Political Participation

Flashcards about political participation for Unit 5.

15th Amendment

Race cannot be a barrier to voting.

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of senators.

19th Amendment

Allowed women to vote (women's suffrage).

24th Amendment

Banned the poll tax.

26th Amendment

Changed the voting age to 18.

Rational Choice Voting

Choosing who to vote for based on the perception that that person's policies would make them better off.

Retrospective Voting

Voting based on the recent past, whether or not they are pleased with how the incumbent party has done.

Prospective Voting

Forward-looking voting, trying to decide which candidate you believe will handle future problems better.

Party Line Voting

Voting for all candidates from your particular party and none from the other party.

Political Efficacy

A person's belief that his or her vote matters and that they can actually influence government and policy.

Linkage Institutions

Connect people to the government, including political parties, interest groups, elections, and the news media.

Party Platform

A list of issues and what the party's goals are on each of those issues.

Candidate-Centered Politics

People are often more concerned with the candidate than they are with their political party identification.

Critical Election

A major new issue that is so important that it overrides all other concerns, shifting which party people vote for with a long-lasting shift of party loyalty.

Party Realignment

An entire region switched from one party to the other.

Party De-Alignment

People not switching parties but rather going from being a Democrat or Republican to simply having no party identification.

Winner-Take-All Voting Districts

Whoever gets the most votes in that district goes to Congress; nothing for second place, certainly nothing for third place.

Interest Group

A group of citizens coming together for some common political purpose, trying to influence policy.

Lobbying

Providing information to congressmen, policymakers, and people within the executive branch to try to get them to pass policies that will favor their group.

Iron Triangle

Made up of interest groups, congressional committees, and bureaucratic agencies.

Free Rider Problem

There often isn't an incentive for citizens to join the interest group if that group is doing something that will benefit the public at large.

Open Primary

Allows any registered voter to vote in either party's primary.

Closed Primary

You must be a registered party member to vote in that primary.

National Convention

The parties officially nominate their candidate for the general election.

Electoral College

The people who actually officially elect the president because the president is not directly elected.

Swing States/Battleground States

States that are competitive and that have a large number of electoral votes.

Incumbency Advantage

An advantage because he or she is already seen as being presidential. They already have a network of donors and raising money; they know how to do that.

Casework

Having provided constituent service, helping their constituents solve certain problems, and this is something that helps them to win reelection.

Midterm Elections

Occur on the off year, so that's between the presidential elections, and these have lower voter turnout, and the people who do show up are typically more partisan and more ideological.

Soft Money

Money donated to the political party.

Citizens United v. FEC

Struck down the ban on soft money, but perhaps more controversially, it said that corporations are people; therefore, corporations have free speech.

PAC

Political Action Committee; a group whose purpose is to raise money in support of a candidate.

Super PAC

Independent Expenditure Only Committee; can engage only in independent expenditures. Super PACs cannot give any money directly to a candidate.

Gatekeeper

The media chooses what to report on and what becomes more newsworthy or seems important to the public.

Watchdog

Media acting as investigative journalism.

Scorekeeper

Media focusing on who's winning and losing when it comes to elections.