Unit 3 APGOPO

Political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

Public opinion

the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues

Scientific poll

a representative poll of randomly selected respondents with a statistically significant sample size, each person in the universe has an equal chance of being selected; questions must avoid bias

political ideology

the coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government held by groups and individuals; shapes a person's views

Monetary policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.

Keynesianism

the belief the government must manage the economy by spending more money when in a recession and cutting spending when there is inflation

Supply side theory

the belief that lower taxes and fewer regulations will stimulate the economy; tax rates will be lower but business will boom, unemployment will go down but incomes will go up, more money will go into the treasury

Social policy

a national government's course of action designed to promote the welfare of its citizens

Libertarianism

An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government, promoting a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life.

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Open primary

A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place

Closed primary

A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote

incumbency advantage

the electoral edge afforded to those already in office

Citizens United v. FEC

corporate funding of independent political broadcasts can't be limited; free speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations

McCutcheon v. FEC

Section 441 (unconstitutional) imposed limits on any individual's total political contributions (to federal candidates, parties, or political action committees) in a two-year period.

Buckley v. Valeo

A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns.

McConnell v. FEC

This case upheld the constitutionality of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Largely banned party soft money, restored a long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes, and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy.

Motor Voter Law

this was a law to encourage more people to participate in voting. This allowed people to register to vote while they renewed their license. The thought was that most people renew their license and thus it would give them a chance to register at the same time.

coattail effect

The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president.

Republicans

- state rights
- against government welfare
- upper class
- block grants
- dual federalism
- punish criminals
- strict interpretation
- pro death penalty
- prayer in school
- layer cake
- anti-federalists
- white, Cubans, males, upper class, farmers, Protestants, blue collar, South, rural, business-owners
- devolution revolution
- increase military spending
- anti-gay marriage
- Rocky Mountains, central valley

Democrats

- civil rights and liberties
- against death penalty
- loose interpretation
- support of gay marriage
- marble cake
- federalists
- government regulation of business
- cooperative federalism
- gun control
- elastic clause
- implied powers
- less spending on military
- New Deal
- categorical grants
- tax the rich
- Asians, Jewish, female, Blacks, Catholics, union workers
- Hollywood, West Coast, New England, urban
- pro choice
- programs to help criminals

realigning election

An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point, redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.

straight ticket voting

practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election

Split ticket voting

voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election

McGovern-Fraser Commission

a committee in the Democratic party charged with recommending changes in party rules to promote more representation of women and minorities in the delegate selection process.

Exit Poll

public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision

Straw poll

unscientific survey used to gauge public opinion on a variety of issues and policies

Tracking poll

a poll taken for the candidate on a nearly daily basis as election day approaches

Push poll

a polling technique in which the questions are designed to shape the respondent's opinion

PACs (Political Action Committees)

a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns; legally allowed to coordinate their activity with the candidate's campaign but the money they received and spend is regulated

Super PACs

political action committees established to make independent expenditures; can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations and unions

527 issue advocacy groups

tax exempt, non-profit
loophole for ban of soft money
Issue advocacy groups who give soft $ to parties
Can spend money if they don't coordinate with a candidate or lobby directly for a person

501(c) groups

Groups that are exempted from reporting their contributions and can receive unlimited contributions. Section 501c of the tax code specifies that such groups cannot spend more than half their funds on political activities.

Dark money

political money where the donors of the money do not have to be disclosed

winner-take-all primary

whoever gets most votes in the state, gets all of the delegates for that state

Entrance poll

A poll that is taken before voters have cast their votes at the polling stations

Conventional political participation

activism that attempts to influence the political process through commonly accepted forms of persuasion such as voting or letter writing

Unconventional political participation

activism that attempts to influence the political process through unusual or extreme measures, such as protests, boycotts, and picketing

Retrospective judgment

a voter's evaluation of a candidate based on past performance on a particular issue

Mandate

command indicated by an electorate's votes, for the elected officials to carry out a party platform or policy agenda

Crossover voting

Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party.

Initiative

an election that allows citizens to propose legislation or state constitutional amendments by submitting them to the electorate for popular vote

Referendum

state legislature submits proposed legislation or state constitutional amendments to the voters for approval

Recall

voters can remove some from office before the next election

Sociological Factors of Voting

- education: College graduates are most likely to vote than those with less education
- income: People who make over 65k are more likely to vote than those with income less than 35k
- age: Higher percentage of people voting if they are over the age of 30
- gender: Women vote at a slightly higher rate than men
- race: Whites still tend to vote more than African Americans, hispanics and other minority groups

general election

An election held to choose which candidate will hold office

primary election

an election held to choose candidates for office

front-loading

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

Super delegate

an unelected delegate who is free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party's national convention.

Magic number

270 votes

proportional representation primary

delegates are given to candidates in proportion to the votes they get in each state.

12th Amendment

separation of votes for President and Vice President

Gerrymandering

the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent

Primary causes of incumbency advantage

staff support, visibility, scare-off effect

Reasons people don't vote

- think their vote won't make a difference

- political efficacy- people claim their vote won't make a difference

- cumbersome election procedure- have to register, carry a voter ID

- other commitments-a lot of people are too busy or forget to vote

- difficulty of registration-there is a cost to vote and a lot of people are not registered

- difficulty of voting-there is some form of identification to vote and many people do not have this identification

- number of elections-there are so many elections that people skip participating in certain ones

- voter attitudes-there are a lot of petty issues and mudslinging in elections than before

- weakened influence of political parties-Bureaucracies have resulted in more distant parties

Nomination campaign

phase of a political campaign aimed at winning a primary election

Campaign manager

the individual who travels with the candidate and coordinates the campaign

Pollster

A campaign consultant who conducts public opinion surveys

Finance chair

the individual who coordinates the financial business of the campaign

Communication director

the person who develops the overall media strategy for the candidate

Press secretary

the individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily basis

Volunteers

Contact supporters to encourage them to vote

horse race journalism

news coverage that focuses on who is ahead rather than on the issues

Spin

they put forward the most favorable possible interpretation for their candidate on any circumstance occuring in the campaign