American Election System Trivia

The United States of America is…
1. a constitutional federal republic
2. a parliamentary democracy
3. a federal parliamentary republic
Congressional and presidential election elections usually take place simultaneously every …
1. 4 years
2. 5 years
3. 2 years
The President is allowed to serve…
1. only 2 terms
2. only 1 term
3. as many terms as he is elected
Each senator has a term of…
1. 6 years
2. 2 years
3. 4 years
The first elected President was…
1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Abraham Lincoln
The next President of the USA will be…
1. the 56th
2. the 45th
3. the 40th
The two main parties in the US are…
1. Republicans and Democrats
2. Labourists and Democrats
3. Lords and Commons
The elephant is the symbol of...
1. the Republicans
2. the Democrats
3. the Commons
The donkey is the symbol of...
1. the Democrats
2. the Republicans
3. the Labourists
The primary season is where candidates fight within the two main parties, Republican and Democratic, trying to win delegates who would vote for them at the National Convention.
This season takes place…
1. in the January before the election until about June
2. in the January before the election until about October
3. in the January before the election until about August
The difference between a primary and a caucus:
1. In a primary, people vote and select the delegate; in a caucus, a group of people selects the delegate.
2. In a primary, a group of people selects the delegate; in a caucus, people vote and select the delegate.
3. In a primary, delegates vote and select one of them; in a caucus, the group of the oldest members of the party (the Elders Council) selects the delegate.
At the end of the primaries and caucuses, the national party conventions, held a few months before the election, are…
1. where one candidate is nominated to run for the presidency.
2. where two candidates are formally nominated to run for the presidency.
3. where the candidate chooses the people who are going with him to run for the presidency.
Now that each party is represented by one candidate, the general election process begins. Candidates campaign throughout the country in an attempt to win the support of voters. Finally, the people vote for one candidate.
In 1845, Congress established this election would be in November …
1. a Tuesday following the first Monday of the month
2. a Tuesday following the second Monday of the month
3. a Tuesday following the first Tuesday of the month
November was chosen because…
1. the work in the farms was completed by this time so farmers were free to vote.
2. the first election took place in November.
3. it was a good month to travel particularly in the northern states.
Tuesday was chosen because…
1. it gave a full day's travel time between Sunday and voting day.
2. Monday was a religious day for some people.
3. it is a lucky day according to Quakers.
The first Tuesday of the month wasn't chosen because…
1. the first date of the month was reserved for court business.
2. the first date of the month was reserved for business.
3. the first date of the month was reserved for market day.
Voters do not, technically, participate in a direct election of the president. They choose "electors", who will vote to one or another candidate for presidency. This is known as the Electoral College.
In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors, based on each state's total number of representation in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote. For example, a large state like California gets 54 electoral votes, while Rhode Island gets only four. All together, there are…
1. 538 Electoral votes.
2. 345 Electoral votes.
3. 835 Electoral votes.
In December (following the general election), the electors cast their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the Presidential candidate that gets…
1. more than half (270) wins the election.
2. half (269) wins the election.
3. more than three quarters (405) wins the election.
The Oath Taking by the new President takes place on…
1. 20th January, the next year.
2. 13th January, the next year.
3. the first Monday of the New Year.
The first Election Day took place in…
1. 1789
2. 1865
3. 1775
Blue state is a term used to refer to a U.S. state where the majority of voters usually support...
1. Democratic candidates
2. Republican candidates
3. Independent candidates
At the time the Constitution was written, the ones allowed to vote in U.S. elections were...
1. white male property owners.
2. all men, regardless of race, creed, or color.
3. no one was initially given the right to vote.
Women were first permitted to vote in the United States in…
1. 1920
2. 1776
3. 1865
A document gave African Americans the right to vote in 1870:
1. the Fifteenth Amendment
2. the Emancipation Proclamation
3. the Bill of Rights
The President's wife is called…
1. the First Lady
2. Mrs. President
3. Lady President