UT Austin Gov 310L Professor Leal
Exam #2 Questions and Answers 2026
Updated.
Caucus - Answer Meeting of candidate supporters who choose delegates to a state or
national convention
Electoral vote - Answer Cast by electors, with each state receiving one vote for each of its
members in the House of Representatives and one vote for each of its members in the Senate
527s - Answer Political organizations formed primarily to influence elections and therefore
exempt from most federal taxes
Matching funds - Answer Public moneys that the Federal Election Commission distributes to
primary candidates according to a prespecified formula
Party identification - Answer A person's subjective feeling of affiliation with a party
Party image - Answer The associations voters make between the parties and particular issues
and values
Political activists - Answer People who regularly participate in politics; they are more
interested in and committed to particular issues and candidates than are ordinary citizens
Popular vote - Answer The total vote cast across the nation for a candidate
Presidential Primaries - Answer Elections held for the purpose of selecting or instructing
national convention delegates
Prospective voting - Answer Voting on the basis of the candidates' policy promises
Retrospective voting - Answer Voting on the basis of the past performance of the incumbent
administration
Soft money - Answer Money contributed by interest groups, labor unions, and individual
donors that is not subject to federal regulation
, Superdelegate - Answer Certain party leaders - members of the U.S. House and Senate,
governors, members of the national committee - who became automatic or ex-officio delegates
Winner-take-all voting - Answer Any voting procedure in which the candidate with the most
votes gets all of the seats or delegates at stake
Affirmative action redistricting - Answer The process of drawing district lines to maximize the
number of majority-minority districts
Bloc voting - Answer Voting in which nearly all members of an ethnic or racial group vote for
the same party or candidate
Casework - Answer Efforts by members of Congress to help individuals and groups when they
have difficulties with federal situations
Coattails - Answer Positive electoral effect of a popular presidential candidate on
congressional candidates of the president's party
Constituency service - Answer Efforts by members of Congress to secure federal funding for
their districts and to help constituents when they have difficulties with federal agencies
Filing deadline - Answer The latest date on which a candidate who wishes to be on a primary
ballot may file official documents with and/or pay required fees to state election officials
Frank - Answer Name given to representatives' and senators' free use of the U.S. mail for
sending communications to constituents
Gerrymandering - Answer Drawing boundary lines of congressional districts in order to
confer an advantage on some partisan or political interest
Incumbency advantage - Answer The electoral advantage a candidate enjoys by virtue of
being an incumbent, over and above his or her other personal and political characteristics
Majority-minority district - Answer District in which a majority group is the numerical
majority of the population
Open seat - Answer A House of Senate race with no incumbent (because of death of
retirement)
Exam #2 Questions and Answers 2026
Updated.
Caucus - Answer Meeting of candidate supporters who choose delegates to a state or
national convention
Electoral vote - Answer Cast by electors, with each state receiving one vote for each of its
members in the House of Representatives and one vote for each of its members in the Senate
527s - Answer Political organizations formed primarily to influence elections and therefore
exempt from most federal taxes
Matching funds - Answer Public moneys that the Federal Election Commission distributes to
primary candidates according to a prespecified formula
Party identification - Answer A person's subjective feeling of affiliation with a party
Party image - Answer The associations voters make between the parties and particular issues
and values
Political activists - Answer People who regularly participate in politics; they are more
interested in and committed to particular issues and candidates than are ordinary citizens
Popular vote - Answer The total vote cast across the nation for a candidate
Presidential Primaries - Answer Elections held for the purpose of selecting or instructing
national convention delegates
Prospective voting - Answer Voting on the basis of the candidates' policy promises
Retrospective voting - Answer Voting on the basis of the past performance of the incumbent
administration
Soft money - Answer Money contributed by interest groups, labor unions, and individual
donors that is not subject to federal regulation
, Superdelegate - Answer Certain party leaders - members of the U.S. House and Senate,
governors, members of the national committee - who became automatic or ex-officio delegates
Winner-take-all voting - Answer Any voting procedure in which the candidate with the most
votes gets all of the seats or delegates at stake
Affirmative action redistricting - Answer The process of drawing district lines to maximize the
number of majority-minority districts
Bloc voting - Answer Voting in which nearly all members of an ethnic or racial group vote for
the same party or candidate
Casework - Answer Efforts by members of Congress to help individuals and groups when they
have difficulties with federal situations
Coattails - Answer Positive electoral effect of a popular presidential candidate on
congressional candidates of the president's party
Constituency service - Answer Efforts by members of Congress to secure federal funding for
their districts and to help constituents when they have difficulties with federal agencies
Filing deadline - Answer The latest date on which a candidate who wishes to be on a primary
ballot may file official documents with and/or pay required fees to state election officials
Frank - Answer Name given to representatives' and senators' free use of the U.S. mail for
sending communications to constituents
Gerrymandering - Answer Drawing boundary lines of congressional districts in order to
confer an advantage on some partisan or political interest
Incumbency advantage - Answer The electoral advantage a candidate enjoys by virtue of
being an incumbent, over and above his or her other personal and political characteristics
Majority-minority district - Answer District in which a majority group is the numerical
majority of the population
Open seat - Answer A House of Senate race with no incumbent (because of death of
retirement)
