POLS EXAM 3 UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. To which level of government (local, state, national) does the U.S. Constitution give primary
responsibility for regulating and administering elections for federal office?
Answer:
States have the primary responsibility for regulating and administering elections.
Question:
2. Are election laws mostly the same from state to state or do they tend to vary markedly across states?
Why?
Answer:
Amendments and federal laws establish general standards but states have wide discretion to run elections
as they see fit. For this reason, election laws vary greatly from state to state.
Question:
3. In Georgia, are elections administered by a single centralized agency, or are they administered by each
county in the state?
Answer:
Elections are administered by each of the 158 counties in the state.
Question:
4. What is the main difference between primary and general elections?
Answer:
Primary elections are held to determine parties' nominees. General elections are where the parties'
nominees run against each other to determine who serves in office.
Question:
5. When (in even-numbered years or odd-numbered years) do elections occur for the following offices?
Answer:
Georgia Senate: Every even-numbered years; Georgia House of Representatives: Every even-numbered
years; U.S. House of Representatives: Every even-numbered years; U.S. President: Every fourth year;
Major Georgia executive branch offices, such as Governor and Lieutenant Governor: Midterm election
years; Atlanta Mayor: Every four years during odd-numbered years; Atlanta City Council: Every four
years during odd-numbered years.
Question:
6. What is a referendum and how is it different from a citizen ballot initiative?
Answer:
Referendum is a proposed law placed on a ballot by a legislative authority.
,Question:
7. What, according to your textbook, does Article X of the Georgia Constitution require for an amendment
to the Georgia Constitution to be ratified (i.e., does it need to be a general or primary election, even or odd
year, referendum or other)?
Answer:
It can be ratified only after being placed on a ballot as a referendum item in a general election in an
even-numbered year.
Question:
8. What is convenience voting?
Answer:
It is when states allow flexible opportunities to vote besides traditional in-person voting at the polls on
Election Day.
Question:
9. What are the two primary forms of convenience voting?
Answer:
The two primary forms of convenience voting are voting by mail, and absentee voting.
Question:
10. How does Georgia compare to other states in the extent to which it provides voters with convenience
voting options (below average, average, or above average)?
Answer:
Georgia is above average.
Question:
11. What is no-excuse absentee voting? Does Georgia have this?
Answer:
No-excuse absentee voting is when you do not need an excuse to vote absentee. Georgia is included in the
34 states that have this method.
Question:
12. How many weeks prior to Election Day does the early voting period last in Georgia? Do any states
have longer early voting periods than this?
Answer:
The early voting period lasts three weeks before Election Day.
Question:
13. Is voter turnout generally higher or lower in Presidential election years or in midterm election years? Is
it generally higher in federal elections or in local elections? How about in even-numbered years versus
odd-numbered years?
Answer:
Voter turnout tends to be much higher in presidential election years than midterm election years. It tends to
be even lower in local elections and odd-numbered years.
, Question:
14. How does the voter turnout rate in U.S. presidential elections compare with the rate in major national
elections in other OECD countries (i.e., is the U.S. rate above average or below average among those
countries)?
Answer:
Voter turnout in American presidential elections are low compared to turnout in other countries' major
national elections.
Question:
15. Over the past decade, have African American citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or approximately
the same rate as white Americans (i.e., non-Hispanic whites)?
Answer:
White and African American citizens tend to vote at a relatively high and essentially same rate.
Question:
16. At the same time, have Hispanic (Latino / Latina) citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or
approximately the same rate as African Americans?
Answer:
Hispanic citizens tend to vote at lower rates as compared to African Americans.
Question:
17. Do men and women currently vote at approximately the same rate, or does one sex tend to vote at a
significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Answer:
Before 1980, men voted at higher rates than women. Since then, women have voted at a higher rate than
men.
Question:
18. Do wealthier Americans and poorer Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does
one economic group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Answer:
People with higher income levels vote at higher rates than those with lower income levels.
Question:
19. Do younger Americans and older Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one
age group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Answer:
Older Americans tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than younger Americans.
Question:
20. Do highly educated Americans and less-educated Americans tend to vote at approximately the same
rate, or does one education-level group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so,
which one)?
Answer:
Americans who have never attended college vote at much lower rates than those who attended or
graduated from college.
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
1. To which level of government (local, state, national) does the U.S. Constitution give primary
responsibility for regulating and administering elections for federal office?
Answer:
States have the primary responsibility for regulating and administering elections.
Question:
2. Are election laws mostly the same from state to state or do they tend to vary markedly across states?
Why?
Answer:
Amendments and federal laws establish general standards but states have wide discretion to run elections
as they see fit. For this reason, election laws vary greatly from state to state.
Question:
3. In Georgia, are elections administered by a single centralized agency, or are they administered by each
county in the state?
Answer:
Elections are administered by each of the 158 counties in the state.
Question:
4. What is the main difference between primary and general elections?
Answer:
Primary elections are held to determine parties' nominees. General elections are where the parties'
nominees run against each other to determine who serves in office.
Question:
5. When (in even-numbered years or odd-numbered years) do elections occur for the following offices?
Answer:
Georgia Senate: Every even-numbered years; Georgia House of Representatives: Every even-numbered
years; U.S. House of Representatives: Every even-numbered years; U.S. President: Every fourth year;
Major Georgia executive branch offices, such as Governor and Lieutenant Governor: Midterm election
years; Atlanta Mayor: Every four years during odd-numbered years; Atlanta City Council: Every four
years during odd-numbered years.
Question:
6. What is a referendum and how is it different from a citizen ballot initiative?
Answer:
Referendum is a proposed law placed on a ballot by a legislative authority.
,Question:
7. What, according to your textbook, does Article X of the Georgia Constitution require for an amendment
to the Georgia Constitution to be ratified (i.e., does it need to be a general or primary election, even or odd
year, referendum or other)?
Answer:
It can be ratified only after being placed on a ballot as a referendum item in a general election in an
even-numbered year.
Question:
8. What is convenience voting?
Answer:
It is when states allow flexible opportunities to vote besides traditional in-person voting at the polls on
Election Day.
Question:
9. What are the two primary forms of convenience voting?
Answer:
The two primary forms of convenience voting are voting by mail, and absentee voting.
Question:
10. How does Georgia compare to other states in the extent to which it provides voters with convenience
voting options (below average, average, or above average)?
Answer:
Georgia is above average.
Question:
11. What is no-excuse absentee voting? Does Georgia have this?
Answer:
No-excuse absentee voting is when you do not need an excuse to vote absentee. Georgia is included in the
34 states that have this method.
Question:
12. How many weeks prior to Election Day does the early voting period last in Georgia? Do any states
have longer early voting periods than this?
Answer:
The early voting period lasts three weeks before Election Day.
Question:
13. Is voter turnout generally higher or lower in Presidential election years or in midterm election years? Is
it generally higher in federal elections or in local elections? How about in even-numbered years versus
odd-numbered years?
Answer:
Voter turnout tends to be much higher in presidential election years than midterm election years. It tends to
be even lower in local elections and odd-numbered years.
, Question:
14. How does the voter turnout rate in U.S. presidential elections compare with the rate in major national
elections in other OECD countries (i.e., is the U.S. rate above average or below average among those
countries)?
Answer:
Voter turnout in American presidential elections are low compared to turnout in other countries' major
national elections.
Question:
15. Over the past decade, have African American citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or approximately
the same rate as white Americans (i.e., non-Hispanic whites)?
Answer:
White and African American citizens tend to vote at a relatively high and essentially same rate.
Question:
16. At the same time, have Hispanic (Latino / Latina) citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or
approximately the same rate as African Americans?
Answer:
Hispanic citizens tend to vote at lower rates as compared to African Americans.
Question:
17. Do men and women currently vote at approximately the same rate, or does one sex tend to vote at a
significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Answer:
Before 1980, men voted at higher rates than women. Since then, women have voted at a higher rate than
men.
Question:
18. Do wealthier Americans and poorer Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does
one economic group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Answer:
People with higher income levels vote at higher rates than those with lower income levels.
Question:
19. Do younger Americans and older Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one
age group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Answer:
Older Americans tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than younger Americans.
Question:
20. Do highly educated Americans and less-educated Americans tend to vote at approximately the same
rate, or does one education-level group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so,
which one)?
Answer:
Americans who have never attended college vote at much lower rates than those who attended or
graduated from college.
