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Political Participation
The different ways in which individuals take action or shape the laws and policies of a government
Political Action Committees
an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns
Linkage Institution
channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media
Social Movement
large groups of citizens organizing for political change
Franchise (Suffrage)
the right to vote in political elections
Twenty-Sixth Amendment
allows those eighteen years old and older to vote
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
prohibits congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections
Poll Tax
tax required to vote
Voter Turnout
the number of eligible voters who participate in an election as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters
Demographic Characteristics
measurable characteristics of a population, such as economic status, education, age, race or ethnicity, gender, and partisan attachment
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
a measure of an individual’s wealth, income, occupation, and educational attainment
Political Efficacy
a person’s belief that he or she can make effective political change
Political Mobilization
efforts by political parties to encourage their members to vote
Registration Requirements
the set of rules that govern who can vote and how, when, and where they can vote
Absentee Ballots
voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election
Rational Choice Voting
voting based on what a citizen believes is in his or her best interest
Retrospective Voting
voting based on an assessment of an incumbent’s past performance
Prospective Voting
casting a ballot for a candidate who promises to enact policies favored by the voter in the future
Party-Line Voting
Voting for candidates who belong only to one political party for all of the offices on the ballot
Electoral College
a constitutionally required process for selecting the president through slates of electors chosen in each state, who are pledged to vote for a nominee in the presidential election.
Winner-Take-All system
A system of election in which the candidate who wins the plurality of votes within a state receives all of that state’s votes in the Electoral College
Battleground State
a state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidates in a presidential election
Swing State
a state where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans
Get Out The Vote (GOTV)
efforts to mobilize voters
Super PAC
an organization that may spend an unlimited amount of money on a political campaign, as long as the spending is not coordinated with the campaign
Political Party
an organized group of party leaders, officeholders, and voters who work together to elect candidates to political office.
Party Identifcation
an individual’s attachment to a political party
Straight-Ticket Voting
voting for all of the candidates on the ballot from one political party
Split-Ticket Voting
voting for candidates from different parties in the same election
Party Platform
a set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to.
Recruitment
the process through which political parties identify potential candidates
Party Coalition
interest groups and like-minded voters who support a political party over time.
Realignment
when the groups of people who support a political party shift their allegiance to a different political party
Critical Election
a major national election that signals a change in the balance of power between the two parties
Party Era
time period when one party wins most national elections
Era of Divided Government
a trend since 1969, in which one party controls one or both houses of Congress and the president is from the opposing party
Nomination
the formal process through which parties choose their candidates for political office
Delegate
a person who acts as the voters’ representative at a convention to select the party’s nominee
Primary Election
an election in which a state’s voters choose delegates who support a particular presidential candidate for nomination or an election by a plurality vote to select a party’s nominee for a seat in Congress
Open Primary
a primary election in which all eligible voters may vote, regardless of their party affiliation
Closed Primary
a primary election in which only those who have registered as a member of a political party may vote.
Caucus
a process through which a state’s eligible voters meet to select delegates to represent their preferences in the nomination process
Super Delegate
usually, a party leader or activist who is not pledged to a candidate based on the outcomes of the state’s primary or caucus
Front-Loading
a decision by a state to push its primary or caucus to a date as early in the election season as possible to gain more influence in the presidential nomination process
National Convention
a meeting where delegates officially select their party’s nominee for the presidency
Candidate-Centered Campaign
a trend in which candidates develop their own strategies and raise money with less influence from the party elite.
Two-Party System
a system in which two political parties dominate politics, winning almost all elections
Proportional Representation System
an election system for a legislature in which citizen vote for parties, rather than individuals, and parties are represented in the legislature according to the percentage of the vote they receive
Single-Member Plurality System
an election system for choosing members of the legislature where the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes, even if the candidate does not receive a majority of the votes
Third Party
a minor political party in competition with the major parties
Interest Groups
Voluntary association of people who come together with the goal of getting the policies that they favor enacted.
Social Movements
large groups of citizens organizing for political change
Theory of Participatory Democracy
the belief that citizens impact policymaking through their involvement in civil society
Civil Society
the formal and informal organizations that are not part of the state apparatus but operate in public
Pluralist Theory
a theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process
Elitist Theory
theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process
Policy Agenda
the set of issues to which government officials, voters, and the public are paying attention
Collective Action
political action that occurs when individuals contribute their energy, time, or money to a larger group goal
Collective Good
also called a public good; a public benefit that individuals can enjoy or profit from even if they do not help achieve it
Free Riders
individuals who enjoys collective goods and benefits from the actions of an interest group without joining
Selective Benefits
benefit available only to those who join the group
Economic Interest Groups
a group advocating on behalf of the financial interests of members
Public Interest Groups
group that acts on behalf of the collective interests of a broad group of individuals
Single-Issue Groups
association focusing on one specific area of public policy, often a moral issue about which they are unwilling to compromise.
Government Interest Groups
organization acting on behalf of local, state, or foreign governments
Lobbying
interacting with government officials in order to advance a group’s public policy goals
Revolving Door
the movement of individuals between government and lobbying positions
Amicus Curiae Brief
a brief filed by someone who is not a party to a case in an attempt to persuade the court to agree with the arguments set forth in the brief
Iron Triangle
coordinated and mutually beneficial activities of bureaucracy, Congress, and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals
Issue Network
webs of influence between interest groups, policymakers, and policy advocates.
Grassroots Lobbying
mobilizing interest group members to pressure their representatives by contacting them directly through phone calls, email, and social media
Protest
a public demonstration designed to call attention to the need for change
Civil Disobediance
the intentional refusal to obey a law to call attention to its injustice
News Media
a broad term that includes newspapers, magazines, radio, television, rado, internet sources, blogs, and social media postings
Social Media
forms of electronic communication that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking
Agenda Setting
the media’s ability to highlight certain issues and bring them to the attention of the public
Mass Media
sources of information that appeal to a wide audience, including newspapers, radio television, and Internet outlets.
Wire Service
an organization that gathers and reports on news and then sells the stories to other outlets
Investigative Journalism
an approach to newsgathering in which reporters dig into stories, often looking for instances of wrongdoing
Broadcast Media
outlets for news and other content that rely on mass communications technology to bring stories directly into people’s home
Media Consolidation
the concentration of ownership of the media into fewer corporations
Partisan Bias
the slanting of political news coverage in support of a particular political party or ideology
Horse-Race Journalism
coverage of political campaigns that focuses more on the drama of the campaign than on policy issues
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