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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
Note 
Flashcard (75)