Abernathy/Waples, American Government: Stories of a Nation, Presidential Election Update 1E - Chapter 13

political participation

the different ways in which individuals take action to shape the laws and policies of a government.

political action committee (PAC)

an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns.

linkage institutions

channels that connect individuals with govern ment, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.

social movement

large groups of citizens organizing for political change.

franchise (or suffrage)

the right to vote in political elections.

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

allows those eighteen years old and older to vote.

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

prohibits Congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections.

poll tax

a payment required by a state or federal government before a citizen is allowed to vote.

voter turnout

the number of eligible voters who participate in an elec tion as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters.

demographic characteristics

measurable characteristics of a popula tion, such as economic status, education, age, race or ethnicity, gender, and partisan attachment.

socioeconomic status (SES)

a measure of an individual's wealth, income, occupation, and educational attainment.

political efficacy

a person's belief that he or she can make effective political change.

political mobilization

efforts by political parties to encourage their members to vote.

registration requirements

the set of rules that govern who can vote and how, when, and where they vote.

absentee ballots

voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election.

rational choice voting

voting based on what a citizen believes is in his or her best interest.

retrospective voting

voting based on an assessment of an incum bent's past performance.

prospective voting

casting a ballot for a candidate who promises to enact policies favored by the voter in the future.

party-line voting

voting for candidates who belong only to one political party for all of the offices on the ballot.

Electoral College

a constitutionally required process for selecting the president through slates of electors chosen in each state, who are pledged to vote for a nominee in the presidential election.

winner-take-all system

a system of elections in which the candidate who wins the plurality of votes within a state receives all of that state's votes in the Electoral College.

battleground state

a state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate in a presidential election.

swing state

a state where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans.

get out the vote (GOTV)

efforts to mobilize voters.

super PAC

an organization that may spend an unlimited amount of money on a political campaign, as long as the spending is not coordinated with the campaign.