AP Gov: Political Participation Vocab

15th Amendment

Right to vote extended to non-white males

17th Amendment:

Popular vote for Senator (no longer done by state legislatures-citizens vote directly for Senator)

19th Amendment:

Right to vote extended to women.

24th Amendment:

No poll taxes-or any tax/payment can be placed on a citizen as a condition for voting.

26th Amendment:

Right to vote extended to citizens 18 and older.

Voter Registration:

Each state gets their own voter registration laws. Some are more restrictive than others. Some states say you can’t be a felon, and need photo ID, some say you get same day voting registration, early voting, location of polls, and time of polls are open.

Political Efficacy:

The belief that your voice/vote makes a difference in politics.

Rational Choice Voting

Voting for what you believe is in your best interest.

Retrospective Voting:

Voting to decide if the party/candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past.

Prospective Voting:

Voting based on how you think a party/candidate will perform in the future.

Party-line (Straight Ticket) Voting:

Supporting a party by voting for candidate from one political party for all public offices across the ballot.

Party Identification:

Looking for what the candidate is. Conservative? Moderate? Liberal?

Ideological Orientation:

Refers to an individual’s or group’s set of beliefs, values, and preferences regarding political issues.

General Elections:

Two meanings:
1) When you have the election for the actual job.
*as opposed to the Primaries running for the nomination so you can THEN run for the actual job.
2) When you have the president being elected every 4 years. All members of the House and 1/3 of Senate are up for election as well.
Higher media coverage and more voter turnout.

Mid-Terms:

General election that occurs in the middle of a President’s term. All members of the House and 1/3 of Senate. Less media coverage and lower voter turnout.

Linkage Institutions

Channels that allow individuals to communicate their preferences to policy-makers/politicians:
-Political Parties
-Interest Groups
-Elections
-Mass Media

Political Party

A team of politicians, activists, and voters who seek to win elections so they can take control of government.

Elections

a formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position.

Voter Mobilization

Getting voters engaged and knowledgeable about issues that concern the party.

Party Platforms

The key issues that the party will be working on in the upcoming election

Candidate Recruitment

Reaching out to the individuals who will be viable candidates.

fundraising:

Running campaigns with a focus on getting money for the candidate.

Media strategy:

Giving the candidate a positive perception with the media.

Candidate-Centered Campaigns

Electoral strategies that focus on the individual candidate rather than the political party as a whole.

Coalitions:

An alliance for combined action or purpose.
i.e. - buisness owners and insurance companies creating a coalition to push against the Affordable Care Act.

Critical Elections

An election where a significant portion of a party realigns to another party.

Realignment

When a large portion of the electorate moves from one political party to another.

Dealignment

When people leave a party but don’t go to another one.

Campaign Finance Law:

Parties have to report all donations and there are limits to how much people can contribute- especially parties now have to be very transparent about how they spend $ and who donated it.

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

All federal elections and their donations are overseen by the FEC.

Third Parties:

Political parties in the U.S. other than the two major parties. Very difficult for third parties to get to 50% in Electoral college. Only one seat to win and it will naturally create a two-party system as a coalitions rally together to reach 50.1%. No presidential debates.

Independent Candidates:

A political candidate who does not belong to any established political party.

Winner-Take-All:

Where the winner takes it all. Even if they just have a 1% more.
Example:
The candidate who receives the most voters support receives all the delegates for the state. This is an example of awarding the delegates.

Single-Member Districts

An electoral system in which each geographic district elects only one representative to a legislative body.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system in which seats in a legislative body are allocated based on the proportion of votes each political party receives.
For example imagine a state with ten delegates and three candidates. If 60% of the people supported candidate X, 20% supported candidate Y, and 20% supported candidate Z, candidate X would receive six delegates and candidates Y and Z would each receive two delegates.

Incumbency Advantage Phenomenon:

If you are running for a position and you are currently in that position, you’re the incumbent.
As an incumbent you have an advantage for winning that election and this is because people already know your name and beliefs, in the news everyday.

Presidential Elections:

In order to get elected POTUS, you have to get the nomination of your party first. You have to win the most delegates to become the nominee. This process will start January/February of an election year and runs about the middle of June.

Nominations:

Getting nomination of your political party. And getting delegates to vote for you at nominating convention.

Delegates

Are the people who will vote for you at the nominating convention and the way you get delegates is by winning primaries and caucuses.

Primaries:

Where you go into a voting both and vote for the nominee of your choice- these are run by the state.

Open Primary:

You don’t have to be a registered party member to participate. Moderate nominees are likely to win.

Closed Primary:

You have to be a registered party member to participate.
Extreme nominees are likely to win since only registered party members can vote and they hold more extreme views.

Caucuses:

Are done at the state level and state party organizations organize them and manage them- run by parties.
You have to vote in front of everyone. So everyone will know you will vote and some people aren’t comfortable with that.
You have to be a registered party member to participate.
Caucuses draw out people with more extreme views.
Can take several hours.

New Hampshire Primary:

Most important primary because it’s the first one and always right after the Iowa Caucus. It’s an open primary. So you get more moderate nominees winning it.

Iowa Caucus

A series of electoral events in which members of the Iowa Democratic and Republican parties gather to discuss and vote for their preferred candidates for the presidential nomination. This event is significant as it is the first major contest in the presidential primary season, providing early momentum for candidates and shaping the national political landscape.