Key Political Terms for American Elections and Polling

Attentive Public

those who follow politics and public affairs carefully

Benchmark/tracking poll

several responses obtained over a period of time

Entrance/Exit poll

measurement of voter opinion right before or after they enter the voting booth

Demographic

characteristic of a population, like race, gender, or income.

Gender Gap

difference in voting patterns for men and women, particularly in the greater tendency of the latter to vote for Democratic presidential candidates.

Ideology

set of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

Independent

one who is not registered with a political party.

Issue Advocacy Ads

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

Opinion Poll

measurement of beliefs about an issue or candidate

Party Identification

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

Party Platform

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

Political Culture

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

Political Efficacy

capacity to understand and influence political events

Political Socialization

process in which one acquires his/her political beliefs.

Realigning ("Critical") elections

an election in which there is a long term change in party alignment, e.g., 1932

Random sampling

best way to select respondents for a poll

Safe Seat

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

Sampling Error

the margin of how incorrect a poll could be

Independent Learners

tend to vote for candidates of one particular party

Pure Independents

have no consistent pattern of party voting

Plank

position of a Party Platform.