Unit 4 Vocabulary AP Gov

liberal

less government control over social behavior and stronger regulation of business and economy

conservative

favor more control over social behavior and less government intervention over the economy

moderate

a voter or politician whose ideological views fall in the middle of the political spectrum, combining liberal and conservative ideas

social security

provides monthly benefits to retirees, disabled people, and survivors of deceased workers

medicaid

covers health services for low income Americans

medicare

covers hospitalization and physicians services for the elderly

welfare

government programs that provide cash or benefits to people based on entitlement to support their health, safety, and living standards

political socialization

attitudes on politics adopted from family, friends, school, and other social environments they are exposed to

political platform

a formal document adopted at a party’s national convention that outlines its core principal values/goals and policy positions

polling

a smaller group of representatives are asked specific political questions to predict the way the public feels on certain issues

libertarianism

favors very little government intervention beyond protecting private property and individual liberty

populism

political ideology that emphasizes participation of ordinary people over the elite

free enterprise

government plays as small of a roll as possible in economic transactions among citizens and businesses

public opinion poll

used to measure America’s viewpoints about government and politics

straw poll

an unofficial tally of support at a meeting or event, such as a political party meeting. Unreliable

push poll

falsified polls with the only goal of pushing people away from a political candidate

random sampling

everyone eligible to be polled has an equal chance of being selected for a survey

stratified sampling

the population is divided into different demographics and random samples are drawn from each

exit poll

a survey conducted following an event or at a polling place after an individual has voted

margin of error

the calculated inaccuracy of a poll, predicted before results come out

sampling error

the actual difference between a predicted outcome and its results

political ideology

a set of beliefs about what should happen as the result of the process of government

realignment

a significant long lasting shift in groups that support each political party

primary election

a pre-election where voters choose which candidate will represent a political party on the general election ballot

closed primary

only voters registered with a political party can vote for that party’s candidate

open primary

a nominating election where any registered voter can vote in any party’s primary

runoff

a follow up election with two top candidates from primary, to ensure candidate with the true majority is chosen

general election

an election where the chosen candidate is elected into government

midterm election

held halfway through a president’s term where representatives of congress are elected

referendum

citizens directly vote to approve, reject, or overturn a law or policy instead of leaving it to elected representatives

incumbency

current holders of office have the advantage to be re-elected