Cal Poly POLS 111 Final Test Questions with
Correct Answers
VOCAB
-----
Absolute Majority
A majority of the voting party.
Ordinary Majority
A majority of those who vote.
Appropriations Committee
Legislative committee that has jurisdiction over all proposed bills that would affect revenue.
Australian Ballot
A ballot on which all the candidates for an office appear, and which the voter completes and
submits secretly. Makes it possible to vote a split ticket, or vote for candidates from different
parties on the same ballot.
Bill
A proposed law that is under consideration by the legislature and/or executive, but has not
become law yet.
Boss (of a political machine)
The person who controls, and usually benefits from, a political machine.
Caucus
,A group made up of elected officials from the same party; for example, all the Republicans in
the state Assembly work together as the Republican Caucus.
Committee
A group of members of a legislative chamber given authority over certain issue areas; for
example an Agriculture Committee would be the first stop for any proposed bills that relate to
agriculture.
Conference Committee
A committee consisting of members from both chambers of a bicameral legislature and that is
convened to resolve differences between the versions of a bill passed by each chamber, so
that ultimately both chambers pass identical bills.
Contribution Limits
The maximum amount that a person/entity may lawfully donate to a candidate, campaign,
and/or party.
Debt
The total amount of money that a government owes; debt usually refers only to formal
borrowing (like the issuing of bonds), and does not necessarily include liabilities like
underfunded pensions for deserving professors.
Deficit
The difference between the amount of money a government takes in (revenue) and sends out
(expenditure) during some specified period of time.
Demographic(s)
, The study of populations and the various sub-groups within them (such as racial, ethnic,
religious, socioeconomic, partisan, and other groups).
Eligible Voter
A person legally entitled to vote.
Expenditure (Limits)
The maximum amount that a candidate, campaign, party or other entity may spend to
influence an election.
Felony
A crime punishable by death or a sentence or more than one year in jail/prison; contrast
misdemeanor.
Fifth Column
A group within a population that secretly supports the population's enemy.
Gerrymandering
Redrawing electoral districts to give one political party an advantage.
Independent Expenditure (committee)
Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, individuals and legal persons (such as
corporations or unions) have an unlimited right to spend money to try to influence elections,
as long as they do not coordinate their activities with a candidate, campaign, or party (in
which case the spending counts as a donation and is subject to various limits and reporting
requirements). Such spending is called independent expenditure(s).
People and legal persons may also cooperate with others to make independent expenditures
Correct Answers
VOCAB
-----
Absolute Majority
A majority of the voting party.
Ordinary Majority
A majority of those who vote.
Appropriations Committee
Legislative committee that has jurisdiction over all proposed bills that would affect revenue.
Australian Ballot
A ballot on which all the candidates for an office appear, and which the voter completes and
submits secretly. Makes it possible to vote a split ticket, or vote for candidates from different
parties on the same ballot.
Bill
A proposed law that is under consideration by the legislature and/or executive, but has not
become law yet.
Boss (of a political machine)
The person who controls, and usually benefits from, a political machine.
Caucus
,A group made up of elected officials from the same party; for example, all the Republicans in
the state Assembly work together as the Republican Caucus.
Committee
A group of members of a legislative chamber given authority over certain issue areas; for
example an Agriculture Committee would be the first stop for any proposed bills that relate to
agriculture.
Conference Committee
A committee consisting of members from both chambers of a bicameral legislature and that is
convened to resolve differences between the versions of a bill passed by each chamber, so
that ultimately both chambers pass identical bills.
Contribution Limits
The maximum amount that a person/entity may lawfully donate to a candidate, campaign,
and/or party.
Debt
The total amount of money that a government owes; debt usually refers only to formal
borrowing (like the issuing of bonds), and does not necessarily include liabilities like
underfunded pensions for deserving professors.
Deficit
The difference between the amount of money a government takes in (revenue) and sends out
(expenditure) during some specified period of time.
Demographic(s)
, The study of populations and the various sub-groups within them (such as racial, ethnic,
religious, socioeconomic, partisan, and other groups).
Eligible Voter
A person legally entitled to vote.
Expenditure (Limits)
The maximum amount that a candidate, campaign, party or other entity may spend to
influence an election.
Felony
A crime punishable by death or a sentence or more than one year in jail/prison; contrast
misdemeanor.
Fifth Column
A group within a population that secretly supports the population's enemy.
Gerrymandering
Redrawing electoral districts to give one political party an advantage.
Independent Expenditure (committee)
Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, individuals and legal persons (such as
corporations or unions) have an unlimited right to spend money to try to influence elections,
as long as they do not coordinate their activities with a candidate, campaign, or party (in
which case the spending counts as a donation and is subject to various limits and reporting
requirements). Such spending is called independent expenditure(s).
People and legal persons may also cooperate with others to make independent expenditures
