Monday, Aug. 10, 2020 | 2 a.m.
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While the coming presidential election is getting most of the attention, results in this November’s election will also determine who will serve as voting members in 470 House and Senate seats and which political party will have a majority in the two legislative bodies.
The quiz below, from the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, provides an opportunity for you to test your knowledge of congressional elections.
1. The U.S. Constitution states that to be elected to the House of Representatives, a person must be how old and must have been a U.S. citizen for how long?
A. 21 years and five years
B. 25 years and seven years
C. 30 years and nine years
D. 35 years and 10 years
2. The so-called Elections Clause (Article I, Section IV) of the Constitution puts choosing the “Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections” for senators and representatives in the hands of whom?
A. Congress
B. The Supreme Court
C. State legislatures
D. Governors
3. The Constitution mandates that Congress meet only once per year. What was the original required date and what is the current required date, after a final change was made with passage of the 20th Amendment?
A. First Monday in December and January 3
B. First Monday in October and January 20
C. Second Wednesday in September and March 4
D. First Friday in January and April 15
4. Senators are elected to serve terms of how many years?
A. Two years
B. Four years
C. Five years
D. Six years
5. Senators are elected “by the people thereof” rather than by state legislatures after ratification of which amendment to the Constitution?
A. 10th Amendment
B. 15th Amendment
C. 17th Amendment
D. 20th Amendment
6. What percentage of senators are up for re-election in the 2020 elections?
A. One-fourth
B. One-third
C. Half
D. Two-thirds
7. The number of elected members of the House of Representatives has been fixed since 1929. How many representatives are there?
A. 100
B. 275
C. 350
D. 435
8. Which congressional officer is specifically mentioned in the Constitution, as chosen by the members of one of the Houses of Congress?
A. The Speaker of the House
B. The Majority Leader
C. The Parliamentarian
D. The Majority Whip
9. The first African American was elected to serve in the House of Representatives in 1870. What was his name and what state did he represent?
A. Oscar De Priest of Illinois
B. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. of New York
C. Josiah Walls of Florida
D. Joseph Rainey and South Carolina
10. The first woman was elected to serve as a U.S. senator in 1932. What was her name and what state did she represent?
A. Rebecca Felton and Georgia
B. Gladys Pyle and South Dakota
C. Hattie Caraway and Arkansas
D. Rose Long and Louisiana
ANSWERS: 1-B, 2-C, 3-A, 4-D, 5-C, 6-B, 7-D, 8-A, 9-D, 10-C
Joseph Postell is a member of the faculty at the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University and an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
