Instruction
Answer the following questions in a minimum of 4 pages total. Please submit by Midnight of Wednesday, April 22nd.
Final Exam.docx
Chapter 6
1. Should politicians and elected officials be influenced by public opinion? Are there times in which elected officials should ignore or act against public opinion?
2. How well does polling capture public opinion? Should polls direct public policy? How has scientific polling improved the way we gauge public opinion?
3. Identify who drives public opinion—citizens or elites.
4. Is every citizen’s voice equal, or are some people more influential? Why? How do elites shape public opinion?
Chapter 7
1. What aspects of the “citizen legislature” make it more susceptible to the negative effects of lobbyists and other private interests? Why is it so hard to alter these aspects of Texas government?
2. Using Table 7.1, discuss the importance of money in the legislative campaign process. What effect, if any, would the part-time nature of the Texas Legislature have on the data presented in the table?
3. In a state such as Texas, where one party has a large amount of influence and decision-making power, does redistricting hold more or less significance?
4. To what extent is the dominance of one party the result of gerrymandering?
5. What recourse does a losing party have in a gerrymandered districts?
Chapter 10
1. Examine the advantages of incumbency, technology and the modern campaign, elections and the media, and analysis of polling data.
2. Discuss whether the Electoral College should be eliminated. What are the criticisms of the Electoral College? What are the advantages to having the Electoral College? What alternatives might we use to elect the president? What are the consequences of other methods?
3. In what ways do elections encourage accountability and responsiveness in government? How are campaigns today different from how they were prior to the 1900s? What factors have led to changes in the way candidates’ campaign?
4. What are the implications of the fact that campaigns focus on swing states? How did a focus on swing states impact the 2016 presidential election?