Edexcel Politics 9. US Politics: Democracy and Participation

Question or Term

Answer

A procedure in 34 states permitting some form of voting in advance of election day, increasing utilised by voters, reaching around a third of all votes cast and thus reducing the potential impact of an October surprise

That party which between 2009 and 2017 lost the presidency, 10 Senate seats, 61 House seats, 13 state governorships, and 30 out of their 61 of a total of 98 partisan state legislatures

That election in which the spoiler effect most clearly played out, with the Greens' Ralph Nader preventing Al Gore from winning Florida and New Hampshire

Those bodies that are the primary focus of pressure groups lobbying Congress, focussing on such bodies' chairs and members, thus gaining a role in the legislative process, enhanced due to the small membership of such bodies and that members often contact lobbyists for information

Those three regions which are more inclined to support the Republican Party (Red States), alphabetically

That office the Constitution stipulates the holder of must be a natural born US citizen of 35 years of age and above whom has resided within the US for at least fourteen years

Those two regions which are more inclined to support the Democratic Party (Blue States), alphabetically

Those which function differently in the UK compared to the USA as a large proportion are trade unions with direct links to the Labour Party, and lobbying is aimed mostly at the executive (though this is diversifying with the newly assertive Supreme Court and House of Lords)

The individual considered by all impartial measures and marginally by voters as the winner of the three 2016 televised presidential debates

White working-class voters, mostly in the Midwest and Northeast, employed in blue collar jobs who had been traditional Democrats but supported Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Trump

Question or Term

Answer

The only independent member of the House of Representatives as of February 2020 - though he caucuses with the Democrats - representing the Northern Mariana Islands

Those the principal functions of which are; representative, educational/informative, to provide an outlet for political participation, to build influence and promote agenda, and to scrutinise government, perhaps challenging it legally as did the ACLU against Trump's 'Muslim Ban'

A 1993 act that mandated federal background checks on firearm purchasers, strongly opposed by the NRA

The percentage of liberals (26% of all voters) who voted Demcoratic in 2016

That religious group comprising 2% of the population which often supports the Democrats over the Republicans in addition to those without religious affiliation

The white, Christian (overwhelmingly Protestant though including Catholics), wealth, conservative, rural or suburban Republican support base which believes in limited government, is pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-traditional marriage, opposes Obamacare, and listens to Fox News and the likes of Rush Limbaugh

Those the problems of which include; revolving-door syndrome, the iron triangle, groups being unelected and unequal (i.e. the NRA is much more powerful than Handgun Control Inc.), groups enhancing special interests without regard to the majority, groups atomising society, buying influence, and sometimes turning to violence with direct action

That which Trump's battle in the 2016 Republican primaries was considered to be rather than ideological

Socially conservative Christian groups closely linked to Protestant evangelicals, seeking cultural and social changes favouring 'family values', pro-life policies, parental rights, and prayer in public schools

The first primaries, seen as crucial in winning the nomination as with Trump - though not with Bill Clinton (1992), George W. Bush (2000), or Barack Obama (2008) - as well as gauging how much candidates meet, beat, or fall short of expectations