Unit 3 Key Terms

Safe seat

an office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party.

Single member district system

system in which the people elect one representative per district.  With a winner-take-all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weakens minor parties.

Soft money

campaign contributions that are not donated directly to candidates, but are instead donated to parties.

Solid South

historically, the South voted solidly Democratic.  However, the South is now strongly Republican:  Bush carried every Southern state in 2000

Split ticket voting

casting votes for candidates of one’s own party and for candidates of opposing parties, e.g., voting for a Republican presidential candidate and a Democratic congressional

Straight ticket voting

casting votes only for candidates of one’s party.

Suffrage

the right to vote.

Superdelegate

a delegate to the Democratic national convention who is there by virtue of holding an office.

Super Tuesday

a Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held.

Swing state

a state that does not consistently vote either Democratic or Republican in presidential elections

Plurality

more votes than anyone else, but less than half, e.g., Clinton won a plurality (43%) of popular votes in 1992, but not a majority.  Plurality elections such as those for Congress are won by the person with the most votes, regardless if he/she has a majority.

Issue advocacy ads

ads that focus on issues and do not explicitly encourage citizens to vote for a certain candidate.

Hard money

campaign contributions donated directly to candidates

Open primary

election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and in which voters may choose candidates from any one party.

Attentive public

those who follow politics and public affairs carefully.

Australian ballot

secret ballot printed at the expense of the state

Balancing the ticket

occurs when a presidential nominee chooses a vice presidential running mate who has different qualities in order to attract more votes for the ticket

Blanket primary

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

Caucus

local party meeting

Closed primary

party election to choose candidates that is closed to independents. Voters may not cross party lines

Coattail effect

the influence of a popular presidential candidate on the election of congressional candidates of the same party.

Demographics

characteristics of populations, e.g., race, sex, income

Direct election

election of an official directly by the people rather than by an intermediary group such as the Electoral College

Direct primary

election in which the people choose candidates for office.

Fixed terms

terms of office that have a definite length of time, e.g., two years for a member of the House.

Front loading

scheduling presidential primary elections early (e.g., February or March) in an election year.

Amicus curiae brief

“friend of the court” brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision.

Dealignment argument

contention that parties are less meaningful to voters, who have abandoned the parties in greater numbers to become independents.

Divided government

government in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls the Congress.

Factions

term used by Madison to denote what we now call interest groups.

Fairness Doctrine

FCC rule (no longer in effect) that required broadcasters to air a variety of viewpoints on their programs.

Feeding frenzy

Just as sharks engage in a feeding frenzy when they sense blood in the water, the media “attack” when they sense wrongdoing or scandal in government, and devote great amounts of coverage to such stories.

Free rider problem

the problem faced by interest groups when citizens can reap the benefits of interest group action without actually joining, participating in, or contributing money to such groups.

Horse race coverage

the tendency of the media to report on an election campaign as if it were a horse race, i.e., who is ahead, who is behind, who is gaining ground.

Iron triangle

an informal association of federal agency, congressional committee, and interest group that is said to have heavy influence over policy making

Litigation

the act or process of carrying out a lawsuit

Lobbying

attempting to influence policy makers

Nonpartisan elections

elections in which candidates are not identified by party membership on the ballot (local elections)

Office column ballot

ballot in which candidates are arranged by office rather than party.  Encourages split ticket voting.

Party column ballot

ballot in which candidates are arranged by party rather than office.  Encourages straight ticket voting.

Photo opportunity

a staged campaign event that attracts favorable visual media coverage, e.g., a candidate reading to a group of school children

Pluralism

theory that policy making is the result of interest group competition

Political Action Committee (PAC)

an interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaigns.

Patronage

appointing loyal party members to government positions.

Revolving door

the cycle in which a person alternately works for the public sector and private sector, thus blurring the individual’s sense of loyalty.

Selective exposure/attention

the practice of selectively choosing media sources which  are in harmony with one’s own beliefs.

Selective perception

the practice of perceiving media messages the way one wants to.

Sound bite

a short, pithy comment that is likely to attract media attention, e.g., Ronald Reagan saying, “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose your job, and recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job.”

Spin control

placing a certain slant on a story to deflect negative public attention against a candidate or office holder.