Social Studies

September 12th Thursday

Ballot

A list of candidates and proposals that citizens use to cast a secret vote.

Battleground States

States with a large number of undecided voters, also known as “swing states.”

Blue States/Red States

States that tend to vote Democrat are blue, and states that tend to vote Republican are red; battleground states are often purple.

Caucus

A meeting of party members to choose candidates to run in an election.

Primaries

Special elections held in states to determine which candidates will run for each party in an election.

Conservative

People who generally believe the government should play a limited role in regulating business and making social reforms.

Delegate

A person chosen to vote on other people’s behalf at a political party’s national convention.

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.

538

The total number of electorates in the electoral college, including Senators, Representatives, and Washington DC.

270

The number of electoral college votes needed for a candidate to win.

Front-Runner

The candidate favored to win an election.

Inauguration

The formal ceremony in which the president is sworn into office.

Incumbent

A person who currently holds a position or an office.

Landslide

an election in which the winner receives a much larger number of votes than the other candidates.

Liberal

people who generally believe the government should take an active role in regulating business and solving social issues. They often vote Democrat.

Mudslinging

particularly vile or overly personal campaign tactics.

Platform

a political party’s positions and plans to solve the country’s problems. Party members write and adopt the platform at their national convention.

Popular Vote

the votes cast by regular citizens on Election Day. In a popular vote, each citizen’s individual vote counts toward the outcome.

Populist

a political figure of any party who appeals to or claims to represent the common people.

Stump Speech

the standard speech candidates give day to day on the campaign trail, it is named after the speeches that were historically given by candidates before TV and internet campaigns (often they were standing on tree stumps to be seen by crowds).

PAC/Super PAC

Political Action Committees (PACs) are groups that can collect up to $5000 per donor per year to support a candidate. Super PACs can collect unlimited amounts from donors (including corporations and unions) but can’t coordinate their efforts with a candidate’s campaign.