AP GOV Unit 5.1 Voting Rights & Patterns

14a

birthright citizenship clause; granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, including formerly enslaved people

15a

prohibits federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

17a

senators selected by state legislatures → senators directly elected by the people

19a

granted women the right to vote

24a

eliminated poll taxes as requirement for voting

26a

lowered voting age to 18 years old

prospective voting

voting based on predictions on performance in the future

retrospective voting

voting based on whether a candidate in power should be reelected based on the past

rational choice voting

voting based on what is in the citizen’s best intent

party line/straight ticket voting

supporting a party by voting for one party for all offices

primary elections

state-level contests used by political parties to select nominees for the general election as well as candidates for house and senate seats

• open: any registered voter can vote

• closed: only party members can vote

• semi-closed: independent voters can join in, while registered party members must vote in their own party’s primary

• runoff: a second election to break ties

caucus

a local meeting to discuss/express support for candidates and by the parties to elect delegates to county/state/national conventions, ultimately selecting the presidential nominee

front-loading

having primaries and caucus as early as possible to maximize campaign time