AP Government and Politics - Chapter 8 Key Terms

527 organizations

An advocacy group trying to influence elections through voter mobilization and the spending of unlimited dollars in “independent expenditures”

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BiCRA/McCain-Feingold)

Largely banned party soft money, restored a long standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes

Candidate appeal

The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate.

Coattail effect

The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president.

Direct primary

Election in which voters choose party nominees, may be open or closed.

Electoral college

Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for a particular party’s candidates.

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Administers election reform laws

Hard money

Donations made to political candidates or groups which, by law, are limited and must be declared.

Independent expenditures

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

Midterm election

Election held midway between presidential elections.

Name recognition

Incumbents have an advantage in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them.

National tide

The inclination to focus on national issues rather than local issues in an election campaign.

National party convention

A national meeting of delegates elected at primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules.

Nomination

The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party.

Presidential election

Election held in a year when the president is on the ballot.

Proportional representation

Election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

Prospective issue voting

Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected.

Retrospective issue voting

Holding incumbents, usually the president’s party responsible for their records on issues.

Safe seat

Elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of the party’s candidate is almost taken for granted.

Single-member district

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.

Soft money

Contributions to a state or local party for party-building purposes.

Super PAC

An independent expenditure only committee first allowed in 2010 after Citizens United v. FEC, allowing unlimited contributions to such a super PAC.

Winner-take-all-system

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

Caucus

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