AP U.S. Government topic quiz4 questions

5.2 Voter Turnout

Choose the best answer, check your reasoning, and use the explanation to correct any gap.

Question 1

Question 1 of 4

A registration drive adds many previously unregistered eligible citizens to the rolls. The voting-eligible population and total ballots cast remain unchanged, but registered-voter turnout falls. Which interpretation is best?

Adding eligible citizens to the roll enlarges the registered-voter denominator. With ballots and the voting-eligible population unchanged, the lower registered rate can be a denominator effect rather than a decline in participation among eligible citizens.
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A. The registered denominator grew; eligible-population turnout need not have fallen

Adding eligible citizens to the roll enlarges the registered-voter denominator. With ballots and the voting-eligible population unchanged, the lower registered rate can be a denominator effect rather than a decline in participation among eligible citizens.

Question 2

Question 2 of 4

Two counties have the same number of ballots per voting-eligible resident. One county has a much larger share of adult noncitizens and therefore reports a lower voting-age-population turnout rate. What best explains the difference?

Voting-age population includes adults who may not be legally eligible. Counties with equal eligible-population turnout can therefore display different voting-age rates when the share of ineligible adults differs.
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B. The voting-age denominator includes different shares of adults who are not eligible

Voting-age population includes adults who may not be legally eligible. Counties with equal eligible-population turnout can therefore display different voting-age rates when the share of ineligible adults differs.

Question 3

Question 3 of 4

Turnout among citizens under age thirty rises sharply, turnout among older citizens stays constant, and candidate preferences within every age group remain unchanged. How could the election result still change?

An election aggregates the ballots that are actually cast. If younger citizens become a larger share of that electorate, their existing preferences receive more weight even when no individual's candidate choice changes.
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C. A younger electorate gave stable preferences more weight

An election aggregates the ballots that are actually cast. If younger citizens become a larger share of that electorate, their existing preferences receive more weight even when no individual's candidate choice changes.

Question 4

Question 4 of 4

A study initially finds a large turnout gap between adults with and without college degrees. The gap becomes much smaller after the researchers adjust for measured civic skills, residential stability, and organizational contact. What is the best interpretation?

The measured covariates statistically account for part of the original education-turnout association. Adjustment alone cannot determine whether a variable mediates an educational effect, confounds the relationship, reflects selection, or plays some combination of those roles.
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D. Measured differences account statistically for part of the association, not a proven pathway

The measured covariates statistically account for part of the original education-turnout association. Adjustment alone cannot determine whether a variable mediates an educational effect, confounds the relationship, reflects selection, or plays some combination of those roles.

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