State, local and tribal government

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to C on Arizona petition counts (cards A and C are exact; card B is data). Card A, "Arizona's petition rules". Who made it: Arizona voters and the Constitution (1912), as set out by Ballotpedia. When: in force today. For whom: Arizona voters and officials. Why: to set how many signatures a petition needs. Excerpt 1: "initiated constitutional amendment (ICA): 15 percent of the votes cast for governor" Excerpt 2: "initiated state statute (ISS): 10 percent of the votes cast for governor" Excerpt 3: "veto referendum (VR): 5 percent of the votes cast for governor" Card B, "Required signatures". Who made it: Ballotpedia, from the Arizona Secretary of State. When: 2020 to 2026. For whom: students of government. Why: to show recent counts. Data and note: Initiated constitutional amendment, initiated statute, veto referendum. 2020 and 2022: 356,467; 237,645; 118,823. 2024 and 2026: 383,923; 255,949; 127,975. Each count is a percent of the votes cast for governor at the election before. Card C, "Arizona's recall rule". Who made it: Arizona voters and the Constitution, as set out by Ballotpedia. When: in force today. For whom: Arizona voters and officials. Why: to set how many signatures a recall needs. Excerpt: "The number of signatures required to qualify for a recall attempt for the ballot is 25% of the number of votes cast in the last election for that office."

2. 1.

   Statute signatures rose from 237,645 to 255,949. Pia says the rule changed. Using cards A and B, what best explains the rise of about 8 percent?

   • Lawmakers raised the share from 10 percent to about 10.8 percent, which is the rise that the table shows
   • Votes cast for governor rose about 8 percent between the two elections while the rule stayed at 10 percent
   • More groups filed petitions, which raised the number that each group needed to collect by about 8 percent
   • Registered voters rose about 8 percent, and the 10 percent rule counts registered voters rather than those who voted
3. 2.

   Ren compares a 2024 amendment petition with a recall of the governor, using cards A to C. Which needs more signatures, and why?

   • The recall: 25 percent of about 2.56 million is about 640,000, above the 383,923 an amendment needs at 15 percent
   • The amendment: a recall needs 25 percent of 383,923, or about 96,000, which is far fewer than the amendment needs
   • They need the same, because both rules count votes cast for governor and that count is one number for both
   • The amendment: 15 percent is a bigger share than the recall counts, so the amendment needs more signatures to qualify
4. 3.

   A writer says Arizona's 255,949-signature rule shuts out small groups. Tala looks for the missing evidence. What would most challenge the writer?

   • The number of votes cast for governor in the year before 2020, as a check on the base
   • Records of petitions that qualified with mostly volunteer gatherers and little money
   • The number of signatures that card B shows for the recall and for the veto referendum in 2024
   • Statements by lawmakers that the 10 percent share is low compared with the shares in other states

5. Use this

   Cards A to E on petitions and amendments in two states (the excerpts are exact; card C is data). Card A, "West Virginia Constitution, Article XIV, Section 2". Who made it: the people of West Virginia. When: 1872. For whom: the Legislature and voters. Why: to say how the constitution is amended. Excerpt 1: "be agreed to on its third reading, by two thirds of the members elected thereto" Excerpt 2: "it shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide by law for submitting the same to the voters of the state for ratification or rejection" Card B, "The two West Virginia houses". Who made it: Ballotpedia. When: read in 2026. For whom: students of government. Why: to count the seats. Data and note: The West Virginia Senate has 34 seats and the House 100 seats. Card C, "What West Virginia lacks". Who made it: Ballotpedia. When: read in 2026. For whom: students of government. Why: to name the ways a constitution can be changed. Excerpt: "West Virginia does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes." Card D, "Arizona's petition rules". Who made it: Arizona voters and the Constitution (1912), as set out by Ballotpedia. When: in force today. For whom: Arizona voters and officials. Why: to set how many signatures a petition needs. Excerpt 1: "initiated constitutional amendment (ICA): 15 percent of the votes cast for governor" Excerpt 2: "initiated state statute (ISS): 10 percent of the votes cast for governor" Excerpt 3: "veto referendum (VR): 5 percent of the votes cast for governor" Card E, "Where Arizona signatures may come from". Who made it: Ballotpedia. When: read in 2026. For whom: students of government. Why: to say whether signatures must be spread out. Excerpt: "Arizona does not have a distribution requirement. As such, any proportion of the required signatures may be collected from any county or congressional district."

6. 4.

   Zee asks how many West Virginia senators can block a proposed amendment, using cards A and B. Which answer is right?

   • 11 senators, since 11 refusals leave 23 in favor, and 23 is below two thirds of the 34 senators
   • 17 senators, since a bare majority of 34 can stop a measure that needs a two-thirds vote to pass
   • No number, because the House alone decides whether an amendment goes to the voters in West Virginia
   • 12 senators: two thirds of 34 is 23, and 12 refusals leave only 22 in favor

7. Use this

   Cards A to D on tribal power and the Court (the excerpts are exact; card D is made up). Card A, "Worcester v. Georgia (1832)". Who made it: Chief Justice John Marshall, for the Court. When: 1832. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether Georgia could convict a man for living in Cherokee territory without a state license. Excerpt: "The Cherokee nation, then, is a distinct community occupying its own territory, with boundaries accurately described, in which the laws of Georgia can have no force" Card B, "Montana v. United States (1981)". Who made it: Justice Potter Stewart, for the Court. When: 1981. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether a tribe could regulate what nonmembers do on land within its reservation that nonmembers owned. Excerpt 1: "the inherent sovereign powers of an Indian tribe do not extend to the activities of nonmembers of the tribe." Excerpt 2: "A tribe may regulate, through taxation, licensing, or other means, the activities of nonmembers who enter consensual relationships with the tribe or its members, through commercial dealing, contracts, leases, or other arrangements." Excerpt 3: "A tribe may also retain inherent power to exercise civil authority over the conduct of non-Indians on fee lands within its reservation when that conduct threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or the health or welfare of the tribe." Card C, "Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978)". Who made it: Justice Thurgood Marshall, for the Court. When: 1978. For whom: the parties, other courts and the public. Why: to decide whether a tribe's membership rule could be challenged in federal court. Excerpt: "Although no longer 'possessed of the full attributes of sovereignty,' they remain a 'separate people, with the power of regulating their internal and social relations.'" Card D, "Readings and a case". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Reading X: a state's law can never reach activity inside a reservation. Reading Y: whether tribal or state law applies depends on who is involved and what is at stake. These readings are written for this sheet and are not from any court. Case: a nonmember company, on land it owns inside the Tallgrass Nation's reservation, dumps waste into a creek that is the Nation's only source of drinking water. The company has no dealings with the Nation. The Nation orders a cleanup.

8. 5.

   Esme compares the readings on card D using cards A to C. Which reading do the cards support best?

   • Reading Y: Worcester sets one nation apart, but Montana and Santa Clara show limits, with only two exceptions over nonmembers
   • Neither: cases from 1832, 1978 and 1981 are too far apart to support any reading about tribes and states
   • Reading X, because Montana says the powers of a tribe do not extend to nonmembers, so only tribal law reaches members
   • Reading X: Worcester says Georgia's laws had no force in Cherokee territory, so no state law can reach it today
9. 6.

   Jun applies card B to the case on card D. May the Nation order the company to clean up the creek, and why?

   • No: card A says the laws of a state, not of a nation, apply to land the company owns inside the reservation
   • Yes: the second exception covers conduct with a direct effect on a tribe's health or welfare, even with no dealings at all
   • No: the company owns the land and has no consensual dealings with the Nation, so the first exception does not apply
   • Yes: card B says a tribe's sovereignty reaches every person on its reservation, so the Nation may order anything
10. 7.

    A writer says Worcester shows tribal sovereignty has never changed. Kira tests the claim with cards A to C. What is the best verdict?

    • Shown: Worcester came first, and later cases only repeat its holding, so sovereignty stayed the same across them
    • Refuted: card C says tribes lack full sovereignty now, and card B limits power over nonmembers in all but two cases
    • Shown: card A calls the Cherokee nation a distinct community in its own territory, which is full sovereignty and has not changed
    • Cannot tell: a case from 1832 cannot show anything about 1978, so the cards give no way to check the claim

11. Use this

    Card A on local governments in four states (data). Card A, "Local governments in four states, 2022". Who made it: the US Census Bureau. When: counted in 2022. For whom: the public. Why: to compare local governments by state. Data and note: Units counted, not powers or budgets. Arizona: 674 in all; 15 counties, 91 municipalities, 326 special districts, 242 school districts; 7,158,923 people. West Virginia: 639; 55, 231, 298 and 55; 1,795,045 people. Georgia: 1,379; 152 counties, 537 municipalities, 510 special districts, 180 school districts; 10,725,274 people. Nebraska: 2,541; 93 counties, 528 municipalities, 350 townships, 1,303 special districts, 267 school districts; 1,963,333 people. (Apportionment population, 2020.)

12. 8.

    Luz says Nebraska proves that more local governments mean more fragmentation. Using card A, which statement is best?

    • Disproved: Nebraska has only 93 counties, so its local government is simple and not fragmented in any way
    • Nebraska has about 129 units per 100,000 people, over half special districts, but the card shows only counts
    • Proved in part: Nebraska has 350 townships, which no other state on the card has, so it is the only fragmented one
    • Proved: Nebraska has the most units per person of the four states, so its services must be the most fragmented
13. 9.

    Georgia has 152 counties and Arizona 15. Milo says Georgia's counties are about ten times smaller. Using card A, what is the best verdict?

    • Unsupported: averages hide the largest counties, so the card cannot say anything about county size in either state
    • Refuted: Georgia has more people, so each county there is bigger than any Arizona county, whatever its size
    • Supported: 152 is about ten times 15, so Georgia's counties must be about ten times smaller than Arizona's
    • On average Georgia's counties hold about 70,600 people and Arizona's about 477,300, so about seven times smaller
14. 10.

    A writer says West Virginia's 55 school districts, one per county, show schools there are run locally. Noah looks for missing evidence. What would most challenge the writer?

    • How many school districts Georgia and Nebraska have, to compare the number in each state
    • Whether the 55 districts follow county borders in West Virginia, as card A suggests by the equal counts
    • The number of students in each of the 55 school districts, to find the average district size
    • Who sets school budgets, standards and hiring in West Virginia, the districts or the state