2016 Government Test
1) What part of the government did the Founding Fathers want to have the most power?
a) The President
b) Congress
c) The Senate
d) The Federal Government
2) Who can declare war? How?
a) Congress; voting
b) Senate; voting
c) President; declaring
d) The people; voting
3) How many years are house members up for re-election?
a) every 2 years
b) can’t be re-elected
c) every 6 years
d) one third each election cycle
4) Which one is not true about the Senate?
a) emphasis on foreign policy
b) has 435 members
c) unlimited debate time
d) filibusters can occur
5) What branch of government is the President part of?
a) Judicial
b) Presidential
c) Executive
d) Legislative
6) What is a constituent?
a) someone who knows a lot about the Constitution
b) the voters in the Representative’s area
c) another name for a Senator
d) The President
7) How many electoral votes does a state get?
a) the amount of seats it holds in the house
b) the amount of seats it holds in the congress
c) the amount of delegates from a state
d) the number of districts in a state
8) What powers does The President not have?
a) the power to veto bills
b) the power to pick staff members
c) the power to make official speeches
d) the power to declare war
9) All of the following are recognized functions of the major political parties except:
a) recruiting candidates for public office
b) providing payments for supporting interest groups
c) establishing channels of communication between the public and the government
d) providing personnel to staff elections and running the government
e) regulating interests into electoral alliances
10) Between the President, Supreme Court, and Congress, which one has the final say on laws?
a) The President
b) Supreme Court
c) Congress
d) they all have a say
11) Who is more likely to vote?
a) an 18 year old drop-out
b) older female with a Master’s Degree
c) a single, 22 year old male
d) a drop-out single mom
12) How many people are in the House?
a) 100
b) 435
c) 400
d) 200
13) How old do you have to be to run for President?
a) 37
b) 32
c) 35
d) 49
14) What is a veto?
a) something the President reads
b) a debate in the Senate
c) a phone
d) an Executive power which allows the President to reject a bill
15) Who sets the agenda for the U.S. Supreme Court?
a) The President
b) they set their own agenda
c) district courts
d) special courts
16) What does the “honeymoon” period refer to?
a) The President and the First Lady
b) the first 100 days of presidency
c) The President and the Vice President
d) the first month of presidency
17) How does a bill begin?
a) it is introduced in the House
b) it is introduced in the Senate
c) a and b
d)with the lyrics, “I’m just a bill”
18) How many types of elections are there?
a) 3; primary, general, specific policy
b) 2; primary and general
c) 5; primary, caucus, general, specific policy, final
d) 1; primary
19) How many years is a term in the Senate?
a) 2 years
b) 4 years
c) 6 years
d) unlimited
20) What are the three federal court systems?
a) District, Appeal, Supreme
b) State, Appeal, Superior
c) District, Reject, Supreme
d) Regional, Appeal, Superior
21) How many people are required to cloture a filibuster in the Senate?
a) 90
b) 66
c) 51
d) 60
22) About, what percent of Americans are registered to vote?
a) 100
b) 82
c) 65
d) 50
23) What is not a requirement to be President?
a) at least 35 years old
b) a natural-born citizen
c) have previously held elected political office
d) live in the U.S. for 14 years
24) Which part of the Legislative Branch focuses more on foreign policy?
a) House
b) President
c) Supreme Court
d) Senate
25) Can the President declare war?
a) Yes
b) No
c) If they want to
d) Depends
26) The House of Representatives is described by:
a) 435 representatives, informal and personal
b) 100 representatives, tax revenue, formal
c) 435 representatives, formal, impersonal, tax revenue
d) 100 representatives, informal and personal, foreign policy
27) Why can the President dispatch military without Congress approval?
a) because of the Cold War and technology
b) because he wants to, as commander in chief
c) because congress passed the War Powers Resolution
d) because of the Vietnam war
28) Which are only related to the House of Representatives? (choose the best answer or combination)
I. unlimited debate
II. emphasizes budget and spending
III. emphasizes foreign policy
IV. debate limited to one hour
28) a) Both I and III
b) Both II and IV
c) only I
d) all 4 (I, II, III, IV) are
29) What is not in the President’s power?
a) Commander in Chief
b) makes treaties with other countries
c) national security
d) emphasizes tax for revenue policy
30) What article of the Constitution describes Legislative branch?
a) 2
b) 1
c) 6
d) 13
31) In what ways are incumbents at an advantage?
a) They are known and familiar- they get free advertising
b) They are funded by the Executive Branch- they are allowed to pay voters
c) They are given a vote boost- they can give away free t-shirts
d) They often know voters personally- they have better speech writers
32) What is not one of the tactics used by the President to pass a bill?
a) They are one figure head with media influence and power.
b) They are allowed to badger members of the House/Senate.
c) They can use their vote in congress.
d) They can veto an opposing bill or threaten veto.
33) Who has the final process of electing the next president?
A) congress
B) electoral college
c) the people
d) previous president
34) What is the debate limit for the senate?
a) 1hr
b) 3hrs
c) no limit
d) 2hrs
35) What do you need to override a veto?
a) 2/3 vote of senate
b) the president’s signature
c) 2/3 vote of house and senate
e) none of the above
36) What are 3 branches of government?
a) executive, legislative, judicial
b) executive, congress, senate
c) senate, legislative, judicial
d) congress, executive, judicial
37)what is an earmark?
a) accomplishments incumbent can brag about
b) amounts of money set aside for special government spending projects.
c) the lines drawn that determine how many reps. A certain area can have
d) none of the above.
38)Who has the power to vote to impeach a president?
a)Citizens
b)Vice President
c)House of Representatives
d)Senate
39) What is a bill in legislation?
a) A proposed law
b) A treaty
c) An amount of money you are charged
d) A test
40) What is a line item veto?
a) ability to veto parts of a bill
b) how the House and Senate can override a veto by the President
c) how the President can veto a bill
d) a way to approve a bill
41) What percent of incumbents win House elections?
a) 54%
b) 98%
c) 79%
d) 36%
42) What does the House deal with most?
a) foreign policy
b) governmental corruption
c) revenue
d) war
43) What is an incumbent?
a) a new voter
b) a person who has already been elected
c) a person running for the first time
d) a person who is represented in a district
44) What is an “open seat”?
a) a seat not being run by an incumbent
b) a place to sit at a Senate meeting
c) a place to sit at a House meeting
d) an empty seat
45) What is a referendum?
A. Citizen proposing a legislation
B. Fair method of selecting political leaders
C. Ratifying a policy proposed by state legislation
D. Contest between the different nominees
46) What are primary elections?
A. Elections that determine presidents
B. Elections that determine party nominees
C. Elections on a specific policy
D. The fun kind
47) One argument in favor of stricter voter registration is:
A. It will combat voter fraud
B. It will prevent more minorities from voting
C. It discriminates against poor people
D. It will deny more people the right to vote
48) The biggest spending items in the national budget are
A. Social security and healthcare programs
B. Education and medical research
C. Transportation and the federal courts
D. None of the above
49) What is a way to participate without voting?
A. Talk/influence votes
B. Give money
C. Attend political functions
D. All of the above
50) What was the 24th Amendment to the Constitution?
A. a) Barred the poll tax
B. b) Allowed 18 year-olds the vote
C. c) Allowed women the vote
D. d) Made gerrymandering illegal