Unit 2 Study Guide: Interest Groups, Political Parties, Elections, and Voting Rights

Vocabulary practice flashcards extracted from the Unit 2 study guide on interest groups, political parties, nominating processes, elections, and voting rights.

Public Policy

All of the goals that a government pursues in the many areas of human affairs in which it is involved.

Labor Union

An organization of workers who share the same type of job or work in the same industry and press for government policies that will benefit their members.

Single-interest Group

A political organization that concentrates its efforts on one specific issue or area of public policy.

Public Affairs

Those issues and events that concern the people at large, including politics, public issues, and the making of public policies.

Public-interest Group

An organization that seeks to influence public policy for the collective benefit of all citizens rather than just its own members.

Lobbying

The process by which organized group activities attempt to affect the decisions and actions of public officials and legislative bodies.

Trade Association

An interest group formed by a segment of the business community and focused on specific trade or industry interests.

Propaganda

A technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors and creating particular beliefs.

Grass Roots

Political activity or pressure originating directly from the average citizens or ordinary people.

Political Party

A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.

Major Parties

In American politics, the dominant Republican and Democratic political parties.

Partisanship

Strong allegiance to a political party and viewing policies or governance strictly through a party-oriented lens.

Party in Power

The political party that controls the executive branch of government at the national or state level.

Minor Party

One of the political parties without wide voter support in a given country or electoral system.

Two-Party System

A political system dominated by two major political parties.

Single-Member District

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

Plurality

In an election, the largest number of votes cast for an office, which may be less than an absolute majority.

Bipartisan

Supported by or involving two political parties.

Pluralistic Society

A society consisting of many distinct religious, ethnic, and socio-economic groups.

Consensus

A general agreement among various groups on fundamental matters or principles.

Multiparty

A system in which several major and many lesser political parties compete for and win public offices.

Coalition

A temporary alliance of several political parties or groups formed to run a government or achieve a specific goal.

One-Party System

A political system in which only one political party exists or is allowed by law to hold power.

Incumbent

The current holder of an elected office.

Faction

A conflicting group or subgroup operating within a larger organization or political party.

Electorate

All of the people in a given country or area who are entitled to vote in an election.

Sectionalism

A narrow-minded devotion to the interests of one section or region of a country over the whole nation.

Ideological Parties

Minor parties based on a particular set of comprehensive political, social, or economic beliefs.

Single-Issue Parties

Minor political parties that concentrate on only one public-policy matter.

Economic Protest Parties

Minor parties rooted in periods of economic discontent that demand specific political or economic changes.

Splinter Parties

Minor parties that have broken away from one of the major political parties.

Ward

A unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members.

Precinct

The smallest unit of election administration; a local voting district.

Split-Ticket Voting

Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election.

Nomination

The process of candidate selection in an electoral system.

General Election

The regularly scheduled election at which voters make the final selection of officeholders.

Caucus

A group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election.

Direct Primary

An election held within a party to pick that party's candidates for the general election.

Closed Primary

A party nominating election in which only registered party members can vote.

Open Primary

A party nominating election in which any qualified voter can participate, regardless of party affiliation.

Blanket Primary

A voting process in which voters receive a single ballot listing all candidates across parties and can vote for candidates regardless of party.

Runoff Primary

A primary held between the top two vote-getters when no candidate wins a majority in the first primary.

Nonpartisan Election

An election in which candidates are not identified by political party labels on the ballot.

Political Action Committee

The political arm of a special-interest group that raises and distributes money to political campaigns.

Subsidy

A grant of money, usually from a government, given to assist an organization, candidate, or business.

Coattail Effect

The effect of a strong candidate at the top of a ballot attracting voters for other candidates of the same party.

Hard Money

Campaign funding raised and spent in compliance with direct limits and regulation by federal campaign law.

Soft Money

Funds raised and spent for party-building activities rather than directly given to candidate campaigns.

Off-year Election

An election held in a year between presidential election years.

Political Efficacy

A citizen's belief in their ability to understand and influence political events and policy.

Political Socialization

The process by which individuals acquire their political attitudes, beliefs, and values.

Gender Gap

Measurable differences between the voting choices and policy views of men and women.

Party Identification

An individual's psychological or formal alignment with a particular political party.

Straight-ticket Voting

The practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election.

Independent

A voter or candidate who does not identify with or belong to any political party.

Transient

A person living in a state or locality for only a short time without legal residence status.

Registration

A procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting.

Purge

The process of reviewing voter lists and removing the names of those no longer eligible to vote.

Poll Books

Official lists of qualified voters in a precinct.

Suffrage

The legal right to vote in political elections.

Franchise

The right or privilege to vote.