Political Participation (Voting, Political Parties, Elections, Interest Groups, Media) Vocabulary List Part 1

AP Gov Unit 5

Compulsory Voting

Requirement that all eligible citizens vote in an election. Required

Critical Election

An election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues and personalities; voters shift party loyalty. In a big wave; Ex. Civil War

Demographics

The grouping of individuals based on shared characteristics such as ancestry, race, ethnicity, and gender.

Electorate

The people who are entitled to vote in an election. People entitled to vote

Fifteenth Amendment

The provision stated that the right of citizens to vote may not be denied on account of race or color.

Free Rider Problem

Individuals who do not join a group representing their interests yet receive the benefits of the group’s influence.

Gender Gap

A term that refers to the fact that American women are more likely to identify with and vote for Democratic Party candidates than men, who are more likely to vote for Republican Party candidates.

Gridlock

A slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship.

Iron Triangle

Coordinated and mutually beneficial activities of the bureaucracy, Congress, and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals.

Linkage Institutions

The means through which people’s concerns and interests become political issues on the government policy agenda (Political Parties, Elections, Interest Groups, and the Mass Media).  The channels that connect people to those in government and vice versa.

Motor Voter Law

A law allowing Americans to register to vote when applying for or renewing their driver’s licenses and making it easier for Americans with Disabilities to vote.

Nineteenth Amendment

This provision granted women’s suffrage (right to vote).

Party Convention

A meeting of party delegates every 4 years where a party’s candidate is officially nominated, and the party platform is adopted.

Party Identification

An individual’s attachment to a political party.

Party Platform

A political party’s statement of its beliefs, goals, and policy aims for the next four years.

Plurality

When a candidate receives more votes than any other candidate.  (First past the post. Whoever gets the most.)

Political Efficacy

A person’s belief that they can make effective political change.

Political Machine

A party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over member activity. 

Political Party

A group of like-minded citizens who organize to win elections, hold office, and determine public policy.

Proportional System

An electoral system that awards votes to a candidate as a percentage of the number of votes won in an election.

Prospective Voting

Voting for a candidate based on campaign promises and a belief that they will bring about positive change.

Rational Choice Voting

Voting for a candidate based on an individual’s best interest, weighing the pros and cons of alternative options.

Retrospective Voting

Voting for a candidate based on the approval of their past actions. Voting again because of actions or against because of actions

Seventeenth Amendment

This amendment changed the method of election for U.S. Senators from state legislators to a popular vote.

Single Member District

Electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office.

Split-ticket Voting

Voting for candidates from different parties in the same election.

Straight-Ticket/Party Line Voting

Voting for a candidate based on party loyalty.

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

This amendment eliminated the poll tax.

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

This amendment lowered the voting age to 18.

Voter Turnout

The percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation outlawing literacy tests and authorizing the Justice Department to send federal officers to register voters in uncooperative cities, counties, and states.W

Winner-Take-All System

An electoral system in which all votes are given to the candidate who comes in first in their constituency.