Unit 5: A

Political participation

Activities citizens use to influence government, like voting, campaigning, protesting, and contacting officials

Suffrage

Legal right to vote in elections

Political efficacy

Belief one can influence politics and government responds to citizens

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibits denying vote based on race, color, or previous servitude

Seventeenth Amendment

Establishes direct popular election of U.S. senators

Nineteenth Amendment

Grants women the right to vote nationwide

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Bans poll taxes in federal elections

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Lowers voting age to 18

Rational-choice voting

Voting based on candidate or policy providing greatest personal benefit

Retrospective voting

Voting based on past performance of incumbents or party

Prospective voting

Voting based on predicted future performance or promises

Party-line voting

Voting for candidates from the same political party consistently

Voter turnout

Percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots

Structural barriers to voting

Laws or systems making voting harder: ID rules, limited polling places, registration deadlines

Grandfather clause

Past rule letting whites bypass voting restrictions if ancestors voted

Literacy test

Reading exam once used to restrict minority voting

Poll tax

Fee required to vote, used to suppress poor voters

White primary

Party primary excluding nonwhite voters

Voter registration laws

Rules requiring citizens register before voting

Mid-term elections

Congressional elections held during president's term, every four years' midpoint

Presidential elections

Nationwide elections selecting president and vice president every four years

Referendum

Direct vote on a law or policy proposed by legislature.

Recall

Vote allowing citizens to remove an elected official early

Initiative

Citizens propose laws or amendments and vote directly

Precinct

Smallest local voting district

Civic engagement

Individual or group actions improving community or public life

Ideological orientation

Political beliefs about government's role, policies, and values

Contemporary political issues

Current policy debates affecting society today

Religious affiliation

Person's connection to a religion influencing political views or voting

Political parties

Organizations nominating candidates and promoting policy agendas

Interest groups

Organized groups influencing policy to benefit members' shared interests

Linkage institutions

Structures connecting people to government: parties, elections, media, interest groups

Electorate

All eligible voters

Voter mobilization

Efforts encouraging people to register and vote

Invisible primary

Pre-election phase securing endorsements, donors, media attention before voting starts

lowa Caucuses

First state party meetings where voters select delegates

New Hampshire Primary

First primary election; influential early test for candidates

Swing states

Competitive states where either party can win

Plurality

Most votes received, not necessarily over 50%

Majority

More than half of total votes

Front-loading

States scheduling primaries early to gain influence

Retail politics

Direct candidate interaction with voters: town halls, handshakes, small events

Party platforms

Official party statement of principles, goals, and policy positions

Party chairperson

Leader managing party organization, strategy, fundraising, operations

Delegate

Representative sent to convention to vote for nominee

Superdelegate

Unpledged party leader free to support any convention candidate

Coattail effect

Popular candidate helps same-party candidates win ballots

Candidate recruitment

Process of encouraging and selecting individuals to run for office

Campaign management

Planning and coordinating strategy, messaging, staff, fundraising, scheduling

Media strategy

Planned use of advertising, news, and social media to influence voters

Critical elections

Elections causing major, lasting shifts in party loyalty

Realignment

Long-term change in voter coalitions and party dominance after critical election