CS #1-4 CIvic Involvement Review

How can a citizen become involved in addressing problems that affect the entire state?

• by joining a community watch group
• by volunteering for the fire department
• by signing petitions to place issues on the ballot
• by attending a meeting of the local school board

Individuals and organizations engage government officials on public policy using several methods. Select all of the methods citizens may use to effectively influence government.

• volunteer for a political campaign
• offer comments during a public meeting
• make a phone call to an elected official
• write a letter to an elected official
• refuse to vote

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates a way in which an interest group can influence policymaking?

• The United Auto Workers encourage their members to reach out to their representatives to support a jobs bill.
• The Department of Transportation issues a new rule about speed limits on national highways after the president signs a bill into law.
• League of Women Voters publishes a pamphlet that includes the policy positions of all candidates running for the presidency.
• The president’s reelection committee polls the American public to determine whether they have the support they need to win.

While most voters identify with a political party, they do not always vote for candidates from that political party. Select two factors besides political party identification that influence voter preference.

• the date of the Presidential election
• a candidate's position on a specific issue
• the way the candidate conducted the campaign
• the total number of legislators in Congress

Community residents must decide whether to expand their current high school building or build a new one to handle a rising student population. Supporters of a new high school believe that a new building would be less costly for taxpayers than expanding the old one. In evaluating the credibility of this claim, community residents should pay particular attention to the

• projected data on costs provided by engineers and accountants
• number of students the new high school can hold
• money spent by supporters on disseminating their point of view
• popularity of the supporters of community leaders

Which sources have the appropriate qualifications to be a credible source of information about how a proposed tax cut would affect the U.S. national debt? Select two.

• a report published by the Congressional Budget Office
• a podcast by a Political Action Committee
• a letter to the editor of a newspaper from an engineer
• a tax policy analysis from the Department of the Treasury

Which person would provide the most credible description of life under a dictatorship?

• A high-level official in the dictator's government.
• A political prisoner recently jailed by the dictator.
• The leader of a country who is an ally of the dictator.
• A historian who spoke with many people living under the dictator.

You are engaged in a civic action project for American Government class. You will need to evaluate the credibility of each source you use in your project. What are the considerations in evaluating the credibility of sources? Select three correct responses.

• the qualifications and reputation of the writer or organization
• the internal consistency
• the use of supporting evidence and logical conclusions
• the cost to purchase the source
• the ease of availability

What do compromise, persuasion, negotiation, and consensus building all have in common?

• All of them are nonviolent methods of conflict resolution.
• All of them involve getting each party to make sacrifices.
• All of them typically produce unequal results for opposing parties.
• All of them involve enabling opposing parties to have their positions accepted.

Ohio's General Assembly is considering a proposal to expand the state highway system and is listening to presentations about the topic. One concerned citizen who opposes the proposal gives a presentation that describes the potential consequences of the expansion. Another citizen who supports the proposal gives a presentation that describes the potential benefits of the expansion. Which conflict resolution process is being used by both citizens?

• persuasion
• negotiation
• consensus building
• compromise