Elections - 2

Caucus

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

Iowa

First State to hold a Presidential Caucus

Direct Primary

A primary where voters directly select the candidates who will run for office

Intraparty

Within a party

Closed Primary

A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote

Open Primary

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

Blanket Primary

Election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and that allows voters to choose candidates from all the parties

Platform

A political party's formal statement of basic principles, stands on major issues, and objectives

Runoff Primary

A second primary election held when no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the first primary

Nonpartisan Election

Elections in which candidates are not identified by party labels

Presidential Primary

A statewide primary election of delegates to a political party's national convention, held to determine a party's presidential nominee

New Hampshire

First State to hold a Presidential Primary

Super Tuesday

A Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries are held

Winner-Take-All

An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins

Proportional

A primary where a candidate receives the percentage of delegates based on the percentage of votes they actually receive

National Convention

The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform

Nominate

Name

Platform

A political party's formal statement of basic principles, stands on major issues, and objectives

Keynote Address

Key speech at the national nominating convention that outlines the themes of the campaign

Swing Voter

A person who could vote for either candidate in an election

Battleground States

States in which the outcome of an election is too close to call and either candidate could win

Presidential Electors

A person elected by the voters to represent them in making a formal selection of the Vice President and President

Electoral Votes

Votes cast by electors in the electoral college

Election of 1796

Adams becomes President, Jefferson his VP

Election of 1800

Jefferson and Burr each received 73 votes in the Electoral College, so the House of Representatives had to decide the outcome. The House chose Jefferson as President and Burr as Vice President

District Plan

Proposal for choosing presidential electors by which two electors would be selected in each State according to the Statewide popular vote and the other electors would be selected separately in each of the State's congressional districts

Proportional Plan

Proposal by which each presidential candidate would receive the same share of a State's electoral vote as he or she received in the State's popular vote

Direct Popular Vote Plan

Proposal to do away with the electoral college and allow the people to vote directly for President and Vice President

National Popular Vote Plan

Proposal for electing the President whereby each State's election laws would provide for all of the State's electoral votes to be awarded to the winner of the national popular vote and enter into an interstate compact agreeing to elect the President by national popular vote