Interest Groups in America

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Topic: Campaign Finance & Special Interest Groups | Unit #2 Review

​Interest Groups: Any organization designed to influence public policy. They do this by lobbying elected officials and supporting campaigns. They can also challenge policy by filing lawsuits.

promotes interests of members over the general welfare
&

interest groups are so strong the gov't is weakened

​Drawbacks

increase awareness on issues

&

promote political participation

​Benefits

Benefits & Drawbacks
of Special Interest Groups

​Citizens United v.
Federal Elections Committee

Citizens United v. FEC was a 2010 Supreme Court case that said the government can't limit how much money companies or groups spend on political ads.

Citizens United v FEC Ruling: corporations and unions have the right to spend unlimited amounts of money on ads, media, campaigns, etc. under the First Amendment.

Multiple Choice

The Citizens United v FEC ruling states that corporations and unions have the right to spend how much money on ads, media, & campaigns?

• $50,000 per election cycle

• $10,000 per candidate

• $1 million per interest group total

• unlimited amounts

Multiple Choice

What Supreme Court case has played a role in the increase in the amount of spending in U.S. elections?

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

• Marbury v Madison

• Citizens United v Hillary Clinton

• Bush v Gore, 2000

gives wealthy groups too much influence over politics, making it harder for regular people to have their voices heard. They worry it creates unfair advantages for candidates backed by big money, while supporters say it protects free speech.

​Criticism

it allowed corporations, unions, and special interest groups to spend unlimited money on political ads, leading to much more money being used in elections

​Impact

Impact & Criticism

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an effect of Citizens United v the Federal Elections Commission?

• Decreased political spending by corporations and unions.
• Increased government regulation of campaign financing.
• Elimination of corporate donations to political campaigns.
• Increased political spending by corporations and unions.

A super PAC is a group that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose political candidates as long as they do not directly coordinate with campaigns.

​

​Super PAC

Unit #2 Exam
Review Questions

Multiple Choice

True or False: Family is the most influential factor in political socialization.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which is true about local elections?

• voter turnout is more than it is in federal elections

• voters have greater influence on the election outcome

• they only happen every four years

• the results do not impact the lives of the people as much

Multiple Choice

What is the "generational effect" in political socialization?

• The impact that family has on a person's political beliefs.

• The changes in an individual's political attitudes due to aging and life changes

• The influence of shared historical events on the political beliefs of people born in the same period.

• 
  The effect of globalization on political attitudes.

Multiple Choice

Who is most likely to support increased universal healthcare for all Americans?

• Conservatives

• Liberals

Multiple Choice

Who is most likely to support lowering the taxes small businesses have to pay?

• Conservatives

• Liberals

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an effect of Citizens United v the Federal Elections Commission?

• Decreased political spending by corporations and unions.
• Increased government regulation of campaign financing.
• Elimination of corporate donations to political campaigns.
• Increased political spending by corporations and unions.

Multiple Select

Well made scientific political opinion polls have which of the following?

• leading questions

• random sample

• a small sample

• representative sample

Multiple Choice

What has increased divisions between political ideologies?

• centered media sources

• bi-partisan efforts

• media polarization

• moderate voters

Multiple Select

How do interest groups influence government policy by doing which of the following?

• lobbying elected officials and supporting campaigns

• Passing laws directly

• Running their own candidate for political office

• Filing lawsuits 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is being described: voters cast secret ballots in person or by mail to help choose their party's nominee?

• Primary

• Caucus

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is being described: party members gather to discuss, hear speeches, debate, negotiate, & vote?

• Primary

• Caucus

Multiple Choice

What is the name of the event where political parties officially nominate their presidential candidate? 

• A City Hall Meeting

• The Primary Election

• The National Party Convention

• The General Presidential Eelction

Multiple Choice

How does the National Government determine how many Electoral College votes each state gets?

• only be the number of Senators the state has

• by the total population the state has

• by the number of House Reps & Senators the state has

• only by the number of House Representatives the state has

Multiple Choice

True or False: The media can motivate or discourage voter turnout depending on coverage.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

What type of state is being described: state that often changes its voting outcome between political parties in different elections?

• safe state

• red state

• blue state

• swing state

Fill in the Blank

How many electoral votes are needed to win the presidency?

Multiple Select

What are the constitutional requirements to run for President?

• be 35 years old

• be U.S. born citizen

• have a college degree

• be a resident of Washington, D.C.

Multiple Choice

What is the process by which people develop political values and opinions?

• political socialization

• life cycle effect

• selective attention

• generational effect

Multiple Select

Which of the following is true about the electoral college?

• it is determined by the outcome of the popular vote and reflects those results

• it provides a balance of power between small and large states

• it puts all of the attention on smaller states with less population

• it ignores the popular vote in the election process

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a key role of the Electoral College in presidential elections? 

• Electing members of the House & the Senate

• determining voter eligibility for each state

• selecting the president based on the popular vote

• selecting the president based on electoral votes 

Multiple Choice

What is being described here: the process where people focus on certain information while ignoring other details.

• Selective Attention

• Generational Effect

• Life Cycle Effect

• Media Bias

Multiple Choice

Who is more likely to favor more government involvement in the economy and less government involvement in social/moral issues?

• Conservatives

• Liberals

Multiple Choice

Who is more likely to favor less government involvement in the economy and more government involvement in social/moral issues?

• Conservatives

• Liberals

Multiple Select

Why are state and local elections more important?

• Given that fewer people pay attention to / vote in local elections, each vote has a bigger impact.

• They directly impact policies and decisions that affect everyday life.

• They determine the outcome of presidential elections because they are a swing state.

• They decide who will be a member of the US Senate and House of Representatives.

Multiple Choice

What Supreme Court case has played a role in the increase in the amount of spending in U.S. elections?

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

• Marbury v Madison

• Citizens United v Hillary Clinton

• Bush v Gore, 2000

Multiple Choice

The Citizens United v FEC ruling states that corporations and unions have the right to spend how much money on ads, media, & campaigns?

• $50,000 per election cycle

• $10,000 per candidate

• $1 million per interest group total

• unlimited amounts

!! REMINDER !!
Turn in your 2.4 Notes to
Mrs. Cabrera's desk!
due today at the end of class