ap gov key vocab

Federal system

multiple levels of government decide policies and laws

confederate

most policies at the state/local level

unitary

most/all policies set at the top, national level

Libertarian

party that agrees government should have very little to no regulation beyond the protection of private property

Benchmark poll

survey taken at beginning of political campaign to measure support for a candidate and determine which issues are important to others

Tracking poll

survey determining level of support for candidates or issue through the campaign

Rational choice theory

votes based on self-interest, carefully studies issues and platforms

Retrospective voting

person votes based on recent PAST TRACK RECORD of politician in question

Prospective voting

votes based off PREDICTIONS of how a candidate or party will perform

Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper Clause)

congress can make laws or alter regulations as deemed necessary

24th Amendment

abolish poll taxes that were used to suppress minority vote

26th Amendment

voting age from 21 to 18 years old

17th Amendment

people can vote senators into office

Winner-take-all system

whatever candidate who wins most popular votes gains ALL electoral votes of that state

Lobbying

meeting with policy makers to influence passage of laws in favor of them

Iron triangle

strong/mutually beneficial relationship between interest groups > congressional communities > gov. agencies

Free rider problem

large group benefit from works of interest groups (smaller group)

Primary election

members of party vote on candidate they want to represent in GENERAL ELECTION

Open primary

any voter can vote in either party's primary but NOT BOTH

Closed primary

only people IN the party can vote

Caucus

people discuss and debate and vote PUBLICLY

National convention

beginning of general election

How many electoral votes are needed to win at the minimum?

270 electoral votes

Hard money

money directly to candidate

Soft money

money to the party

PACs

groups that raise money from people

Super PAC

unlimited contribution

Canvassing campaign

during election season, people go door to door to persuade people to vote

Delegate

person to represent on behalf of their constituents (voters) and act accordingly

Super delegate

can support any candidate they want to

Elastic clause

Article I, Section 8

Fiscal federalism

federal government's use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in states

Dual/Layer cake

states and national government operate independently in their areas of public safety

Creative/Marble/Cooperative

state and federal government forge a relationship to shape public policy

Front loading

moving a state's primary earlier in hopes of being more relevant in picking nominees

Full Faith & Credit Clause

states must respect and honor public acts, records, and judicial decisions of other states

Extradition Clause

someone charged with a crime in one state and flees to another, the original state where the crime was committed can request the criminal back

Privileges and Immunities clause

states must treat citizens of another state fairly and equally when it comes to certain fundamental rights

Flat tax

everyone is taxed the same so no deductions or exemptions

Progressive tax

tax rates rise as tax payer's income rises

Fiscal policy

use federal budget to influence economy

1. GS up / taxes DOWN to boost economy

2. GS DOWN / taxes up to lower economy

Keynesian

government stabilizes economy through GS (spend money during bad economy to gives jobs to fix economy)

Supply-side

lower tax rate so people want to spend more and invest in companies

Monetary policy

central bank uses tools to control money supply and promote economic growth

1. IR UP to slow economy

2. IR DOWN to boost economy