Voting Vocab - American Gov

Midterm Elections

elections that happen in the middle of the presidents term, every four years. 

Platform

set of statements that describe a political parties views and their approaches to the issues facing our country

Ranked-Choice Voting

when you rank every candidate on the ballot in order of who you would vote for rather than choosing only one candidate.

Ballot

official paper/electronic form on which voters indicate choices of candidates and ballot measures

Campaign

process of gathering public support for a candidate

Candidate

person running for elected office

Incumbent

the person who currently holds the seat in office that’s being voted on

Absentee Ballots

ballots mailed to people who aren’t able to vote in person on the day of the election

Governor (D)

Hannah Pingree

Governor (R)

Bobby Charles

Senate (D)

Troy Jackson

Senate (R)

Susan Collins

House of Reps District 1 (D)

Chellie Pingree

House of Reps District 1 (R)

Ronald Russell

House of Reps District 2 (D)

Matthew Dunlap

House of Reps (R)

Paul LePage

15th amendment - 1870

allowed free black men to vote

19th amendment - 1920

allowed women to vote

26th amendment - 1971

changed voting age from 21 to 18