AP GOVPOL

Rational-choice voting

Voting for the candidate or policy that a voter believes will best serve their own interests after weighing costs and benefits.

Retrospective voting

Choosing a candidate based on how well that candidate or their party performed in the past.

Prospective voting

Choosing a candidate based on promises, plans, or expected future performance.

Party-line voting

Voting for candidates from the same political party across multiple offices.

Political efficacy

The belief that citizens can understand politics and influence what government does.

Voter turnout

The number or percentage of eligible or registered voters who actually cast a ballot in an election.

Suffrage

The right to vote in political elections.

Franchise

Another term for the legal right to vote; the right of suffrage.

Electorate

All people eligible to vote in a particular election or political jurisdiction.

Precinct / polling place

A precinct is a small geographic voting district; a polling place is the location where people in that district can cast ballots.

Absentee ballots / vote by mail

A method of voting in which voters receive and return their ballots by mail or another permitted return method instead of voting in person on Election Day.

Australian ballot

An official government-printed ballot listing candidates and marked privately; also called the secret ballot.

Voter registration

The process of signing up with election officials to be eligible to vote.

Literacy test

A reading or writing test historically used, especially in the South, to disenfranchise Black voters; banned as a voting barrier under federal law.

Poll tax

A fee charged as a condition of voting, historically used to suppress turnout; the 24th Amendment banned it in federal elections.

Grandfather clause

A rule that exempted people from voting restrictions if their ancestors had voted before a certain date; used to disenfranchise Black voters.

White primary

A primary election that excluded Black voters by allowing only white people to participate; ruled unconstitutional.

Preclearance

A Voting Rights Act requirement that certain jurisdictions obtain federal approval before changing voting rules; the old coverage formula was struck down in 2013.

Voter identification laws

Laws requiring voters to present specified forms of identification; supporters cite election security, while critics point to possible barriers to voting.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Landmark federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in voting and giving the federal government tools to enforce the 15th Amendment.

Primary / caucus

A primary is an election in which voters choose party nominees or delegates; a caucus is a party-organized meeting where participants make selections.

Momentum / bandwagon effect

A candidate gains additional support because early victories or a perception of likely success attract voters, donors, and media attention.

Invisible primary

The period before primary voting when candidates compete for endorsements, donations, staff, media coverage, and party support.

Open and closed primaries

In an open primary, voters can generally choose which party primary to participate in regardless of affiliation; in a closed primary, only registered party members can participate.

Party conventions / national conventions

Gatherings of party delegates to formally nominate presidential candidates, adopt a platform, and rally party supporters.

Two-party system / third party

A two-party system is dominated by two major parties; a third party is any party outside those two, often with difficulty winning major offices.

Single-member districts

Electoral districts that choose one representative each; this structure often favors a two-party system.

Party platforms

Official statements of a political party's policy positions, goals, and principles.

Candidate-centered campaigns

Campaigns focused on the individual candidate's image, qualifications, and messages rather than mainly the party label.

Demographic coalitions

Alliances of voter groups, such as age, religious, racial, geographic, or income groups, that support a party or candidate.

Mobilization of voters

Efforts such as canvassing, phone banking, reminders, and transportation to encourage people to register and vote.

Candidate recruitment

Political parties or organizations identifying and encouraging people to run for elected office.

Professional consultants

Paid campaign specialists who advise on polling, fundraising, messaging, advertising, and strategy.

Critical elections

Elections that produce a major and lasting shift in party coalitions, voting patterns, or political power.

Party realignment

A long-term change in which groups of voters shift their loyalty from one political party to another.

Political campaigns

Organized efforts by candidates and supporters to win elections through fundraising, messaging, debates, advertising, and voter outreach.

Plurality / majority

Plurality means more votes than any other candidate, even below 50%; majority means more than half of the votes.

General elections

Elections in which voters choose officeholders, usually after parties have nominated candidates in primaries or caucuses.

Midterm elections

Elections held halfway through a president's four-year term; all House seats and roughly one-third of Senate seats are contested.

Debates

Structured public exchanges in which candidates answer questions, explain policies, and challenge their opponents.

Battleground states / swing states

States where support for major presidential candidates is close enough that either party has a realistic chance of winning.

The Electoral College

The system that formally elects the U.S. president and vice president using 538 electors; 270 electoral votes are needed to win.

Electors

Individuals chosen to cast their state's or D.C.'s formal Electoral College votes for president and vice president.

Winner-take-all vs. proportional

Winner-take-all awards all of a state's electoral votes to its statewide winner; proportional allocation would divide votes based on vote share. Maine and Nebraska instead use a congressional-district method.

National popular vote

The total number of votes cast by voters nationwide for a presidential candidate; it does not directly determine the Electoral College winner.

Incumbency advantage

The benefits of already holding office, including name recognition, media attention, fundraising networks, and constituent services.

Referendum / initiative

A referendum lets voters approve or reject a law or measure placed on the ballot; an initiative lets citizens propose a law or amendment through a petition process.

Ranked-choice voting

An election system where voters rank candidates; in common single-winner versions, the lowest candidate is eliminated and ballots transfer until someone wins a majority of continuing votes.

Bush v. Gore (2000)

The Supreme Court held that differing standards in Florida's 2000 presidential recount violated equal protection and stopped the recount, effectively settling the election.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

The Supreme Court invalidated the Voting Rights Act's formula for deciding which places needed federal preclearance, sharply limiting that system.

Trump v. United States (2024)

The Supreme Court ruled presidents have absolute criminal immunity for acts within core constitutional authority, presumptive immunity for other official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts.

14th Amendment

Grants citizenship to people born or naturalized in the U.S. and requires states to provide due process and equal protection of the laws.

15th Amendment

Prohibits denying or restricting voting rights because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

19th Amendment

Prohibits denying or restricting voting rights on account of sex, extending voting rights to women nationwide.

23rd Amendment

Gives Washington, D.C., electors in presidential elections, with no more than the least populous state.

24th Amendment

Prohibits poll taxes in federal elections.

26th Amendment

Prohibits denying or restricting voting rights to U.S. citizens age 18 or older on account of age.