Chapter 10 politics

ballot fatigue

The exhaustion of voter interest and knowledge

in elections caused by election frequency and the length

and complexity of ballots.

battleground state

Those states which are highly competitive

in the presidential general election.

caucus, nominating

The process in some states for selecting

delegates to the national party conventions characterized

by neighborhood and area-wide meetings of party supporters

and activists.

Electoral College

Representatives selected in each of the

states, their numbers based on each state’s total number of its

senators and representatives; a majority of Electoral College

votes elects the president.

Electoral competition voting model

A theory of elections

in which parties move toward the median voter or the center

of the political spectrum in order to capture the most votes.

Electors

Representatives who are elected in the states to

formally choose the U.S. president.

Franchise

The legal right to vote; see suffrage.

Initiative

Procedures available in some states for citizens

to put proposed laws and constitutional amendments on the

ballot for voter approval or rejection.

Invisible primary

The process in which party elites and

influential donors throw their support behind a candidate

before any votes have been cast, giving that candidate a

financial and organizational advantage during the state primaries

and caucuses.

Median voter

The voter at the exact middle of the political

issue spectrum.

Party convention

A gathering of delegates who nominate

a party’s presidential candidate.

Plurality

Occurs when a candidate receives more votes

than any other candidate in an election but still less than a

majority.

Primary election

Statewide elections in which voters

choose delegates to the national party conventions.

Prospective voting model

A theory of democratic elections

in which voters decide what each party will do if

elected and choose the party that best represents their own

preferences.

referendum

Procedures available in some states by which

state laws or constitutional amendments proposed by the legislature

are submitted to the voters for approval or rejection.

Responsible party model

The notion that a political party

will take clear and distinct stands on the issues and enact

them as policy once elected to office.

retrospective voting model (or electoral reward and punishment

model)

A theory of democratic elections in which

voters look back at the performance of a party in power and

cast ballots on the basis of how well it did in office.

Suffrage

The legal right to vote; see franchise.

superdelegates

Elected officials from all levels of government

who are appointed by party committees to be delegates

to the national convention of the Democratic Party; not

selected in primary elections or caucuses.

Turnout

The proportion of either eligible or all voting-age

Americans who actually vote in a given election; the two

ways of counting turnout yield different results.