How America Votes – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 15 questions in the How America Votes quiz, each with a short explanation. The US political system in plain terms — from Congress to campaign slogans. Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 15 questions1. How long is one full term for a member of the United States Senate?
Answer: Six years
US senators serve six-year terms, with roughly one-third of the 100 seats up for election every two years in staggered classes, while House members serve two years.
2. How many Electoral College votes does a candidate need to win the presidency?
Answer: 270
Winning the presidency requires an absolute majority of the 538 electoral votes, meaning 270. If no one reaches that, the House of Representatives chooses the president, as it last did in 1825.
3. "Make America Great Again" was first used as a slogan by which president?
Answer: Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan campaigned in 1980 with the pledge 'Let's Make America Great Again,' printed on buttons and posters during the stagflation era, decades before Donald Trump adopted and trademarked the phrase.
4. Which state has traditionally held the first presidential caucuses of the campaign?
Answer: Iowa
Iowa has held the first presidential caucuses since 1972, when state Democrats moved their precinct meetings to January 24; New Hampshire traditionally holds the first primary, a different type of contest.
5. Who casts the deciding vote when the US Senate is tied 50-50?
Answer: The Vice President
The Constitution makes the vice president president of the Senate with the power to vote only to break ties; Kamala Harris set the record with 33 tie-breaking votes during the 50-50 Senate.
6. How many voting members serve in the US House of Representatives?
Answer: 435
The US House of Representatives has 435 voting members, a cap fixed by the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929; the figure 535 refers to the House plus the 100 senators. Six non-voting delegates also represent DC and the territories.
7. Which animal is the traditional symbol of the US Democratic Party?
Answer: Donkey
The donkey is the traditional symbol of the Democratic Party, popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose 'A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion' appeared in Harper's Weekly on January 15, 1870. Nast also helped make the elephant the Republican symbol in 1874.
8. How often are midterm elections held in the United States?
Answer: Every four years, between presidential elections
Midterm elections fall every four years, halfway through a president's four-year term, as in 2018, 2022 and 2026. All 435 House seats and about one-third of the Senate are on the ballot, along with many governorships.
9. Where does the US president officially live and work in Washington DC?
Answer: The White House
The White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the official residence and workplace of the US president, occupied since John Adams in 1800. The Capitol houses Congress and the Pentagon is the Defense Department headquarters.
10. Which presidential campaign used the slogan "Yes We Can"?
Answer: Barack Obama
Barack Obama's 2008 campaign used 'Yes We Can,' a phrase he highlighted in his New Hampshire primary night speech in January 2008. It echoes the United Farm Workers' Spanish rallying cry 'Si, se puede' from Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.
11. After the House impeaches an official, which body holds the trial?
Answer: The Senate
The Constitution gives the House the sole power to impeach and the Senate the sole power to try impeachments, with conviction requiring a two-thirds vote of senators present. When a president is tried, the Chief Justice of the United States presides.
12. Which president won the White House with the slogan "I Like Ike"?
Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower
"I Like Ike" was the slogan of Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1952 campaign, when the former Allied commander in World War II beat Democrat Adlai Stevenson in a landslide. A Disney-produced animated TV ad helped popularise the phrase.
13. Which state currently carries the most Electoral College votes?
Answer: California
California has 54 electoral votes, the most of any state, ahead of Texas (40), Florida (30) and New York (28). The totals come from the 2020 census and apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
14. Which president was elected to four terms, before the two-term limit?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president four times, in 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944, and died in April 1945. His record led to the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, which limits presidents to two elected terms.
15. Which tall stone obelisk stands at the centre of Washington's National Mall?
Answer: The Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is a marble obelisk about 555 feet tall on the National Mall, honouring George Washington. Completed in 1884 after 36 years of stop-start construction, it was then the tallest building in the world.