Texas Government Questions with CORRECT Answers (Verified Update)
Q1: How often must districts be redrawn to account for changes in population?
Answer: 10 years
Q2: Which political party dominates Texas politics today?
Answer: Republicans
Q3: What term was used to describe the practice that Texas was no longer guaranteed to support
Democratic presidential candidates starting in the 1950s?
Answer: Presidential Republicanism
Q4: What is one of the consequences of Duverger's Law?
Answer: Parties are organized around general principles.
Q5: What do political scientists use to measure party competition?
Answer: Ranney Index
Q6: Who usually recruits candidates to run for office?
Answer: Party officials
Q7: What statement about the political transformation of party politics from Democrat to
Republican is accurate?
Answer: Occurred over time as there was a lot of split-ticket voting starting with the top of the
ticket.
Q8: What is the growing ideological separation of the parties called?
Answer: Partisan polarization
Q9: What is a Yellow Dog Democrat?
Answer: Conservatives who voted for Democrats because they refused to support Republicans
Q10: What tool do scholars and analysts use to measure partisanship among citizens?
Answer: Surveys
,Q11: Which statement best describes the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Answer: Prevents discrimination against voters and allows the federal government to get involved if
needed.
Q12: What is it called when voters choose candidates of different parties in different elections?
Answer: Split- ticket voting
Q13: Instead of voting in designated precincts, the Texas Legislature allowed counties to use what
so voters could vote anywhere regardless of location?
Answer: Vote Centers
Q14: What does a regular system of elections do?
Answer: Provides an opportunity to hold their elected officials accountable for choices.
Q15: What tactic prevented citizens from registering to vote because they had to pay a fee?
Answer: Poll tax
Q16: What are the strongest predictors of whether someone will vote?
Answer: Age and education
Q17: What share of the vote is needed to win a primary election in Texas?
Answer: A majority of the vote.
Q18: Which statement about racial and ethnic minorities in Texas is accurate?
Answer: African-Americans and Latinos faced discrimination in different ways and Texas is still
dealing with the consequences of these practices.
Q19: What is the name for electing each of the offices in the executive branch separately?
Answer: Plural executive
Q20: Which statement about constitutional amendments in Texas is accurate?
Answer: Most of the amendments are approved even though the language is difficult to understand.
Q21: What was the effect of the Supreme Court's decision in Wickard v. Fillburn?
Answer: It allowed the federal government to expand its power using the commerce clause.
, Q22: Which system of federalism provided a clear division of authority between the states and the
national government?
Answer: Dual federalism
Q23: What are the two critical steps necessary for amending the Texas Constitution?
Answer: A two-thirds vote in both chambers of the legislature and a majority of the public in a
constitutional election.
Q24: What type of powers do taxation, borrowing and spending money for the general welfare,
and passing laws represent?
Answer: Concurrent powers
Q25: When was the current Texas Constitution written?
Answer: 1876
Q26: What term describes all property acquired during marriage as belonging to the couple
jointly?
Answer: Community property
Q27: What does popular sovereignty reflect about constitutions?
Answer: Must reflect the will of the people.
Q28: What does the full faith and credit clause of the United States Constitution describe?
Answer: State governments honoring the official actions of other state governments.
Q29: Which form of government allows the people to rule indirectly through elected
representatives?
Answer: Republic
Q30: What issue generated a spirited debate for the 1845 Constitution?
Answer: Voting rights for Tejanos
Q31: Approximately what percentage of constitutional amendments have been approved in recent
elections?
Answer: 100
Q1: How often must districts be redrawn to account for changes in population?
Answer: 10 years
Q2: Which political party dominates Texas politics today?
Answer: Republicans
Q3: What term was used to describe the practice that Texas was no longer guaranteed to support
Democratic presidential candidates starting in the 1950s?
Answer: Presidential Republicanism
Q4: What is one of the consequences of Duverger's Law?
Answer: Parties are organized around general principles.
Q5: What do political scientists use to measure party competition?
Answer: Ranney Index
Q6: Who usually recruits candidates to run for office?
Answer: Party officials
Q7: What statement about the political transformation of party politics from Democrat to
Republican is accurate?
Answer: Occurred over time as there was a lot of split-ticket voting starting with the top of the
ticket.
Q8: What is the growing ideological separation of the parties called?
Answer: Partisan polarization
Q9: What is a Yellow Dog Democrat?
Answer: Conservatives who voted for Democrats because they refused to support Republicans
Q10: What tool do scholars and analysts use to measure partisanship among citizens?
Answer: Surveys
,Q11: Which statement best describes the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Answer: Prevents discrimination against voters and allows the federal government to get involved if
needed.
Q12: What is it called when voters choose candidates of different parties in different elections?
Answer: Split- ticket voting
Q13: Instead of voting in designated precincts, the Texas Legislature allowed counties to use what
so voters could vote anywhere regardless of location?
Answer: Vote Centers
Q14: What does a regular system of elections do?
Answer: Provides an opportunity to hold their elected officials accountable for choices.
Q15: What tactic prevented citizens from registering to vote because they had to pay a fee?
Answer: Poll tax
Q16: What are the strongest predictors of whether someone will vote?
Answer: Age and education
Q17: What share of the vote is needed to win a primary election in Texas?
Answer: A majority of the vote.
Q18: Which statement about racial and ethnic minorities in Texas is accurate?
Answer: African-Americans and Latinos faced discrimination in different ways and Texas is still
dealing with the consequences of these practices.
Q19: What is the name for electing each of the offices in the executive branch separately?
Answer: Plural executive
Q20: Which statement about constitutional amendments in Texas is accurate?
Answer: Most of the amendments are approved even though the language is difficult to understand.
Q21: What was the effect of the Supreme Court's decision in Wickard v. Fillburn?
Answer: It allowed the federal government to expand its power using the commerce clause.
, Q22: Which system of federalism provided a clear division of authority between the states and the
national government?
Answer: Dual federalism
Q23: What are the two critical steps necessary for amending the Texas Constitution?
Answer: A two-thirds vote in both chambers of the legislature and a majority of the public in a
constitutional election.
Q24: What type of powers do taxation, borrowing and spending money for the general welfare,
and passing laws represent?
Answer: Concurrent powers
Q25: When was the current Texas Constitution written?
Answer: 1876
Q26: What term describes all property acquired during marriage as belonging to the couple
jointly?
Answer: Community property
Q27: What does popular sovereignty reflect about constitutions?
Answer: Must reflect the will of the people.
Q28: What does the full faith and credit clause of the United States Constitution describe?
Answer: State governments honoring the official actions of other state governments.
Q29: Which form of government allows the people to rule indirectly through elected
representatives?
Answer: Republic
Q30: What issue generated a spirited debate for the 1845 Constitution?
Answer: Voting rights for Tejanos
Q31: Approximately what percentage of constitutional amendments have been approved in recent
elections?
Answer: 100
