govt 2306 exam 2

open primary

A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place. eligible to all voters

Midterm Election

Elections held midway between presidential elections, includes elections for congress. (Eligible to all voters)

General Election

An election held to choose which candidate from different parties for various offices. (Eligible to all voters)

Closed Primary

A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote (eligible to only party members)

Grassroots campaign

political campaigns that operate at a local level, often using face-to-face communication to generate interest and momentum by citizens

examples of grassroots campaign

organizationally drive and local campaign

Mass media campaign

Money intensive: relies on TV, radio, and newspaper
Very important for statewide and presidential candidates

example of media campaign

Money intensive, statewide campaign

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

government could not restrict independent expenditures by corporations or unions. This case said that corporations and unions can spend unlimited money on ads or other ways to support or criticize candidates, as long as they don’t coordinate directly with the campaigns. The idea was that spending money is a form of free speech, and limiting it would violate the First Amendment

Correct label:

McCutcheon et al. v. FEC (2014)

removed limits on how many PACs or candidates an individual can give to. This ruling allowed individuals to donate to as many candidates or PACs as they want. Before this case, there was a limit on the total amount a person could give across all candidates and political committees. Now, people can give to as many candidates or groups as they want, but there are still limits on how much they can give to each individual candidate or PAC.

Buckley v. Valeo (1974)

introduced idea that campaign contributions count as speech. This case introduced the idea that spending money on elections is a form of free speech. The court said that people and groups can spend as much of their own money as they want to promote candidates, but there are still limits on how much can be directly donated to a candidate to prevent corruption.

Referendum

a legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate. state legislature refers laws to voters for popular vote. Present in all 50 states

ballot initiative

a proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote

527 committes

a nonprofit org such as a poltical party that operates primarily to influence the election of candidates for public office. Many political action committees (PACs) and Super PAC groups are 527 committees

501(c) groups

Groups that are exempted from reporting their contributions and can receive unlimited contributions. Section 501c of the tax code specifies that such groups cannot spend more than half their funds on political activities.

Do 501(c) groups have to disclose there they got their money?

No

Do 527s group have to disclose how they got their money?

Yes

Has the 527 and 501 been ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court?

No, The Supreme Court has, if anything, relaxed campaign finance restrictions in the past 10 years.

majority-minority districts

In the context of determining representative districts, the process by which a majority of the population is from the minority.

Retrospective

looking back at past things

Prospective

(adj) potential, in the future

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Examples of Gerrymandering

1. Packing
2. Cracking

Packing

Placing as many voters of one type in a single district to minimize the number of elections they can influence.

Cracking

spreading voters of one type over many districts where they will comprise minorities that are unable to influence elections

Stacking example

Voters distributed high percentage of African Americans

Cracking example

Disperses Latinos across different districts

Safe district

districts in which incumbents win by margins of 55% or more

non partisan

not biased or partisan, especially toward any particular political group.

Consumer Confidence Index

has been a fairly accurate predictor of presidential outcomes

Examples of activities for campaigns

rallies, town halls, voter mobilization drives, tv advertisements

incumbent

An officeholder who is seeking reelection.

PACs (Political Action Committees)

a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns

Microtargeting

the use of direct marketing techniques that employ highly detailed data analytics in order to isolate potential customers with great precision

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Delegates

A person who is chosen or elected to represent a person or group

party platform

A political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate's strength. It is the best formal statement of a party's beliefs.

Where are party platforms written and published?

national conventions

frontloading

states' decisions to move their presidential primaries and caucuses to earlier in the nomination season in order to capitalize on media attention.

Steps to elect a president president

Primaries/caucuses, convention, general election, electoral college, inauguration

Baker v. Carr

case that est. one man one vote. this decision created guidelines for drawing up congressional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state

Plurality

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half.

Runoff election

a "second round" election in which voters choose between the top two candidates from the first round

plurality system

a type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in the parliament or other representative body, a candidate need only receive the most votes in the election, not necessarily a majority of votes cast

Proportional representation

a multiple-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote

straight ticket voting

selecting candidates from the same political party for all offices on the ballot

redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

gerrymandering

the apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party

partisan gerrymandering

occurs when politicians from one party intentionally manipulate the boundaries for legislative election districts to disadvantage their political opponents' chance of winning an election and advantage their own political party

retail politics

a style of campaigning where candidates connect to voters at intimate gatherings and local events

Superdelegate

(in the Democratic Party) an unelected party member/leader who is free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party's national convention. They are only allowed to vote if no candidate has a majority after the first round of voting

Electoral college

the presidential electors from each state who meet after the popular election to cast ballots for president and vice president

recall

a procedure to allow voters to remove state officials from office before their terms expire by circulating petitions to call a vote

campaign

an effort by political candidates and their supporters to win the backing of donors, political activists, and voters in their quest for political office

Super PACs

a political committee/organization that can solicit and spend unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals, but is not permitted to contribute directly to a candidate campaign or political party. These committees are also called independent expenditure only committees. Their activities cannot be coordinated with a candidate campaign.

dark money groups or 501(c)(4) committees

politically active nonprofit social welfare groups; these nonprofits can spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns and not disclose their donors so long as their activities are not coordinated with the candidate campaigns and political activities are not their primary purpose

Political parties

coalitions of people who form a united front to win control of government and implement policy

partisanship

identification with or support of a particular party or cause

proportional representation

a multiple-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote

plurality system

a type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in the parliament or other representative body, a candidate need only receive the most votes in the election, not necessarily a majority of votes cast

Duverger's Law

A law that holds that plurality rule elections where the winner has the most votes, but not necessarily a majority within single‐member geographic districts, tend to result in a two‐party system, whereas proportional representation tends to result in a multi‐party system.

two party system

a political system in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control

Political polarization

the division between the two major parties on most policy issues, with members of each party unified around their party's positions with little crossover

Nomination

the process by which political parties select their candidates for election to public office

primary elections

elections held to select a party's candidate for the general election

caucus

a normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters

Micro-targeting

A campaign strategy that uses data and demographics to identify the interests of small groups of like-minded individuals and deliver tailored ads or messages designed to influence their voting behavior

Party organization

the formal structure of a political party, including its leadership, election committees, active members, and paid staff

National convention

meeting convened by the Republican National Committee to nominate official candidates for president and vice president in the upcoming election, establish party rules, and adopt the party platform

Party Platform

a party document, written at a national convention, that contains party philosophy, principles, and policy positions

Party machines

strong party organizations in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American cities; these machines were led by often corrupt "bosses" who controlled party nominations and patronage

Patronage

the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters

Majority Party

the party that holds the majority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate

Minority party

the party that holds a minority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate

policy entrepreneur

an individual who identifies a problem as a political issue and brings a policy proposal into the political agenda

Party identification

an individual voter's psychological ties to one party or another

retrospective voting

voting based on the past performance of a candidate

Party activist

partisans who contribute time, energy, and effort to support their party and its candidates

independents

people not formally aligned with a political party; also called unaffiliated

affective polarization

the emotional dislike of members of the other party

Negative partisanship

a phenomenon in which people form strong opinions against a political party rather than in support of one

minor parties

parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties

rank choice voting

is a method of voting allowing voters to rank multiple candidates in order of preference

party line voting

process in which voters select candidates by their party affiliation

group based voting

when people vote in line with the preferences or interests of a group they belong to, such as a political party, race, religion, or social class. Their group identity influences their choice of candidates or policies.

Party organizers have a _________ time recruiting political candidates because of the important of campaign fundraising and gerrymandering

difficult

Micro-targeting by political parties involves

focusing on individuals in small, homogeneous groups for very tailored messaging.

journalism of assertion

the publishing or broadcasting of information or opinion as quickly as possible, with minimal fact-checking

Media

print and digital forms of communication, including television, newspapers, radio, and the Internet, intended to convey information to large audiences

Principled journalism

reporting that involves being as accurate, fair, and balanced as possible, relying on original sources, being transparent about citing sources, and presenting multiple viewpoints

adversarial journalism

a form of reporting in which the media adopt a skeptical or even hostile posture toward the government and public officials

Citizen journalism

news reporting and political commentary by ordinary citizens and bystanders, advocacy groups, and eyewitnesses to crises, often using cell phone images or video and distributed via social media

Opinion driven journalism

Political blogs and talk shows where the writer or host provides highly opinionated personal commentary, usually through conversations with guests; these formats blur the boundaries between objective journalism and subjective reporting

Journalism of assertion

the publishing or broadcasting of information or opinion as quickly as possible, with minimal fact-checking

Journalism of affirmation

the putting forth of opinion and information that is consistent with the consumer's preexisting beliefs

media monopolies

giant, often global, corporations that control a wide array of media, including television networks, movie studios, record companies, cable channels, book and newspaper publishers, and digital media outlets

agenda setting

the media's designating of some issues, events, or people as important and others not

framing

the process of presenting information from a certain perspective in order to shape the audience's understanding of that information

priming

the process of calling attention to some issues, and not others, when reporting on political events and officials

mainstream news organizations

organizations that adhere to the principles of journalism by doing original ,balanced, factual reporting, using unpaid, credible sources: conducting interviews ethically: and avoiding personal bias by editors or reporters