Unit 3: Elections,Voting, Political Parties

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

two-party system

A political system dominated by two major parties

third party

A political party organized in opposition to the major parties in a two-party system

conservative

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

liberal

open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.

moderate

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

candidate

A person running for office

Political Spectrum

range of political views

Precinct

A voting district

ballot

the list of candidates on which you cast your vote

popular vote

the votes cast by individual voters in a presidential election, as opposed to the electoral vote

Electoral College

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

open primary

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

closed primary

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

primary election

election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent the party in the general election

general election

An election held to choose which candidate will hold office

Grassroots

people at the local level; average voters, not professional politicians

runoff primary

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

petition

when qualified voters sign papers declaring support for a candidate to get on a ballot

Recall

procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office

Inititative

Procedure by which citizens can propose a law to be placed on a ballot

hard money

campaign contributions donated directly to candidates. cannot be broken up

soft money

funds obtained by political parties that are spent on party activities, such as get-out-the-vote drives, but not on behalf of a specific candidate. can be broken up

Lobbyist

A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches.

public interest group

an interest group that seeks to institute certain public policies of benefit to all or most people in this country, whether or not they belong to or support that organization

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

plain folks appeal

implies that ordinary people are on "our side" or that a candidate is like an ordinary person

Bandwagon

tries to persuade the reader to do, think, or buy something because it is popular or everyone is doing it

endorsement

an act of giving one's public approval or support to someone or something

Glittering Generalities

propaganda technique using short phrases or words to promote positive feelings or emotions, but are essentially meaningless

Stacked Cards

a propaganda technique that presents only one side of the issue, often distorting the facts

media

supposed to act as watchdog an provide transparency for the public to expose corruption

number of electoral votes per state

determined by number of representatives and senators per state ( population) Set by census every ten years

538

number of electoral votes up for grabs

270

number of electoral votes a candidate needs to win

House of Representaives

who picks the president if no one wins 270 electoral votes