POLS EXAM 3 UPDATED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
Question:
1. To which level of government (local, state, national) does the U.S. Constitu-tion give primary
responsibility for reg-ulating and administering elections for federal office?
Answer:
States have the primary responsibility for reg-ulating 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 gen-eral 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 pri-mary and general elections?
Answer:
Primary elections are held to determine par-ties' 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 Repre-sentatives: 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 dur-ing odd-numbered years;
Atlanta City Council: Every four years during odd-numbered years.
Question:
6. What is a referendum and how is it differ-ent 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 re-quire 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 con-venience 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 aver-age)?
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. Geor-gia 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 Geor-gia? Do any
states have longer early vot-ing periods than this?
Answer:
The early voting period lasts three weeks be-fore Election Day.
Question:
13. Is voter turnout generally higher or low-er 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 pres-idential election years than midterm election years. It
tends to be even lower in local elec-tions 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 oth-er OECD countries (i.e., is the U.S. rate above average or below average
among those countries)?
, Answer:
Voter turnout in American presidential elec-tions 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 high-er, 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 ap-proximately 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 approximate-ly the same rate, or
does one economic group tend to vote at a significantly high-er rate than the other (and if so, which
one)?
Answer:
People with higher income levels vote at high-er rates than those with lower income levels.
Question:
19. Do younger Americans and older Amer-icans 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 at-tended or
graduated from college.
Question:
21. What is epistocracy? Why, according to Jason Brennan, would it be better than a democratic
system in which those who currently vote at low levels start voting at higher levels?
ANSWERS
Question:
1. To which level of government (local, state, national) does the U.S. Constitu-tion give primary
responsibility for reg-ulating and administering elections for federal office?
Answer:
States have the primary responsibility for reg-ulating 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 gen-eral 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 pri-mary and general elections?
Answer:
Primary elections are held to determine par-ties' 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 Repre-sentatives: 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 dur-ing odd-numbered years;
Atlanta City Council: Every four years during odd-numbered years.
Question:
6. What is a referendum and how is it differ-ent 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 re-quire 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 con-venience 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 aver-age)?
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. Geor-gia 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 Geor-gia? Do any
states have longer early vot-ing periods than this?
Answer:
The early voting period lasts three weeks be-fore Election Day.
Question:
13. Is voter turnout generally higher or low-er 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 pres-idential election years than midterm election years. It
tends to be even lower in local elec-tions 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 oth-er OECD countries (i.e., is the U.S. rate above average or below average
among those countries)?
, Answer:
Voter turnout in American presidential elec-tions 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 high-er, 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 ap-proximately 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 approximate-ly the same rate, or
does one economic group tend to vote at a significantly high-er rate than the other (and if so, which
one)?
Answer:
People with higher income levels vote at high-er rates than those with lower income levels.
Question:
19. Do younger Americans and older Amer-icans 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 at-tended or
graduated from college.
Question:
21. What is epistocracy? Why, according to Jason Brennan, would it be better than a democratic
system in which those who currently vote at low levels start voting at higher levels?
