Ch. 8-9 AP GoPo Vocab

nomination

The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. Generally, success in this game requires momentum, money, and media attention.

campaign strategy

the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign

national party convention

The supreme power within each of the parties. They meet every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to write the party's platform.

McGovern-Fraser Commission

A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation.

superdelegates

National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention.

invisible primaries

The period before any votes are cast when candidates compete to win early support from the elite of the party and to create a positive first impression of their leadership skills.

caucus

A system for selecting convention delegates used in about a dozen states in which voters must attend an open meeting to express their presidential preference.

presidential primaries

Elections in which a state's voters go to the polls to express their preference for a party's nominee for president. Most delegates to the national party conventions are chosen this way.

frontloading

The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.

party platform

A political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. 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.

direct mail

A method of raising money for a political cause or candidate, in which information and requests for money are sent to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.

campaign contributions

donations that are made directly to a candidate or a party and that must be reported to the FEC

independent expenditures

Expenses on behalf of a political message that are made by groups that are uncoordinated with any candidate's campaign.

Federal Campaign Election Act

A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.

political action committees/PACs

Groups that raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports. They must register with the FEC and report their donations and contributions to it. Individual contributions to them are limited to $5,000 per year and they may give up to $5,000 to a candidate for each election.

Federal Election Commission

A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. They administer and enforce campaign finance laws.

soft money

Political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising. For a time, such contributions were unlimited, until they were banned by the McCain-Feingold Act.

527 groups

Independent political groups that are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek the election of particular candidates. contributions to such groups must be reported to the IRS.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

A 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures.

501 c groups

Groups that are exempted from reporting their contributions and can receive unlimited contributions. such groups cannot spend more than half their funds on political activities.

super PACs

they may accept donations of any size and can endorse candidates. Their contributions and expenditures must be periodically reported to the FEC.

selective perception

The phenomenon that people's beliefs often guide what they pay the most attention to and how they interpret events.

political efficacy

The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference

civic duty

The belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote.

voter registration

A system adopted by the states that requires voters to register prior to voting

Motor Voter Act

A 1993 act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for a driver's license.

mandate theory of elections

The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.

policy voting

electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters' policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues

electoral college

A unique American institution created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties.

party polarization

The growing gap between the stands of the parties on policy issues.

political party

In the words of the economist Anthony Downs, a "team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election."

linkage institutions

The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda

rational-choice theory

A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.

party image

The voter's perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism

party identification

a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

ticket splitting

Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices. It has become the norm in American voting behavior.

party machines

A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern.

patronage

One of the key inducements used by party machines. this job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone.

closed primaries

Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.

open primaries

Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.

national convention

The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform.

national commitee

One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. composed of representatives from the states and territories.

national chairperson

the person responsible for running the ongoing activities of the national party organization

coalition

a group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends

party eras

Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections.

critical election

An electoral "earthquake" where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era.

party realignment

The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period.

New Deal coalition

coalition forged by the Democrats who dominated American politics from the 1930's to the 1960's. its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.

party dealignment

the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification.

third parties

electoral contenders other than the two major parties. these are not unusual, but they rarely win elections.

winner take all system

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies.

proportional representation

An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.

coalition government

When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature. This form of government is quite common in the multiparty systems of Europe.

responsible party model

A view about how parties should work, held by some political scientists. According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters and once in office, should carry out their campaign promises.