Gov STUPID ASS VOCAB SET I HATE THIS

Activist

someone who takes direct action to achieve a political goal

Amicus curiae

a brief submitted by a "friend of the court"

Ballot initiative

a proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote

Bully pulpit

the president's use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public

Campaign finance reform

Legislation aimed at placing limits on political candidates accepting money and gifts from individuals and special interest groups

Caucus (local party)

Political party meeting at which voters choose nominees to represent their parties in general election contests. From this level, candidates have the opportunity to move to the state and national level caucuses.

Challenger

A politician running for an office that he does not hold at the time of the election. Challengers run against incumbents or in open-seat elections.

Closed primary

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

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.

Conservative/conservatism

holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.

Crossover voting

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

Democratic Party

A political party formed by supporters of Andrew Jackson after the presidential election of 1824.

Direct democracy

A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Direct primary

A primary where voters directly select the candidates who will run for office

Electoral College

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

Elitism

A theory of government and politics contending that an upper-class elite will hold most of the power and thus in effect run the government.

Exit poll

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

"Favorite Son"

is a political term referring to a presidential candidate, either one that is nominated by a state but considered a nonviable candidate or a politician whose electoral appeal derives from their native state, rather than their political views.

Front loading

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

Front runner

The presidential candidate who appears to be ahead at a given time in the primary season

Gender gap

Difference in political views between men and women

General election

An election held to choose which candidate will hold office

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Grassroots Lobbying

indirect lobbying efforts that spring from widespread public concern

Hard money

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.

Horse-race journalism

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

Hyperpluralism

a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened

Ideologue

theorist

Ideology

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Incumbent

the current officeholder

Independent Expenditure

The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals, groups, and parties can spend unlimited amounts in campaigns for or against candidates as long as they operate independently from the candidates. When an individual, group, or party does so, they are making an independent expenditure.

Initiative

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

Interest group

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy

Liberal/liberalism

a political orientation that favors social progress by reform and by changing laws rather than by revolution

Libertarian/libertarianism

One who believes in limited government interference in personal and economic liberties

Literacy test

A test given to persons to prove they can read and write before being allowed to register to vote

Lobbying/Lobbyist

Representing a group and trying to influence legislatures. Attempts by organizations or individuals to influence the decisions of government.

McCain-Feingold Act

Banned soft money, increased amount of individual contributions and limited issue ads.

Media bias

Bias or slant in the selection of which news to report and how the news is reported.

Moderate

Person whose views are between conservative and liberal and may include some of both ideologies

Motor Voter Act

A 1993 act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for a driver's license.

National nominating conventions

System where delegates from the states gathered to decide on the party's presidential nominee. Political power would come from the people rather then from elite political institutions.

Negative spot/ad

System where delegates from the states gathered to decide on the party's presidential nominee. Political power would come from the people rather then from elite political institutions.

Open primary

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

Open seat

an elected position for which there is no incumbent

"Pack journalism"

when news reporters from different outlets cover the same story in a similar, uniform way, often by following the same sources or narrative.

Participatory democracy

a system of government where rank-and-file citizens rule themselves rather than electing representatives to govern on their behalf

Party identification

a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

Party line voting

process in which voters select candidates by their party affiliation

Party platform

A political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate's strength. It is the best formal statement of a party's beliefs.

realignment/dealignment

Realignment-the switching of voter preference from one party to another. Dealignment- a trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons its previous partisan affiliation, without developing a new one to replace it.

Personal following

the political support provided to a candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.

Plurality system

an electoral system in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes, even if he or she does not receive a majority; used in almost all American elections

Political Action Committee(PAC)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

Political machine

a party organization that recruits members by dispensing patronage

Political party

A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy

Political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

Poll tax

A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote

Primary election

an election held to choose candidates for office

Prior restraint

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast

Proportional representation system

an election system for a legislature in which citizens vote for parties, rather than individuals, and parties are represented in the legislature according to the percentage of the vote they receive

Prospective voting

voting for a candidate because you favor his or her ideas for handling issues

Public interest group

an organization that seeks a collective good that will not selectively and materially benefit group members

Public opinion

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

Public opinion cleavages

factors such as race, ethnicity, region, social class which create differences in public opinion

Public opinion poll

a survey in which individuals are asked to answer questions about a particular issue or person

Random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Rational choice voting

Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen's individual interest

Reagan Democrats

traditional Democratic middle-class voters turning to Ronald Reagan during the 1980s

Reapportionment

the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Red state/blue state

Red States: Generally vote for the Republican candidate. (more conservative) Blue States: Generally vote for the Democrat candidate. (more Liberal)

Referendum

a legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate

Religious Right

United States political faction that advocates social and political conservativism, school prayer, and federal aid for religious groups and schools

Republican Party

Political party that believed in the non-expansion of slavery & consisted of Whigs, N. Democrats, & Free-Soilers in defiance to the Slave Powers

Retrospective voting

voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office

"Revolving Door"

refers to the movement of individuals between government and private sector jobs, particularly when former regulators and lawmakers become lobbyists for industries they once oversaw, and vice versa.

Runoff primary

A second primary election held when no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the first primary

Safe seat

An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted.

Sampling error

The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results.

Self-selection

a problem that occurs when anything about a person determines whether he or she will be included in the experimental or control group

Soft money

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

Split-ticket voting/Ticket-splitting

A person selecting candidates from both political parties, not just one; a cause of divided government

Suffrage

the right to vote

Super PAC

a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.

Super Tuesday

A Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held.

Superdelegate

a delegate to the Democratic national convention who is there by virtue of holding an office

"Talking Head"

are often utilized in media as an authority on a topic, an academic with a specific opinion, or as a general truth-teller to their personal story in a documentary interview.

Term limits

legally prescribed limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve

Third parties (minor parties)

A party formed as an independent group organized by members of the major political parties.

Two-party system

An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections.

Voter turnout

the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election

Winner Takes all system/First Past the Post

An almost obsolete system whereby a presidential aspirant who won the preference vote in a primary automatically won all the delegates chosen in the primary