Gov Buzzwords Unit 10

12th Amendment

Election of President and Vice President

15th Amendment

States cannot deny any person the right to vote because of race.

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of senators (instead of being chosen by state legislatures)

19th Amendment

Women's suffrage

23rd Amendment

gave residents of Washington DC the right to vote

24th Amendment

Abolishes poll taxes

26th Amendment

lowered the voting age to 18

voting rights act of 1965

a policy designed to reduce the barriers to voting for those suffering discrimination. Literacy tests eliminated

Incumbant Advantage

Advantages of current office holders for easier re-election (name recognition, Campaign finance, etc)

General Elections

the regularly scheduled election at which voters make a final selection of officeholders

Primary Elections

elections held to select a party's candidate for the general election

Closed primary

a primary election in which voting is limited to already registered party members

Open primary

Primary election in which any voter, regardless of party, may vote.

Blanket Primary

a voting process in which voters receive a long ballot containing the names of all contenders, regardless of party, and can vote however they choose

runoff Primary

a second primary election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in the first primary

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Super Tuesday, front-loading

the day that MANY states have their primary/caucus

Delegates

A person who is chosen or elected to represent a person or group

Super delegates

an unelected delegate who is free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party's national convention.

Nominating Conventions (post-convention bump)

Poli Parties gather to select candidate for upcoming elections

Plurality

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half.

Majority

more than half

Winner-Take-All Voting system

an electoral system in which the party that receives at least one more vote than any other party wins the election

Presidential elections

an election held every four years on even-numbered years

Midterm elections

The congressional elections that take place midway through a president's four-year term.

Voter Turnout

the percentage of eligible citizens who actually vote in a given election

electoral college

a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

FEC (federal election commission)

The government agency that enforces and regulates election laws; made up of six presidential appointees, of whom no more than three can be members of the same party.

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns.

Soft Money

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

Hard Money

campaign contributions donated directly to candidates

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Largely banned party soft money, restored a long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes, and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy.

independent expenditures -527 groups

Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

A 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures.

SuperPACs

a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.

PACS

Political Action Committees, raise money for candidates &/or parties

Rational Choice Voting

Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen's individual interest

Retrospective Voting

voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office

prospective voting

voting for a candidate because you favor his or her ideas for handling issues

Party-line Voting

process in which voters select candidates by their party affiliation