U.S. Elections and Political Parties

These flashcards cover key topics from the lecture on elections and political parties in the U.S.

According to the U.S. Constitution, the conduct of elections is the responsibility of

State governments

To register to vote in Texas, an individual must be a

Citizen of the United States

Counties often make the clerk’s office responsible for voter registration because the office is also responsible for

Keeping records of births and marriages licenses

An example of how one can get their name on the ballot in Texas is by

Filing a petition with a set number of signatures

In a - , the primary restricts the voters who participate to party loyalists.

Closed primary election

The most important advantage of incumbency is

Raising money for an election campaign

New political parties and those with less than 2 percent of the vote for any statewide office in the last five general elections

Must register with the secretary of state’s office

- is a process in which voters select candidates on the basis of their party affiliation.

Party-line voting

Sore loser law

The sore loser law is a provision that prevents a candidate from running as an independent candidate in a general election after losing in a primary election.

What shifted many Roman Catholics toward the Republican Party were

Conservative positions on social issues

In general, voter turnout in special elections is relatively high. 

False

Early voting

Early voting benefits voters by allowing them to avoid a hectic scramble to get to the voting booth before it closes on Election Day.

-are occasional gatherings of ordinary party members through primaries and in meetings known as caucuses and conventions.

Temporary party organizations

Each party’s state officials are selected by the

State conventions

Each issue position of the party platform is referred to as a

Plank

The virtue of - parties is that they provide voters with clear choices and firm positions the parties are pledged to honor if elected.

Responsible

Texas’s political parties hold their state conventions biennially in the - of even-numbered years.

Summer

The relationship between Texans and their political parties can best be described as

Complicated

In much of the country, conventions are called caucuses when held at the - level.

Local

Precinct conventions are used to elect - who will attend the party’s conventions held later at the county level.

Delegates

The party that replaced the Whig Party after it collapsed in the mid−1850s was the -

Republican Party

- refers to how delegates at the national convention become pledged to vote for a specific candidate or attend as undecided.

Allocation

Elections in which ordinary citizens vote to choose the candidates that will represent a party on the ballot in the general election are referred to as -

Primary elections

T/F One of the functions of a political party is to training for candidates and their campaign staffs

True

In the context of organized interests, 'organization' reflects

the direction of systematic efforts aimed at influencing the political process

Organized interests offer selective incentives to solve -

To solve the free−rider problem

Labor unions are organizations that

Seek better pay or working conditions for their membership

The Texas State Teachers Association and the Texas Medical Association are examples of

Professional associations

-are organizations that pursue noneconomic policies on behalf of the people.

Public interest groups

The Texas Municipal League is an example of an -

Intergovernmental lobby

Electioneering is a technique used to -

Influence who is elected to office

One of the newest issues in campaign finance is

Dark money

Dark money is different from typical independent political expenditures because it is

Unreported

A defining feature of Astroturf lobbying is that it is often

Manufactured by specialized lobbying firms

In a system of - many narrow groups are represented, often at the expense of the broader public interest.

Hyperpluralism

The interests of the oil industry are better represented in Austin than are the interests of Texas college students because

The oil industry has the ability to organize more effectively than college students

Some single−issue interest groups can also be considered public interest groups.

True

The central role played by the media is

Providing information to the public

Rising concerns over how President Lyndon Johnson misled the country about the war in Vietnam gave rise to

Watchdog

The shield law essentially gives journalists the same sort of privilege it gives to

Clergy, lawyers, or doctors

The federal regulation of radio stations in Texas was brought on in part by the belief of

farmers that radio waves were making their cows give sour milk.

The type of mass media that created the foundation for a shared dialog among citizens and made it easier for political figures to reach a broad audience is - mass media.

Traditional

When people are exposed disproportionately to information they already agree with, it facilitates

Confirmation bias

As digital content has overtaken traditional media, local newspapers have also

Merged into larger entities

Unlike television conglomerates, newspaper conglomerates are much more likely to be

Locally owned

The loss of media is considered more critical at the - level.

Local

The media’s role in politics has remained the same over time.

False

The way the media frames an issue can shape the way the public views that issue.

True

Partisan newspapers were common in early America as the parties founded and supported newspapers to help them spread their political message.

True