AP Government Key Terms: Political Beliefs and Political Behaviors

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to political beliefs, behaviors, and election processes.

Attentive public

Those who follow politics and public affairs carefully.

Balancing the ticket

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

Caucus

Local party meeting.

Closed primary

Party election to choose candidates that is closed to independents; voters may not cross party lines.

Coattail effect

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

Demographics

Characteristics of populations, e.g., 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 people choose candidates for office.

Fixed terms

Terms of office that have a definite length of time, e.g., two years for a member of the House.

Front loading

Scheduling presidential primary elections early (e.g., February or March) in an election year.

Gender gap

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

General election

Election in which the officeholders are chosen, contrasted 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 the government.

Incumbent

An officeholder who is seeking reelection.

Independent

One who is not registered with a political party. Independent leaners tend to vote for candidates of one particular party, whereas pure independents have no consistent pattern of party voting.

Issue advocacy ads

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

Open primary

Election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and 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.