Voting and Political Parties

vocab for 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, and 11.1 government

political party***

people who seek to control government through winning elections and holding public office

political spectrum

range of political views

partisanship

strong support of their party and its policy stands

single member districts

electoral districts from which 1 person is chosen by voters for each selected office

plurality

largest number of voters cast for the office

bipartisan

supported by 2 parties

consensus

agreement among various groups on fundamental matters; broad agreement on public questions

coalition

temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form working majority and control a government

ideological***

based on a particular set of beliefs; a comprehensive view of social, economical, and political matters

single issue parties****

focus on a single public question

economic protest parties****

parties rooted in poor economic

splinter parties****

parties that have split away from 1 of the major parties

ward

unit in which cities are often divided for the election of city council members

precinct

smallest unit of election administration; a voting district

suffrage

right to vote

franchise****

right to vote

electorate****

all people entitled to vote in an election

disenfranchised

denied the right to vote

poll tax

special tax, demanded by some states, as a condition of voting; outlawed by the 24th amendment

gerrymandering****

drawing of electoral district lines to the advantage to a party or group

injunction

court order that forces or limits the performance of some act by private individual or by a public official

preclearance

provision mandated by the voting rights act in 1965 in which no new election laws or existing election laws, could go into effect in certain states unless they were approved by the department of justice

transient

person living in a state for only a short time, without legal residence

registration****

procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting

purging

process of reviewing lists of registered voters and removing the names of those no longer eligible to vote; purification

poll books

list of all registered voters in each precinct

literacy****

person’s ability to read and write

off year elections

elections held in even years between presidential elections

ballot fatigue****

fewer voters being cast for offices at the end of an election ballot

political efficacy****

having an influence on politics

political socialization****

how people gain political attitudes or opinions

gender gap

difference in political choice of men and woman

party identification****

loyalty of people to a specific party

straight ticket voting****

voting for candidates from only 1 party (doesn’t matter who the candidate is, they just vote for their party)

split ticket voting****

voting for candidates of more than 1 party

independent****

having no party affiliation

nonvoting voters

only vote for the president and not others forms of office

party loyalists****

vote for all of their party’s candidates (split ticket voting)

role of political parties

recruit candidates, nominate candidates, get out the vote, facilitate electoral choice, and influence national government

15th amendment

the right to vote can’t be taken away because of race, color, or previous servitude

19th amendment

allowed women the right to vote

26th amendment

 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

need to be a resident for ____ days

30