apgov unit 5 vocab

Retrospective Voting

This is a model that the voters examines backward at a candidate or parties track records

26th Amendment

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

Rational Choice Voting

A voter who has evaluated an issue or candidate and decided to vote in a way that most benefits them

24th Amendment

outlawed the poll tax in any federal, primary, or general election.

Political Efficacy

The sense that citizens feel that their vote make a difference

Prospective Voting

a model of voting behavior where voters make their decisions based on their expectations of how candidates will perform in the future.

Party Line Voting

When you vote with your party every chance that you can.

Voting Turnout

The percentage of eligible voters who participate in an election by casting their votes

Proportional Representation

Multiple parties compete for representation and voters cast ballots for the party they favor. The percent of votes the party receives is the percent of the seats they get in the governing body.

Split Ticket Voting

When someone does not just vote because of loyalty for one party, they vote for whoever they think is best.

Party Platform

The principles and plans of a party that help you determine the primary ideology of a party.

Political Party

an organized group of people with similar political ideologies that work to elect candidates and influence government policy

Primary Election

The first election a presidential nominee must win where people cast votes that advise the delegates who then vote for president

Closed Primary

A primary where only voters registered with the given party can vote. It ensures that only members of the party can influence that party's nominees.

Open Primary

Allows voters to declare party affiliation on election day. Poll workers hand these voters one party's ballot from which they select candidates.

Linkage Institutions

organizations that connect citizens to their government by channeling their opinion into the policy-making process.

Single Member Districts

an electoral district represented by a single officeholder

Grassroots Lobbying

When a interest group attempts to inform, persuade, and mobilize the public opinion to influence legislative process.

Ideological Groups

Organizations or parties that share a common set of beliefs values and ideas

Issue Network

An informal group of experts, officials, and interest groups who come together to debate a specific policy issue

Lobbying

Applying pressure to influence the government, not just in washington but also in every state capital

Iron Triangle

A mutually beneficial relationship between a congressional committee, a government agency, and an interest group.

Public Interest Group

geared to improve life or government for the masses.

Professional Associations

typically represent white-collar professions. Examples include the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. They are concerned with business success and the laws and practices that guide their trade.

Single Issue Groups

Interest groups focused on one topic

Gatekeeper

This is when the news or media sets their own news agenda by determining what is newsworthy therefore deciding what information the public will get.

Political Action Committee

An organization that pools campaign contributions from members to give to campaigns for or against candidates, used to influence elections.

Super PACs

Members who are not directly part of a political campaign. Can raise unlimited funding and donations as long as they don't formally communicate and coordinate with the party.

Horse Race Journalism

a style of political reporting that focuses heavily on who is winning or losing an election (media playing a scorekeeper role)

Winner-Take-All System

All states, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, award all their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the plurality of the popular vote.

Free Press

The rights of the media and the public to put out news about the government without the government censoring it.

Swing State

States that could go either way in an election. Because of this, they tend to get the most attention.