AP Gov Unit 5 Study Guide

Political Participation

The different ways in which individuals take action to shape the laws and policies of a government

Political Action Committee

An organization that raises money to elect and defeat candidates and may donate money directly to a candidate's campaign, subject to limits

Linkage Institution

Channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, intereset groups, and the media

Social Movement

The joining of individuals seeking social or political change with the goal of placing issues on the policy agenda

Franchise

The right to vote

Suffrage

The right to vote

Poll Tax

A payment required by a state or federal government before a citizen is allowed to vote

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Prohibits Congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Allows those eighteen years and older to vote

Voter Turnout

The number of eligible voters who participate in an eleciton as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters

Demographic Characteristics

Measurable characteristcis of a population, such as economic status, education, age, race or ethnicity, and gender

Socioeconomic Status

A measure of an individual's wealth, income, occupation, and educational attainment

Political Efficacy

A person's belief that he or she can make effective political change

Political Mobilization

Efforts by political parties to encourage their members to vote

Registration Requirements

The set of rules that govern who can vote and how, when, and where they vote

Absentee Ballot

Voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election without going to the polls.

Rational Choice Voting

Voting based on what a citizen believes is in his or her best interest

Retrospective Voting

Voting based on an assessment of an incumbent's past performance

Prospective Voting

Casting a ballot for a candidate who promises to enact policies favored by the voter

Party-line Voting

Voting for candidates who belong only to one political party for all of the offices on the ballot

Electoral College

A constitutionally required process for selecting the president through slates of electors chosen in each state, who are pledged to vote for a nominee in the presidential election

Winner-Take-All-System

A system of elections in which the candidate who wins the plurality of votes within a state receives all of that state's votes in the Electoral college

Battleground State

A state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate in a presidential election

Swing State

A state where levels of supports for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans

Get Out The Vote (GOTV)

Efforts to mobilize supporters

Super PAC

An organization that may spend an unlimited amount of money on a political campaign, as long as the spending is not coordinated with a campaign

Political Party

An organized group of party leaders, officeholders, and voters that work together to elect candidates to political office

Party Identification

The degree to which a voter is connected to and influenced by a particular political party

Straight-Ticket Voting

Voting for all of the candidates on the ballot from one political party

Split-Ticket Voting

Voting for candidates from different parties in the same election

Party Platform

A set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to

Recruitment

A process through which political parties identify potential candidates

Party Coalition

Groups of voters who support a political party over time

Realignment

When the groups of people who support a politicaly party shift their allegiance to a different political party

Critical Election

A major national election that signals a change in the balance of power between the two parties

Party Era

A time period when one party wins most national elections

Era of Divided Government

A trend since 1969, in which one party controls one or both houses of Congress and the president is from the opposing party.

Nomination

The formal process through which parties choose their candidates for political office

Delegate

A person who acts as the voters' representative at a convention to select the party's presidential nominee

Primary Election

An election in which a state's voters choose delegates who support a candidate for nomination

Open Primary

A primary election in which all eligible voters may vote, regardless of their partisan affiliation

Closed Primary

A primary election in which only registered voters from a political party may vote

Caucus

A process through which a state's eligible voters meet to select delegates to represent their preferences in the nomination process

Superdelegate

Usually a party leader or activist who is not pledged to a candidate based on the outcome of the state's primary or caucus

Front-Loading

A decision by a state to push its primary or caucus to a date as early in the season as possible to become more influential in the nomination process

National Convention

A meeting where delegates officially select their party's nominee for the presidency

Candidate-Centered Campaign

A trend in which candidates develop their own strategies and raise money with less influence from the party elite

Two-Party System

A system in which two political parties dominate politics, winning almost all elections

Proportional Representation System

An election system for a legislature in which citizens vote for parties, rather than individual, and parties are represented in the legislature according to the percentage of the vote they receive

Single-Member Plurality System

An election system for choosing members of the legislature where the winer is the candidate who receives the most votes, even if the candidate does not receive a majority of the votes

Third Party

A minor political party in competition with the two major parties

Interest Groups

Voluntary associations of people who come together with the goal of getting the policies that they favor enacted

Social Movements

Diffuse groups that educate the public and put pressure on policymakers in an effort to bring about societal change

Theory of Participatory Democracy

The belief that citizens impact policymaking through their involvement in civil society

Civil Society

Groups outside the government that advocate for policy

Pluralist Theory

A theory that political power is distributed among many competing groups, which means that no single group can grow too powerful

Elitist Theory

A theory that the wealthy elite class has a disproportionate amount of economic and political power

Policy Agenda

The set of issues to which government officials, voters, and the public are paying attention

Collective Action

Political action that occurs when individuals contribute their energy, time, or money to a large group goal

Collective Good

Also called public good; a public benefit that individuals can enjoy or profit from, even if they do not help achieve it

Free Riders

Individuals who enjoy collective goods and benefit from the actions of an interest group without joining

Selective Benefits

Benefits available only to those who join the group

Economic Interest Groups

Groups advocating on behalf of the financial interests of their members

Public Interest Groups

Groups that act on behalf of the collective interests of a broad group of individuals

Single-Issue Groups

Associations focusing on one specific area of public policy, often a moral issue about which they are unwilling to compromise

Government Interest Groups

Organizations acting on behalf of local, state, or foreign governments

Lobbying

Interacting with government officials in order to advance a group's public policy goals

Revolving Door

The movement of individuals between positions in government and lobbying positions

Amicus Curiae Brief

A brief filed by someone who is not a party to a case in an attempt to persuade the Court to agree with the arguments set forth in the brief

Iron Triangle

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

Issue Network

The webs of influence between interest groups, policymakers, and policy advocates

Grassroots Lobbying

Mobilizing interest group members to pressure their representatives by contacting them directly through phone calls, email, and social media.

Protest

A public demonstration designed to call attention to the need for change

Civil Disobedience

Intentionally breaking a law to call attention to an injustice

News Media

A broad term that includes newspapers, magazines, radio, television, internet sources, blogs, and social media postings that cover important events

Social Media

Forms of electronic communication that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking

Agenda Setting

The media's ability to highlight certain issues and bring them to the attention of the public

Mass Media

Sources of information designed to reach a wide audience, including newspapers, radio, television, and internet outlets

Wire Service

An organization that gathers and reports on news and then sells the stories to other outlets

Investigative Journalism

An approach to newsgathering in which reporters dig into stories, often looking for instances of wrongdoing

Broadcast Media

Outlets for news and other content including radio and television that bring stories directly into people's homes

Media Consolidation

The concentration of ownership of the media into fewer corporations

Partisan Bias

The slanting of political news coverage in support of a particular political party or ideology

Horse-Race Journalism

Coverage of political campaigns that focuses more on the drama of the campaign rather than on policy issues