Political Beliefs Vocab

Attentive Public

those who follow politics and public affairs carefully

Australian Ballot

secret ballot printed at the expense of the state

Blanket primary

election to choose candidates that is open to independents & that allows voters to choose candidates from all the parties

Balancing the Ticket

occurs when a presidential nominee chooses a vice presidential running mate who has different qualities in order to attract more votes for the ticket

Caucus

local party meeting

Coattail effect

the influence of a popular presidential candidate on the election of congressional candidates of the same party

Demographics

characteristics of populations (race, sex, income)

Direct election

election of an official directly by the people rather than by an intermediary group such as the Electoral College

Direct Primary

election in which the people choose candidates for office

Fixed terms

terms of office that have a definite length of time (2 yrs for member of House)

Front Loading

scheduling presidential primary elections early (Feb/March in election year)

Gender Gap

difference in voting patters for men & women, particularly in the greater tendency of the latter to vote for Democratic presidential candidates

General Election

election in which the officeholders are chosen. Contrast with a primary election, in which only the candidates are chosen.

Hard Money

campaign contributions donated directly to candidates

Ideology

set of beliefs about political values and the role of government

Incumbent

an officeholder who is seeking reelection

Independent

one who is not registered with a political party

Independent learners: tend to vote for candidates of one particular party

Pure independents: no consistent pattern of party voting

Issue Advocacy Advertisments

ads that focus on issues & do not explicitly encourage citizens to vote for a certain candidate

Open Primary

election to choose candidates that is open to independents & in which voters may choose candidates from any one party

Party Identification

a sense of affiliation that a person has with a particular political party

Party Platform

a list of positions & programs that the party adopts at the national convention

• each position is called a plank

Political Culture

the widely shared beliefs, values, & norms that citizens share about their government

Plurality

more votes than anyone else, but less than half

• Plurality elections:

  • those for Congress are won by the person with the most votes, regardless if they have a majority

Political Efficacy

capacity to understand & influence political events

Political Socialization

process in which one acquires his/her political beliefs

Realigning “critical“ election

an election in which there is a long term change in party alignment (ex: 1932)

Safe Seat

an office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party

Single Member District System

system in which the people elect one representative per district.

with a winner-take-all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weakens minor parties

Soft Money

campaign contributions that are not donated directly to candidates, but are instead donated to parties

Solid South

historically, the South voted solidly Democratic — However, the South is now strongly Republican: Bush carried every Southern state in 2000.

Split Ticket Voting

Casting votes for candidates of own party & candidates of opposing parties

Suffrage

the right to vote

Superdelegate

a delegate to the Democratic national convention who is there by virtue of holding an office

Super Tuesday

a Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries; particularly in the South, are held

Swing State

a state that does not consistently vote either Democratic or Republican in presidential elections