
Response 1

3. Considering all elections at all levels of government, which of the following best describes electoral behavior in the U.S.?
The majority of the electorate does not vote in most elections
Primary elections tend to elicit a higher voter turnout than do general elections
Voter turnout plays an insignificant role in election outcomes
Adult citizens under the age of 30 tend to have the highest rate of voter turnout 1

4. Education allows people to have more time to attend conventions
Which of the following best explains why delegates to both the Republican and Democratic Conventions in 2000 were much more likely to have college and postgraduate degrees than was the rest of the voting population?
College education increases the likelihood of holding conservative political positions
College education increases the likelihood of holding liberal political positions
Education allows people to have more time to attend conventions
Political activism increases with education levels 1

5. Which of the following about voting behavior in the United States is correct?
Voters under the age of 25 are more likely to vote than are those in any other age group
College graduates are more likely to vote than are those who have at most a high school diploma
Registration requirements have no significant effect on voter turnout
Since 1920, the proportion of women who have voted is approximately the same as the proportion of men 1

6. Of the following, the most important role in the political socialization of children is played by
Their peer groups
Their places of worship
The family
The media 1

7. Which of the following is NOT a core value of United States political culture?
Political equality
Legal equality
Freedom of religion
Economic equality 1

8. Which of the following best describes the difference between an open and closed primary?
Voters must pay a poll tax to vote in a closed primary, but not in an open primary
Voters are allowed to split their ticket in a closed primary but not in an open primary
Only voters registered as members of a political party may vote in a closed primary, while independents and others may be eligible to vote in open primaries
Open primaries require a run-off system, while closed primaries do not 1

9. Which of the following best describes the concept of political efficacy?
It is the belief that the average citizen can make little or no difference in an election
It is the belief that an intelligent voting decision cannot be made with information
It is the belief that the media must provide unbiased information for citizens to be able to make well-informed choices
It is the belief that one can make a difference in politics by expressing an opinion and acting politically 1

10. Explanations for low voter turnout include all of the EXCEPT
Weak party affiliation
Registration requirements
Weekday elections
Laws protecting voting rights for minorities 1

11. Participant Leaders Points Participant 7 Deleon, Ian Garner, Carson 6
Allen, Shane
Delauder, Tony
Lahm, Haley
Roper, Jazmyn
Wood, Peyton 5
Boedeker, Ashley
Burgess, Tiffani
Catanese, Brandon

12. What percentage of your current points would you like to wager on the next question?0%
25%
50%
75%
100%

13. Which of the following would be most likely to vote in a Republican primary?
25 year old white male with some high school education
65 year old Hispanic male from California who lives on social security
35 years old female who has an associate’s degree and is a devout Catholic
45 year old white businessman who attends church weekly 1

14. Since the 1970s, voters in presidential elections have
Increasingly based their votes on televised candidate debates
Become more focused on individual candidates
Become more influenced by party platforms
Become more likely to focus on local rather than national elections 1

15. Compared to the general population, delegates to presidential nomination conventions are
More ideological
More likely to register as independent
Less educated
Less interested in politics 1

16. Which of the following is the leading predictor of how an individual will vote in a congressional election
Newspaper endorsements
Gender
Partisanship
Presidential endorsement 1

17. Party identification in the United States is most successfully transmitted by which of the following?
Church
Workplace
Family
Media 1

18. The most widely performed act of political participation in the U. S
The most widely performed act of political participation in the U.S. is
Voting in presidential elections
Voting in local elections
Writing letters to public officials
Attending local party meetings 1

19. Voter turnout tends to be highest among
African American voters
Young voters
College-educated voters
Working-class voters 1

20. Since the 1960s, support for the Democratic Party has declined most among which of the following groups?
Business leaders
African Americans
Native Americans
White southerners 1

21. Candidates for political office use public opinion polls for all of the following purposes EXCEPT to
Measure voters’ support for the candidate’s issues
Bring the opposition’s opinions into alignment with those of the candidate
Identify key issues among the voters
Fine-tune key policy stands 1

22. All of the following are traditional political values held by most Americans EXCEPT
Individual freedom
Representative democracy
Equality of opportunity
Equality of outcome 1

23. Participant Leaders Points Participant 24 Garner, Carson 22
Deleon, Ian 20
Allen, Shane
Lahm, Haley 19
Gregor, John 18
Raedel, Travis
Rutkowski, Jack 17
Catanese, Brandon
Roper, Jazmyn
Sawyer, Sarah

24. What percentage of your current points would you like to wager on the next question?0%
25%
50%
75%
100%

25. Which of the following generalizations about group voting is true?
Jewish voters tend to vote Republican
Protestant voters tend to be more liberal than Roman Catholics on economic issues
More women are likely to support Democratic candidates than are urban voters
African American Democrats tend to support the more liberal candidates within their party 1

26. Since the 1980s, the membership of Congress has been altered significantly by an increase in the number of
Minorities and women
Liberal Republicans
Conservative Democrats
Political independents 1

27. Political socialization is the process by which
Governments communicate with each other
The use of private property is regulated by government
Public attitudes toward government are issued and reported
Political values are passed to the next generation 1

28. Which of the following is the most important influence on the choice made by voters in a presidential election?
Appeal of the candidates’ spouses
Endorsement by political incumbents
Vice-president running mate
Partisan identification 1

29. Critical elections in the United States typically have occurred
Whenever a third party has secured more than fifteen percent of the presidential vote
As a result of a temporary shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties
Each time a Republican has been elected President
When voter turnout has declined significantly from the previous election 1

30. Participant Leaders Points Participant 45 Lahm, Haley 42 Allen, Shane
Gregor, John 40
Rutkowski, Jack 38
Sawyer, Sarah 36
Catanese, Brandon 35 30
Gordon, Zach
33.5
Moore, Jack
30.38
Krycian, Daisy

31. What percentage of your current points would you like to wager on the next question?0%
25%
50%
75%
100%

32. Which of the following statements about voting behavior in national elections is most accurate?
Blue-collar workers are more likely to vote than are professionals
Men are more likely to vote than are women
Those with less than a high school education are more likely to vote than are college graduates.
Senior citizens are more likely to vote than are college students 1

33. Children are likely to adopt the party identification
Of the president
Of their parents
Of their teachers
Of their friends 1

34. When a child’s parents both identify strongly with the same political party, the child will most likely
Identify with the parents’ party
Identify with the opposing party
Become alienated from the political system
Have a low sense of political efficacy 1

35. Which of the following groups has voted most consistently for the Democratic party in national elections over the last three decades?
Hispanics
African Americans
Protestants
Southern White males 1

36. The media’s effect on public opinion can best be described as
Affecting the public’s views on domestic policy only
Influencing older citizens’ opinion of incumbents
Influencing the public’s view on controversial issues only
Influencing which issues the public sees as important 1

37. When people vote for some candidates from one party and other candidates from another party
Realignment
Dealignment
Ticket splitting
Caucusing 1

38. Which of the following is most important for getting an accurate measure of public opinion in a survey?
Selecting a random sample
Surveying only cell phone users
Contacting only registered voters
Conducting the survey online 15

39. Participant Leaders Points Participant 95 Lahm, Haley 90 Gregor, John81
Sawyer, Sarah 78
Catanese, Brandon 76 30 74
Gordon, Zach 73
Moore, Jack 64
Garner, Carson
Kemp, Annaliese
59.16
Krycian, Daisy

40. What percentage of your current points would you like to wager on the next question?0%
25%
50%
75%
100%

41. Which of the following concepts refers to the beliefs about government and politics that people in the United States hold most deeply?
Party identification
Ethnic pride
Political culture
Group identity 1

42. Which of the following is true of voter turnout in the United States?
The South votes in larger numbers than does any other region in the country
Three-fourths of the electorate does not vote in a presidential election
There is no relationship between the age of the voter and participation rates
The voter-participation rate is one of the lowest of any industrialized nation 15

43. Which of the following groups would be most likely to support a constitutional amendment banning all abortions?
Libertarians
Conservatives
Liberals
Moderates 1

44. Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliate to vote?
Closed
Blanket
Open
General 1

45. An election in which there is a significant shift in the bases of electoral support from one political party to another is called a
Maintaining election
Deviating election
Dealigning election
Realigning election 1

46. The term “split-ticket voting” is most accurately described as
Turning in a spoiled ticket
Voting for one party in the primary election and another party in the general election
Using separate ballots for candidates at the state and national levels
Voting for candidates of different parties on the same ballot 15

47. Participant Leaders Points Participant 98 Lahm, Haley 92 Gregor, John84
Sawyer, Sarah 80
Catanese, Brandon 79 30 77
Gordon, Zach 76
Moore, Jack 67
Garner, Carson 66
Kemp, Annaliese
61.16
Krycian, Daisy

48. What percentage of your current points would you like to wager on the next question?0%
25%
50%
75%
100%

49. When the effects of income and education are eliminated, which of the following about voting rates is true?
Black citizens vote at a rate about half of White citizens
Black citizens vote at a higher rate than White citizens
Individuals from all races vote at about the same rate
There is no change in voting rates 1