ap gov chapter 15 vocab

electorate

electorate

large % of americans ho “go to the polls” to cast a vote for the american president and other offices

franchise

right to vote

suffrage

qualifications for voting

literacy test

several southern states denied african american suffrage with literacy requirement

poll tax

simple fee requires to vote- discouraged black voters

grandfather clause

allowed states to recognize a registering voter, prevented scores of black people from voting, allowing illiterate and poor whites to still vote

white primary

generation of intimidation, lynching, and a host of public policies to prevent african americans from voting- set rules for these clubs

1964 civil rights act

addressed voting, ended jim crow laws, segregation, and banned employment discrimination

1965 voting rights act

outlawed literacy tests and put states with low voter turnout under the eye of the justice department

preclearance

put states under federal supervision if attempted to invent new, legal loopholes to diminish black suffrage

rational-choice voting

voter who examined an issue or candidate, evaluated campaign promises or platform points, and consciously decided to vote in the way that seems to most benefit the voter

retrospective voting

look backward to consider candidates track record

prospective voting

voters who anticipate the future

party-line voting

citizens who affiliate with a political party or hold a strong party loyalty will likely vote with that party at most oppurtunities

party identification

easiest way to predict a voter’s habits

voting-age population

everyone at or over the age of 18

voter turnout

number of voters who actually cast votes as a percentage of voting age population

voter registration

enrollment in electoral roll

precincts

small geographic area of about 500-1,000 votes who all vote at an assigned place

wards

for purposes of voting, counties, cities, and towns subdivided into wards

polling place

school or community center where people vote

national voter registration act (nvra)/motor-voter law

to increase citizen participation and alleviate the burden of having make a special effort to register to vote

help america vote act (hava)

imposes a number of requirements on states, mostly to create national standards for voting and election management

australian ballot

current ballot - must be printed and distributed at public expense, show all qualifying candidates, names be available only at polling places, and completed in private

provisional ballot

set aside until election officials verify that voting occured at the correct polling place based on voters registration address

absentee ballot

if a voter can’t make it to the polls, they can mail this ballot instead

voting-eligible population

citizens who can legally vote if they wish

midterm election

federal elections that occur midway through a president’s term- have a lower turnout

voter apathy

lack of concern for election outcome

political efficacy

sense that their vote makes a difference

gender gap

the difference in political views between men and women and how these views are expressed at the voting booth

gender effect on voter choice

the different genders tend to prefer certain parties

age effect on voter choice

youngest voters have the lowest turnout

race and ethnicity effect on voter choice (african americans)

the disinfranchising and intimidation of potential black voters in the south for generations created a consistently low voter turnout

race and ethnicity effect on voter choice (hispanics)

the fastest growing minority in the u.s. - turn out lower than black and white people

race and ethnicity effect on voter choice (asian americans)

make up only 3% of the u.s. voting population ; tend to vote conservative

voting bloc

a group of voters that are strongly motivated by a specific common concern or group of concerns to the point that such specific concerns tend to dominate their voting patterns, causing them to vote together in elections