Elections, Campaigns, and Campaign Finance Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key political terms, campaign eras, candidate types, incumbent stages, and campaign finance laws based on lecture notes.

At-Large Elections

Elections in which candidates represent an entire jurisdiction rather than a district, such as elections for U.S. Senators and Presidents.

District-Based Elections

Elections in which candidates represent a specific geographic district, used for House of Representatives elections when a state has at least two districts.

Section 4B of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

The section of the Voting Rights Act that established a formula to determine which voting districts required federal preclearance for changing voting laws.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

The section of the Voting Rights Act that required federal preclearance before changing voting laws, such as shutting down voting locations or shortening voting hours.

19th Amendment

A 1920 constitutional amendment that barred voting discrimination based on sex.

26th Amendment

A constitutional amendment that lowered the voting age requirement to 18 and older, passed in the historical context of soldiers serving in the Vietnam War.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system in which congressional seats are allocated based on the proportion of voters who voted for a political party.

Plurality System

An electoral system deployed in the U.S. where the winning candidate receives the most votes, but does not need a majority of the votes.

Ranked Choice Voting

A voting method growing in popularity where voters include their second choice and subsequent preferences.

Predemocratic Campaigns (1788-1824)

An era of American campaigns in which presidential candidates appealed to state legislatures because legislatures decided on electors for the electoral college.

Mass Mobilization (1828-1892)

A campaign era launched after Andrew Jackson's 1824 election was 'stolen,' characterized by mass campaigns advocating for the common man and providing favors and services in exchange for campaign support.

Australian Ballot

A secret ballot introduced during the Progressive era that allowed voters to vote without others knowing their political partisanship.

Civil Service

A government employment system established during the Progressive era based on merit rather than political favors.

Candidate-Centered Campaigns (1952-2012)

An era of campaigns where candidates became more important than political parties due to the introduction of primaries.

Contemporary Campaigns (2016-present)

The current era of campaigns defined by data collection, analytics, microtargeting, social media, podcasts, misinformation, propaganda, and partisan polarization.

Incumbent

The person currently holding the office that they are seeking in an election.

Challenger

A candidate running for office who does not currently hold that job.

Open Seat Challenger

A candidate running in an election where there is no incumbent holding the office.

Quality Challenger

A candidate who has previously won an elected political office, such as a former mayor running for the U.S. Senate.

Expansionist Stage

A career stage for incumbents, typically after winning an open seat or winning by a small margin, where they attempt to expand their base of supporters by appealing toward moderates.

Protectionist Stage

A career stage for incumbents where they attempt to maintain their existing voter base once they secure a majority of supporters.

Lame Duck Session

The period after an election but before the next Congress (between November and January) during which representatives still vote on issues even if they lost their election.

Descriptive Representation

The concept evaluating whether an elected political body looks like the population it is representing.

GOTV

An acronym for 'get out the vote', representing campaign efforts to expand the pool of eligible voters and ensure they vote.

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971/1973

Campaign finance law that created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), established strict 3-month reporting requirements, forced radio and TV to offer cheaper ad rates, and created public financing for presidential races.

Buckley v. Valeo 1976

The Supreme Court case that struck down limited personal expenditures in races and limited campaign expenditures.

McCutcheon v. FEC 2014

The Supreme Court case that struck down limits on overall contributions by an individual.

McCain-Feingold (BCRA of 2002)

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which indexed hard money contribution limits to inflation, restricted issue ads, and banned soft money.

Hard Money

Political contributions that are directly connected to campaigns and subject to contribution limits.

Soft Money

Political donations that are not directly connected to campaigns.