Jeromy Rech

AP Government Unit IV FRQ

6th period

1. Identify and explain the primary system for presidential elections by answering the following:
a. What was the old way of choosing candidates?
- before the current system of selecting candidates, common/non-political people had
little say in who would represent the party
- Party bosses controlled the selection of delegates to the national convention (via
caucus)
b. What was the purpose of the McGovern-Fraser Commission?
- the McGovern-Fraser Commission was created to broaden representation to include
more women and minorities
- lessen the role of party bosses
c. What are super-delegates, pledged delegates, and unpledged delegates?
- super) can cast votes for whoever they want at the democratic national convention
- pledged) at the national convention (both republican and democratic) will vote for
the candidate that won the most votes in the primary/caucus in their district
- unpledged) can cast votes for whoever they want at the republican national
convention
d. What is the difference between open and closed primaries?
- open) any qualified voter can vote
voters can choose which partys primary to vote in at the time of the election
- closed) only declared party members can vote
must be a registered member of the party, which is not the same as voter
registration, to vote in that partys primary

Jeromy Rech

AP Government Unit IV FRQ

6th period

2. Identify and explain three reasons for the incumbency advantage.

1. Experience
- an incumbent by definition has some political experience, and probably won at
least one election
2. Franking Privilege
- congressional privilege that allows congresspersons to send out mail to their
constituents for free
3. Free Media Coverage
- local media like covering congressman. furthermore, they can go on national
television shows, they have an office in Washington that can create media releases
4. Money
- congressmen bring federal spending into their local areas to benefit the district,
challengers cannot
5. Name Recognition
- after their first year, senators have a 75% name recognition
- after their second year, senators have 90% name recognition

Jeromy Rech

AP Government Unit IV FRQ

6th period

3. Although lobbying by interest groups is no longer considered synonymous with vote buying, it
still has its critics.
a. Identify and explain two negative influences of interest groups and PACs on the policy
making process
- have too much influence
~ many votes can be decided by interest groups, for example, the NRA can
pressure the democrats to keep that second amendment by money, votes, ect.
(see 4th reason)
- may reflect an upper-class bias
~ the formation deals with money, unfortunately a lot, so the upper class are
the ones with the power to afford to lobby and get their way via interest
groups
- potential for exchanging votes for favorable legislation
~ on a similar example of the first, the NRA may decide that they favor the
second amendment over abortion, and focus and vote for no gun control and
let abortion fly by legally
- with interest groups all on one side of an issue, Congress may decided not to act at
all
~ if many interest groups support abortion, Congress will not progress in the
banning of abortion because of the backlash and tough resistance that it will
experience from the interest groups
b. Identify and explain one benefit of interest groups and PACs on the policy making process
- gives minoritys interest a voice
~ because they only focus on one issue instead a whole party platform, they
can focus and fight for a single issue, sometimes rather successfully
- connect individuals citizens to the policy making process
~ rather than elected officials deciding everything, the individual citizen can
join and fight for a certain issue
- inform the public
~ similar to the above, they can get their voice heard about a certain issue,
and make the general public hear/learn about it

Jeromy Rech

AP Government Unit IV FRQ

6th period

4. Nominees for the presidency of the two major parties are chosen by delegates at national
conventions. How these delegates are chosen varies across states and between political parties.
a. Define each of the following methods used by states to choose delegates to party
conventions.
- Open primary a primary election in which any voter can cast a ballot in any
partys primary.
- Caucus a meeting or gathering of members of a political party where members
deliberate and choose from the list of those seeking the presidential nomination.
b. Each party had different rules regarding how many delegates are won in each state in
primaries. Identify and explain either the Democratic of the Republican delegate selection
system.
- Democratic:
~ Proportional: if you will 40% of the votes, you earn 40% of the delegates
(but you must earn at least 15% of votes to win any delegates)
- Republican:
~ Winner-takes-all: if you win a plurality (more than your opponent) of votes,
you win all the delegates up for grabs (but the primary must be after April 1)
OR (can be decided by the states)
~ Proportional: see above
c. The Democratic Party has used superdelegates in the presidential nomination process
since 1984. Explain why the use of superdelegates increases the influence of party leaders in
the democratic nomination process
- Party leaders are now assured a role in the nomination process, regardless of which
candidate they support.
- Party leaders can cast the deciding vote in close nomination contests.
- Superdelegates are unpledged and therefore can change their minds on candidates
as the process unfolds.
d. Explain why a candidates strategy to win the nomination is often different from the
strategy developed to win general elections.
- The electorate in the primary election is different from the electorate in the general
election.
- A candidates opponents in the primary are fellow partisans, whereas opponents in
the general election are from other parties.
- There are differences in financing, media coverage and current events leading up to
the general election.

Jeromy Rech

AP Government Unit IV FRQ

6th period

5. Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When
redistricting is conducted, politicians often engage in gerrymandering.
a. Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to
states.
- The reallocation of the number of representatives each state has in the House of
Representatives
~ Reapportionment increases or decreases the number of seats a state has in
the House/Congress
~ More representatives mean that a state has more influence
~ Reapportionment increases or decreases a states number of electoral votes
b. Define congressional redistricting.
- The drawing/redrawing of House/congressional district lines
c. Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting.
- To enhance political party strength/to minimize the strength of the opposition
party.
- To protect incumbents/to discourage challengers.
- To increase minority representation/to decrease minority representation.
- To punish foes/to reward friends.
d. Describe two limits that the United States Supreme Court has places on congressional
redistricting.
- Districts must be equally populated.
- Lines must be contiguous or connected.
- Redistricting cannot dilute minority voting strength.
- District lines cannot be drawn solely based upon race.
- Districts must be compact.
- Communities of interest must be protected.