AP Government: Elections and Campaigns

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to elections and campaigns in AP Government.

Currently holding an office.

Incumbent

Political Action Committee (PAC)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations.

Federal Matching Funds

Public funding of presidential campaigns provided by the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Iowa Caucus

First state to hold a caucus or primary, receiving significant attention during the campaign season.

Primary

A preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen.

Position Issue

A political issue where the public is divided and rival candidates or parties adopt distinctly different or opposing policy stances

Valence Issue

A political issue about which the public is largely in agreement. The political contest centers on which candidate is perceived as more capable of delivering the desired result rather than the goal itself.

General Election

A national or state election.

Open Primary

A primary election in which any registered voter can cast a ballot in any party's primary, regardless of their own party affiliation

Closed Primary

A primary election restricted to voters who are officially registered with a specific political party.

Campaign Spots

Short TV ads for candidates.

Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)

A major piece of legislation enacted to reform campaign finance. It established the Federal Election Commission (FEC), created a system for public funding of presidential elections, and imposed limits on individual and PAC contributions.

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

A commission set up to administer election reform laws and oversee campaign finance.

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

A landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. While the Court upheld limits on direct contributions, it struck down most limits on independent expenditures and candidate self-funding.

Key Ruling: Money spent to influence elections is a form of speech, protected by the First Amendment.

Contribution Limits: Upheld limits on direct contributions to candidates to prevent quid pro quo corruption (bribery).

Soft Money

Funds raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for 'party-building' activities such as voter registration drives and generic advertising.

Hard Money

Political contributions that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

Legislation banning soft money contributions to national political parties. and prohibited corporations and unions from airing 'electioneering communications' within 60 days of a general election.

527's

Tax-exempt political organizations that can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations to influence elections through issue advocacy, provided they do not coordinate with a candidate's campaign.

Prospective Voting

citizens cast their ballots based on how they anticipate a candidate will perform in the future, focusing on campaign promises, platforms, and expected policy outcomes.

Retrospective Voting

citizens base their choice on the past performance of the incumbent candidate or the party currently in power. Voters essentially reward the incumbent for successes or punish them for perceived failures.

Critical/Realigning Election

An election that signifies a major and lasting shift in the political landscape. These events are characterized by changes in the issues that divide the parties and the social groups that support them, often resulting in a new majority party.

Split Ticket Voting

The practice of voting for candidates from different political parties for different offices on the same ballot. This behavior suggests that the voter prioritizes individual candidates or issues over strict party loyalty.

Straight Ticket Voting

The practice of voting for every candidate of a single political party across every office listed on a ballot.

Front-Loading

The nomination process where campaigning occurs heavily in early primaries.

Winner-Take-All Primaries

Primaries where the candidate wins all delegates chosen.

Super Tuesday

A day when several states hold presidential primaries.

Plurality Election

An election system in which the winning candidate is the one who receives the most votes, even if they fail to secure an absolute majority (more than 50%) of the total votes cast.

Citizens United v. FEC

A landmark Supreme Court ruling which held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures by corporations and unions. This led to the rise of Super PACs.

Key Ruling: Struck down bans on corporate/union spending in elections (like ads supporting/opposing candidates).

Builds on Buckley: Applied Buckley's logic to corporations and unions, holding they also have First Amendment rights to spend on political speech.

SuperPACs

Technically known as 'independent expenditure-only committees,' these organizations can raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals to spend on ads favoring or opposing candidates, provided they do not coordinate with the campaigns. they are not associated with the candidate

caucus

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

superdelegates

National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention.

pledged delegates

party members elected or chosen on the state and local levels to support a particular candidate at the party's national convention