9 Political Parties

Bipartisanship

A process of cooperation through compromise.

Critical election

An election that represents a sudden, clear, and long-term shift in voter allegiances.

Divided government

A condition in which one or more houses of the legislature is controlled by the party in opposition to the executive.

First-past-the-post

A system in which the winner of an election is the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes cast, also known as plurality voting.

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a particular candidate.

Majoritarian voting

A type of election in which the winning candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the votes, even if a run-off election is required.

Majority party

The legislative party with over half the seats in a legislative body, and thus significant power to control the agenda.

Minority party

The legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body.

Moderate

An individual who falls in the middle of the ideological spectrum.

Party identifiers

Individuals who represent themselves in public as being part of a party.

Party organization

The formal structure of the political party and the active members responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates.

Party platform

The collection of a party’s positions on issues it considers politically important.

Party polarization

The shift of party positions from moderate towards ideological extremes.

Party realignment

A shifting of party alliances within the electorate.

Party-in-government

Party identifiers who have been elected to office and are responsible for fulfilling the party’s promises.

Party-in-the-electorate

Members of the voting public who consider themselves part of a political party or who consistently prefer the candidates of one party over the other.

Personal politics

A political style that focuses on building direct relationships with voters rather than on promoting specific issues.

Plurality voting

The election rule by which the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of vote share.

Political machine

An organization that secures votes for a party’s candidates or supports the party in other ways, usually in exchange for political favors such as a job in government.

Political parties

Organizations made up of groups of people with similar interests that try to directly influence public policy through their members who seek and hold public office.

Precinct

The lowest level of party organization, usually organized around neighborhoods.

Proportional representation

A party-based election rule in which the number of seats a party receives is a function of the share of votes it receives in an election.

Reapportionment

The reallocation of House seats between the states to account for population changes.

Redistricting

The redrawing of electoral maps.

Safe seat

A district drawn so members of a party can be assured of winning by a comfortable margin.

Sorting

The process in which voters change party allegiances in response to shifts in party position.

Third parties

Political parties formed as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties, also known as minor parties.

Two-party system

A system in which two major parties win all or almost all elections.