Comparative State Politics Test Questions
Course Introduction
Comparative State Politics explores the political systems, governance structures, and policy-making processes of states within a federal system, with a particular focus on the United States and other federations around the world. This course examines the varying political cultures, party systems, electoral mechanisms, and institutions found at the state level, evaluating how these differences impact public policy outcomes, intergovernmental relations, and citizen engagement. Through comparative analysis, students gain an understanding of the factors influencing state-level variation, including historical development, economic structures, demographic shifts, and the role of interest groups and social movements. The course also addresses contemporary issues such as federal-state tensions, policy innovation, and state responses to national and global challenges.
Recommended Textbook
State and Local Government by the People 16th Edition by David B. Magleby
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10 Chapters
981 Verified Questions
981 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: State and Local Politics
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99 Verified Questions
99 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) When a variety of different people are active in different policy areas, it is representative of ________.
A)elitism
B)communism
C)differentialism
D)traditionalism
E)pluralism
Answer: E
Q2) A NIMBY reaction is most likely to be triggered in a community when it is announced that ________.
A)federal funds have been procured to build a new high school
B)an elected official has been accused of scandalous behavior
C)a local election has no clear winner and a runoff will result
D)a proposed new airport will not be built after all
E)a new landfill will be built in the area
Answer: E
Q3) Lobbying is an example of an indirect strategy of influencing state officials.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: American Federalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) The constitutional basis for the implied powers of Congress is the ________ clause.
A)extradition
B)supremacy
C)commerce
D)full faith and credit
E)necessary and proper
Answer: E
Q2) Only state governments can supervise relationships between multinational corporations and their thousands of worldwide employees.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The Constitution allows states to tax foreign ships.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: State Constitutions: Charters or Straightjackets
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93 Verified Questions
93 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which state has the longest constitution and has been amended the most number of times?
A)Texas
B)Rhode Island
C)Massachusetts
D)Florida
E)Alabama
Answer: E
Q2) Which states' charters, still in effect, are actually older than the federal Constitution?
A)Virginia and Maryland
B)New York and Massachusetts
C)Massachusetts and New Hampshire
D)Maryland and New York
E)New York and New Hampshire
Answer: C
Q3) The first state constitutions were outgrowths of the U.S.Constitution.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Parties and Elections in the States
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100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In an open primary, only voters registered in a party may vote in that party's primary.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Briefly describe voter registration.
Q3) Which of the following brought about the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote?
A)diplomatic pressure from international human rights agencies
B)pressure from all states of the country to include the provision
C)ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment that provided the right to vote regardless of race
D)several European countries providing the right to vote to women
E)women voting at the subnational level in some states
Q4) What is meant by one-party state and two-party state?
Q5) Restrictive voting registration laws are expected to have no effect on voter turnout.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Briefly describe the two types of party primaries conducted in the United States.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: State Legislatures
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100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Part time legislation allowed people to go back to their original occupations after serving the term.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following does NOT reflect a change in state legislatures in recent decades?
A)Higher salaries
B)More effective committee systems
C)Move toward longer annual sessions
D)Growth of staff support
E)Longer terms in office
Q3) What is malapportionment?
A)when legislative districts are unhappy with their representatives
B)when legislative districts have unequal populations
C)when legislative districts have been redistricted to give greater power to urban voters
D)when legislative districts have no term limits
E)when legislative districts have no representative for a short time (such as when a representative dies in office or is removed for criminal behavior)
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Chapter 6: State Governors
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the role of a state's attorney general?
A)represents the state before the courts
B)helps the governor run the state
C)develops fiscal policies for the state
D)supervises state elections
E)acts as the guardian of the state's money
Q2) The "preaudit" process is increasingly being assigned to the state's ________.
A)secretary
B)comptroller
C)attorney-general
D)budget director
E)lieutenant governor
Q3) Reformers have successfully argued that presidential and gubernatorial elections should be separated so that state elections are not swamped by the tides of national politics.
A)True
B)False
Q4) All states have terms lasting four years for their elected governors.
A)True
B)False
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Judges and the Justice in the States
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Sample Questions
Q1) Growing concerns about crime and mounting criticism have fueled legislative action for enhancing the existing judicial discretion of judges.
A)True
B)False
Q2) ________ refers to the tendency for an offender to repeat criminal behavior.
A)Pro bono
B)Indictment
C)Retribution
D)Misdemeanor
E)Recidivism
Q3) Plea bargaining allows prosecutors to ________.
A)prolong trials pertaining to civil disputes
B)avoid the dilemma of either incurring the expense of going to trial with a losing case or appearing to provide no service whatsoever to their clients
C)avoid long and drawn-out trials
D)effect harsh punishments for crimes
E)prolong criminal trials
Q4) What are the three types of state courts and what are their primary responsibilities?
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Chapter 8: Local Governments and Metropolitics
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Sample Questions
Q1) What was the concept on which counties were originally organized?
Q2) What is meant by the weak mayor-council form?
A)a city "constitution" that outlines the structure of city government, defines the authority of the various officials, and provides for their selection
B)a gradual change in property ownership with wealthier people buying property and moving into neighborhoods, leading to the revitalization of the area
C)a constitutional arrangement in which power is concentrated in a central government
D)a form of local government in which the city council hires a professional administrator to manage city affairs
E)a form of local government in which the members of the city council select the mayor, who then shares power with other elected or appointed boards and commissions
Q3) The system of local governments in the United States is always efficient and inexpensive.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are some of the traditional functions of counties?
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10
Chapter 9: Making State and Local Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) One of the issues often discussed about education funding is ________.
A)equity
B)feasibility
C)accessibility
D)information
E)worthiness
Q2) Pressure to reform the welfare system decreased among both Democrats and Republicans in the last decades of the twentieth century.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A welfare strategy adopted by some states that gives able-bodied adults who do not have preschool-age children the opportunity to learn job skills that can lead to employment is known as ________.
A)workfare
B)the two-track system
C)the child-welfare scheme
D)de facto segregation
E)responsibility contract
Q4) Explain zoning.
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Chapter 10: People and Money in State and Local Governments
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the challenges faced by state and local governments in revenue management?
Q2) The ________ tax is a major revenue source for local governments, even though it is considered the "least fair" or the "worst" tax in U.S.public opinion surveys.
A)general property
B)individual income
C)corporate income
D)sales
E)severance
Q3) What is a spoils system? Name the Act that restricted it.
Q4) In the 1990s, Georgia introduced a merit pay plan, in which ________.
A)employees' performance did not influence their pay structure
B)managers' salary was purely based on their subordinates' performance
C)employees' salaries were based on their qualification and gender
D)managers decided their subordinates' salaries based on their political favoritism
E)all newly hired or promoted persons served "at will," that is, at the discretion of the managers.
Q5) Explain legalized gambling as a source of revenue.
Page 12
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