Gov Voting Test

Primaries

elections that political parties use to select candidates for a general election

Caucuses

group of people who meet to choose candidates

Political Participation

ways citizens express opinions, shape decisions, and hold leaders accountable (voting, donating $, protesting, lobbying)

Liberal

political/ social reform, gov. involved in econ, increase fed services, attention on consumer protection/ env.

Libertarian

indiv freedom, limited gov role in rights, property, and safety, free-market capitalism

Conservative

resist social/ political change, less gov reg of econ, strong military, border security, national sovereignty, individualism

Plurality system

electoral process in which the candidate who polls more votes than any other candidate is elected

2 party system

2 major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. While third parties may exist, the 2 dominant parties hold a monopoly on legislative power due to "winner-take-all" electoral rules

National conventions

Political parties hold national conventions to select presidential and vice presidential nominees: State delegates go to the national convention to confirm their choice of candidates by casting votes + presidential nominee officially announces their choice for vice president.

Political socialization

process thru which indvs. in a society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge based on input from family, school, and media

Campaign finance

funds raised and spent by candidates, political parties, and committees to support election campaigns. ($ from indvs., PACs, and party committees.

Realignments

the movement of voters from one political party to another resulting in a major shift in the dominant party coalition

Ticket splitting

voter in an election votes for candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single election

Coalition

a temporary alliance of groups, indvs., or parties that join forces to achieve a common political goal

Delegates

Bounce

an increase of approval ratings in the polls; post convention/ post-debate (aka bump)

Patronage

handing out favors and/or positions based on political support

Open Primary

a political party must allow unaffiliated voters to participate

Closed Primary

voter cannot participate in the nomination of party candidates unless they are registered members of that party

Blanket Primary

allows voters to choose candidates from any party for each office, regardless of their own party affiliation rather than being limited to those within their registered party

National Chairperson

day to day party manager elected by national committee

Gridlock

inability of the gov to take action bc of opposing parties controlling dif parts of gov

Dealignment

voters lose their party affiliation w/o replacing it (when they replace it=realignment)

Initiative Process

allows citizens to collect signatures to place a new const. amendment on ballot

Referendum Process

allows citizens to collect signatures to ask voters whether to uphold or repeal an enacted law

Initiative and Referendum

allow citizens to collect signatures to place legislation on the ballot for voters to decide

Front loading

moving primaries / caucuses earlier to have a larger impact/ influence on election process

Policy Voting

voting based on policies/ issues of candidates, not strictly by party loyalty

Retrospective voting

voting based on someone’s past elections in office, etc.

Demography

science of pop. changes (polls, surveys, census)

Influences in political culture

race, changing pops, regional shifts, increase of seniors, culture wars

Electioneering

trying to convince other that a particular cause, party, or candidate is best

Amicus Curiae

person / group who isn’t a party in a case but writes to judge in an attempt to persuade them on how to vote

Narrow casting

transmitting program/ info to a specific group rather than appealing to broad audience

Talking Head

use of indvs. talking on programs to spread info/ propaganda (typically looking to make sound bites)

Exit Poll

randomly sampling people as they exit polling stations to find out how to vote is going

Media Events

events staged to seem spontaneous and designed to use media as a way to spread an image/ message by an indv/ political party

Sound Bites

quick + easy clips of politicians

Olson’s Law of Large Groups

“the larger the groups the further it will fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good”

PAC

raise/ spend $ for politics/ get someone elected (has regulations on how much they can spend)

Super PAC

unlimited spending as long as they’re not directly linked to a party candidate

Lobbying

trying to influence legislation (usually done by interest groups)

Push-Polling

marketing tactic to influence voters and “push” them away from a candidate (use leading questions to spread rumors or discredit opponents)

VAP (voting age pop)

citizens who are 18+

VEP (voting eligible pop)

those who are 18+ and can actually vote (no felons, etc.)