AP Gov Unit 5 (AMSCO Chapters 15-20)

Flashcards on important vocabulary for this unit

Electorate

The group of Americans who vote for the president and other offices once every four years

Franchise

The right to vote

Suffrage

Qualifications for voting

Fifteenth Amendment

1870 - African American males got the right to vote

Nineteenth Amendment

1920 - Established women’s suffrage

Twenty-Third Amendment

1961 - DC appoints electors no more than however many the least populous state has

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

1962 - Outlawed poll taxes

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

1971 - Gave citizens 18 and older the right to vote

Grandfather clause

Allowed states to recognize voters as they would have recognized their grandfather

White Primary

Only white people could vote

Seventeenth Amendment

1913 - Required popular elections for senators

1957 Civil Rights Act

Established the US office of Civil Rights

1964 Civil Rights Act

Addressed voting

1965 Voting Rights Act

Outlawed literacy tests and put states with low voter turnouts under scrutiny

Preclearance Provision

Provision of Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act - put states that tried to invent legal loopholes under scrutiny - OUTLAWED

Precincts

Geographic areas of 500-1000 voters who vote at a specific polling place

Wards

Divisions of counties, cities, and towns

National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)/Motor-Voter Law

1993 - requires states to allow citizens to register at state-run agencies

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

2002 - electronic voting systems, helped prevent voter fraud, helped disabled voters

Australian Ballot

Current US ballot

Provisional ballots

Given and put aside when not sure about registration

Political efficacy

The sense that your vote makes a difference

Linkage institutions

Channels that connect the people and government

War chest

An amount of funds that an established or popular candidate may already have going into an election

National Chairperson

Chief strategist and spokesperson of a party - nongovernmental

McGovern-Fraser Commission

Created by the Democratic Party in response to the 1968 DNC. Made sure that minorities, women, and young voters were represented.

Superdelegates

High-ranking delegates who aren’t beholden to state primary votes - DNC

Free-rider problem

Groups that push for collective benefits have free riders that limit the potential of the group

Iron triangles

Bonds among an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group

Issue networks

collections with similar goals that support specific issues - break up once their concern is resolved

Direct Lobbying

Interest groups participate in this in order to further their goals if they have access

Lobbyists

They determine which lawmakers support their case, and then try to influence lawmakers that are undecided about their issue. Congress members often want information ______ can provide.

Insider Strategies

Used when lobbyists quietly persuade decision makers through exclusive access

Outsider Strategies

Used when lobbyists make public efforts to influence policy, using lawsuits or voting drives

Client interaction

Used when lobbyists inform clients and discuss strategy with them

Legislative Activity

Used when lobbyists provide information, research bills, and draft bills

Social media (lobbyists)

Used to monitor congressional activity and target outreach

Implementation (lobbyists)

Testifying on bills and filing amicus curiae briefs

Electoral activity

Used by lobbyists when advertising and making PAC donations

Other lobbyist activities

Meetings and business development or media commentary

501 (c )(3)/ 501 (c )(4) groups

Tax-exempt organizations under the IRS code, where 501(c)(3) groups are charitable and 501(c)(4) groups are social welfare organizations, often engaging in lobbying.

Endorsement

A public expression of support

Grassroots lobbying

Outsider technique used when interest groups try to inform, persuade, and mobilize large numbers of people

Grasstops

When interest groups target opinion leaders and people with knowledge and connection with lawmakers

Invisible Primary

Media primary/money primary: candidates are judged before election year by public opinion polls and fundraising abilities

Incumbent

A president who is running and are already holding the office. They have an advantage over challengers because they are more well known and have been performing in office longer

Primary Elections

When voters advise delegates on who to nominate at the national convention and the winning candidate wins enough state primaries

Closed Primary

Voters have to declare their party affiliation in advance to vote

Opem primary

Used by half of the states - voters can declare party affiliation on election day

Blanket primary

Rarest form of a primary - allow voters to cast votes for candidates in multiple parties, often leading to split tickets

Caucuses

Sometimes used by states - people go and listen to discussion of candidates and then cast their votes — Iowa

Front-loading

When states schedule their primaries and caucuses earlier to increase clout and tourism

Super Tuesday

Many states hold their primaries on Super Tuesday, and the race narrows at this point

Proportional System

If one candidate gets 60% of the vote and the other gets 40%, the corresponding # of delegates for each candidate are sent

Swing States

States that have a less predictable pattern of voting

Electors

The electoral college is a gathering of electors in capital cities to vote on the same day. They cannot be senators or representatives

Twenty-Third Amendment

(1961) Allows Washington, DC to have 3 electoral votes

Plurality System

The candidate who wins the plurality of the popular vote in a state will receive all of the electoral votes — also known as the Winner-Take-All system

Midterm elections

Elections that take place halfway through a president’s term. They have less media attraction and less voters

PACs

Political Action Committees are formal groups formed around an interest. They donate lots of money to incumbents

Coattail effect

When a presidential candidate from a particular party wins, candidates from that party down the ballot also usually win

Safe districts

Districts which are so gerrymandered that they are not competitive

Campaign Organization

Candidates have to work with their party’s leaders and organizations.

Candidate’s Committee

Most candidates form a committee and file for candidacy. If they are running for president, a leadership team with experienced members will form, and in local elections, it will be mostly friends and family.

527 organizations

Tax-exempt groups

War Chest

A candidate’s war chest is their campaign fund. The size of it can affect the election’s outcome.

Professional consultants

Candidates use these these to help in their campaigns

Defining the opponent

Candidates often define contrasts between themselves and their opponents in order to attract independent voters.

Social Media

Began being used heavily in Obama’s 2012 campaign. Used digital ads and ads from supporters

Dark ads

Anonymous ads run only in their target audience’s feeds. Attempt to manipulate emotions to sway voters.

The 2016 Presidential Campaign

Unusual, bad example of how elections usually work, marked by intraparty contest

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

1971 — created more strict reporting requirements and limited candidates’ expenditures

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Monitors and enforces regulations

1974 Federal Election Campaign Act

Limited individual contributions to $1000 per election, limited candidates’ own contributions to $50,000 per election, regulated and defined PACs, donations, and created a voluntary public fund

Hard money

Donations given directly to a candidate

Soft Money

Donation to a party or interest group

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

Also known as the McCain-Feingold Act, banned soft money contributions and raised hard money contribution limits

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Overturned key parts of the BCRA, reasoning was that part of the BCRA violated organizations’ free speech rights and also ruled that candidates don’t owe anything to PACs in exchange for ads

Dark money

Citizens United allowed for unlimited contributions to soft money groups

Connected PACs

Formed by sponsoring organizations, funded through donations from members, also known as Separate Segregated Funds

Nonconnected PACs

No sponsoring organization, funding from the general public, usually around a single issue

Leadership PACs

Type of nonconnected PAC that can be started by a current or former elected official — can’t be used to fund their own campaigns

Super PACs

Able to give and get unlimited donations as long as they don’t formally communicate or coordinate with the candidate’s campaign

Free Press

An institution that is uninhibited and checks the government, requiring it to be honest, ethical, and transparent

The Associated Press (AP)

Formed in 1848 to help editors sell and share news

News bureaus

Offices of a newspaper beyond its headquarters

Investigative reporting

Reporters tried to expose corruption - muckrackers

Radio

First introduced just after WWI, more common by the 1930s — facts based in 1940s

Broadcast network

Broadcasting from a central location to smaller stations

Affiliates

Smaller stations in a broadcast network

Television

After WWII - 10 mil AMericans in 1951

Big Three Networks

ABC, CBS, and NBC

CNN

Cable News Network - created in 1980 by Ted Turner (24/7)

The Internet

Created by the military, publicly available in the 90s

Horse-Race Journalism

Focusing on who is ahead and who is behind

Scorekeepers

Reporters report on public opinion polls

Gatekeeper

Media — determines what content is newsworthy

Watchdog

Press — its reporters expose issues in the government and industries

Adversarial press

Reporters question the government and its motives

Sound bites

Short excerpts of a larger recording