Comprehensive U.S. Government and Politics Flashcards for Students

Direct Primary

A mechanism that allows citizens to nominate candidates.

Recall

A special election initiated by a petition that allows citizens to remove an official from office before their term expires.

Referendum

Allows citizens to vote directly on specific issues called propositions, such as proposed laws or state constitutional amendments.

Initiative

Allows voters to petition to propose issues to be decided by qualified voters.

Primary Elections

Nominating elections in which voters choose candidates from each party to run in the general election.

Closed Primary

Only voters registered in the party may vote to choose the candidate; voters must select a primary in advance.

Open Primary

Voters may choose candidates of either party regardless of their own affiliation, making the choice in the voting booth.

Blanket Primary

Voters may vote for candidates of either party, choosing a Republican for one office and a Democrat for another (used in Alaska and Washington).

Runoff Primary

Held when no candidate from a party receives a majority; the top two candidates face each other.

General Election

Elections in which voters choose officeholders from among all candidates nominated by parties or running as independents.

Special Election

Held whenever an issue must be decided before a primary or general election, such as filling a Senate vacancy.

Critical Elections

Elections indicating sharp changes in existing patterns of party loyalty due to changing social and economic conditions (e.g., 1860, 1932).

Realigning Elections

Occur when the minority party wins by building a new, lasting coalition of voters, often associated with a national crisis.

Dealigning Elections

Occur when party loyalty becomes less important to voters, seen through an increase in independents and split-ticket voting.

Political Culture

Widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to government and one another.

Natural Rights

The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.

Capitalism

An economic system characterized by private property, competitive markets, and limited government involvement.

Liberalism

The belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.

Conservatism

The belief that limited government ensures order, competitive markets, and personal opportunity.

Socialism

An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.

Libertarianism

An ideology cherishing individual liberty and insisting on minimal government, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy.

Political Socialization

The process—notably in families and schools—by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs.

Random Sample

A sample where every individual has an unknown and random chance of being selected.

Margin of Error

The rate of error in a random sampling, usually +/- 3% for a sample of at least 1,500 individuals.

Prospective Issue Voting

Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected.

Electoral College

The system used in electing the president and vice president, where voters vote for electors pledged to cast ballots for particular candidates.

Lame Duck

A politician who cannot, or has announced they will not, run again.

Winner-take-all System

An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.

Plurality

Receiving the largest number of votes, which can be less than half.

Caucus

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

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

A commission created in 1974 to administer election reform laws, oversee disclosure of campaign finance information, and enforce contribution limits.

Hard Money

Hard money refers to disclosed donations made directly to candidates or committees that are limited by law.

527 Groups

Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code that may advertise for or against candidates with some restrictions.

General Elections

Elections in which voters choose from among all the candidates nominated by political parties or running as independents to elect officeholders.

Special Elections

Held whenever an issue must be decided by voters before a primary or general election, such as filling a Senate vacancy.

Majority Rule

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.

Presidential Election

Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.

Party Identification

An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.

Majority

Receiving more than half of the votes cast.

Single-member District

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.

National Party Convention

A national meeting of delegates elected at primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble every four years to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates and ratify the party platform.

Soft Money

Contributions to a state or local party for 'party-building' purposes.

Hard Money

Donations made to political candidates, party committees, or groups which, by law, are limited and must be declared.