Unit 5: Chapters 17-20 Study Guide - Political Parties, Voting, Public Opinion, Interest Groups, and Mass Media

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering political parties, voting rights and behaviors, public opinion measurement, interest groups, mass media, and campaign finance from Chapters 17-20.

Political Party

A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.

Major Parties

In American politics, the Republican and the Democratic parties.

Partisanship

Government action based on firm allegiance to a political party.

Party in Power

In American politics, the party that controls the executive branch of government.

Minor Party

One of the political parties not widely supported.

Two-Party System

A political system dominated by two major parties.

Single-Member District

Electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office.

Plurality

In an election, the number of votes that the leading candidate obtains over the next highest candidate.

Bipartisan

Supported by two parties.

Consensus

General agreement among various groups on fundamental matters; broad agreement on public questions.

Multiparty System

A system in which several major and many lesser parties exist, seriously compete for, and actually win public offices.

Coalition

A temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form a working majority and so to control a government.

One-Party System

A political system in which only one party exists.

Pluralistic Society

A society which consists of several distinct cultures and groups.

Incumbent

The current officeholder.

Faction

A conflicting group.

Electorate

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election.

Sectionalism

A narrow-minded concern for, or devotion to, the interests of one section of a country.

Ideological Parties

Parties based on a particular set of beliefs, a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political matters.

Single-Issue Parties

Parties that concentrate on only one public policy matter.

Economic Protest Party

Parties rooted in poor economic times, lacking a clear ideological base, and dissatisfied with current conditions.

Splinter Parties

Parties that have split away from one of the major parties.

Ward

A unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members.

Precinct

The smallest unit of elections administration; a voting district.

Split-Ticket Voting

Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election.

Registration

A procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting.

Poll Tax

A special tax, demanded by States, as a condition of voting.

Gerrymandering

The drawing of electoral district lines to the advantage of a party or group.

Suffrage

The right to vote; a synonym of "Franchise".

Political Socialization

The process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions from family, school, friends, and other sources.

Census

A usually complete count of a population (as of a state).

FEC (Federal Election Commission)

Agency that enforces federal campaign finance laws, including monitoring donation prohibitions, and limits and oversees public funding.

Independent

A term used to describe people who have no party affiliation.

Absentee Ballot

A ballot that allows a person to vote without going to the polls on Election Day.

Grandfather Clause

An exemption in a law for a certain group based on previous conditions.

Caucus

A private meeting of party leaders to choose candidates for office.

Party Identification

Loyalty of people to a political party.

Open Primary

An election in which all voters may participate.

Closed Primary

An election in which only members of a political party can vote.

Direct Primary

An election in which party members select people to run in the general election.

Disenfranchise

To deprive the right to vote.

Straight-Ticket Voting

A ticket where a voter has selected candidates of his or her own party only.

Midterm Election

Congressional election that occurs between presidential election years.

Republican Party

Major U.S. political party that focuses on strong individual rights as opposed to a large, intrusive government and tends toward a conservative ideology.

Democratic Party

Major U.S. political party that tends toward a liberal ideology.

Green Party

Minor political party that promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy, grassroots democracy; anti-war; anti-racism and eco-socialism.

Libertarian Party

Minor political party that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government.

Constitution Party

Political party in the United States, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers' Party until 1999, that promotes a religious conservative view of the principles and intents of the United States Constitution.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that formally extends suffrage to African Americans.

19th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that extends suffrage to women.

24th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that outlaws poll taxes in national elections.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal legislation through which African Americans achieved suffrage guaranteed under the 15th Amendment against Jim Crow and de-facto laws.

26th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years old.

Public Opinion

The complex collection of the opinions of many different people; the sum of all of their views.

Peer Group

People with whom one regularly associates, including friends, classmates, neighbors, and co-workers.

Public Policy

All of the goals a government sets and the various courses of action it pursues as it attempts to realize these goals.

Interest Group

A group of people who share a common goal and organize to influence government and policy.

Political Culture

A set of basic values and beliefs about a nation and its government that most citizens share.

Political Efficacy

A person’s belief that he or she can have an impact on government and policy.

Lobbying

Making direct contact to persuade government officials to support policies.

Grassroots Lobbying

Political advocacy efforts carried out by the general public and members of interest groups, sometimes under the guidance of professional lobbyists.

Public-Interest Group

An interest group that focuses its work on influencing policies believed to affect the general public, not just its own members.

Hard Money

Direct contributions to a candidate's political campaign.

Straw Poll

An unscientific attempt to measure public opinion that provides a biased sample.

Exit Poll

Polling that involves interviewing voters as they leave.

Shield Law

A state law that protects reporters from having to reveal their sources.

Prior Restraint

Censorship of information before it is published; print media are free from this under the First Amendment.

Libel

False written or published statements that damage a person’s reputation.

Defamation

False expression that injures a person’s reputation.

Mass Media

Those means of communication that reach large audiences, especially television, radio, printed publications, and the Internet.

Journalist

Professional media communicator, including reporter, editor, columnist, photojournalist, and editorial cartoonist.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Law requiring federal agencies to release files to the public, unless the material falls into certain exemptions for national security.

Universe (Polling)

The group of people to be studied in scientific polling.

Representative Sample

A small group of people who are typical of the larger group being studied.

Random Sample

A polling technique in which everyone in the group has an equal chance of being selected.

Push Polling

Writing polling questions which push a respondent to a particular answer.

PACs (Political Action Committees)

Committees that donate money directly to parties or candidates, raising funds from individuals associated with a corporation (Separate Segregated Funds) or other individuals (Nonconnected PACs).

Super PACs

Also known as Independent Expenditures Only Committees (IEOCs); PACs that accept unlimited contributions and spend unlimited amounts supporting or opposing candidates, but cannot directly donate to candidates or parties.

Fairness Doctrine

An FCC rule used until 1987 that required broadcasters to provide opportunities for the expression of opposing views on issues of public importance.

Telecommunications Act of 1996

Federal legislation that ended or relaxed many FCC limits on media ownership.

Blog

A personal "web log" or online journal used by citizens to participate in politics.

Electronic Petition

An online document that asks a recipient to "sign" their name electronically to a request sent to a government official.

Electronic Mailing List

An automated e-mail notification that provides subscribers with current information on a topic.