Voting and Elections in the United States

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the mechanisms of U.S. and Texas elections, voting systems, and political science concepts mentioned in the lecture.

Majority

An election result where a candidate receives $50\% + 1$ of the votes cast.

Plurality

A voting system where the winner is the candidate who receives more votes than any other individual candidate, even if they do not reach a majority.

Primary election

An election where political parties like the Republicans and Democrats determine who their nominee will be for the presidential election in year $2024$.

General election

The official election where the final winner is decided, often compared to the "Super Bowl" of political contests.

Special election

An election typically held to fill a vacancy or for newly created positions at the state or federal level.

Diverge's Law

A political science theory stating that a plurality or "winner-take-all" voting system encourages a two-party system.

Proportional representation

A system where the percentage of the vote a party receives is proportional to the amount of power or representation that party has in parliament.

Bicameral

A legislative body consisting of two houses, such as a house and a senate.

Voter turnout

The percentage of eligible voters who participated in an election.

Agenda setting

The process by which the media chooses which stories to highlight, determining what the public should care about.

Runoff election

A secondary election held between the top two vote getters if no candidate meets a specific threshold, such as the $50\%$ rule in Georgia.

Split-ticket voting

An occurrence where a voter chooses candidates from different political parties for different offices on the same ballot.

Open primaries

A system used in Texas that allows a voter to participate in either the Democratic or Republican primary regardless of party affiliation, provided they only vote in one.