AP Gov Unit 5 Political Participation Vocabulary

political participation

Suffrage

the right to vote

political efficacy

belief in one's impact on politics by voting

Fifteenth Amendment

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Seventeenth Amendment

allowed americans to vote directly for U.S senators

Nineteenth Amendment

Gave women the right to vote

Twenty-fourth Amendment

Prohibits poll tax in federal elections

Twenty-sixth Amendment

Changed the legal voting age from 21 to 18.

Rational-choice voting

Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen's individual interest

retrospective voting

voting based on the past performance of a candidate

prospective voting

voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate

Party-line voting

process in which voters select candidates by their party affiliation

voter turnout

the percentage of eligible citizens who actually vote in a given election

Structural Barriers to Voting

Items that restrict the ability of citizens to vote and shrink the voting pool

Grandfather Clause

A clause in registration laws allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.

literacy test

A test given to persons to prove they can read and write before being allowed to register to vote

poll tax

A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote

white primary

A state primary election that restricts voting to whites only; outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1944.

voter registration laws

a system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advanced of Election Day

midterm election

The congressional election that occurs midway through the president's term of office

presidential election

Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.

Referendum

A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment.

Recall

A procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.

Initiative

A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment.

Precinct

A voting district

civic engagement

acting upon a sharp awareness of one's own sense of responsibility to his or her community

ideological orientation

A set of political ideas or a set of ideas characterizing a particular culture

contemporary political issues

Political issues relevant to to modern day/present

religious affiliation

The identification with a particular religion

political party

A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy

interest group

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy

linkage institutions

1. Voting
2. Political Partier
3. Interest Groups
4. Media

electorate

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election

voter mobilization

a party's efforts to inform potential voters about issues and candidates and to persuade them to vote

invisible primary

The period before any votes are cast when candidates compete to win early support from the elite of the party and to create a positive first impression of their leadership skills.

Iowa Caucus

The first caucus of the presidential campaign season, which is closely watched and strongly contested.

New Hampshire Primary

First Presidential primary and its winner becomes the media's major attention

Swing States

States that are not clearly pro-Republican or pro-Democrat and therefore are of vital interest to presidential candidates, as they can determine election outcomes

Plurality

Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half.

Majority

more than half

front-loading

the tendency of states to choose an early date on the nomination calendar

retail politics

an approach to campaigning based on direct contact with voters

party platform

the statement of policies of a national political party

party chairperson

the chairman of the national committee of the political party who usually acts as the head of the party's permanent organization and has general direction of party strategy especially during election campaigns.

delegate

A person appointed or elected to represent others

Superdelegate

delegate slot to the Democratic Party's national convention that is reserved for an elected party official

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.

candidate recruitment

parties often ask viable candidates to run and target seats they see as winnable

campaign management

guide users through marketing campaigns by performing such tasks as campaign definition, planning, scheduling, segmentation, and success analysis

media strategy

choosing the media that will bring the most effective advertising message to the targeted consumer

critical election

An election when significant groups of voters change their traditional patterns of party loyalty.

Realignment

A shift of voting patterns to form new coalitions of party support

Dealignment

a general decline in party identification and loyalty in the electorate

Third Party Candidate

a candidate that is not associated with one of the two major political parties.

independent candidate

a candidate who is not associated with any political party

Spoiler rule

minor party candidates can pull decisive votes away from one of the major parties' candidates, especially if the minor party candidate is from a splinter party

Faithless Elector

An elector who votes for someone other than the candidate who won the most votes in the state.

Proportional voting system

A system in which each party receives a percentage of seats in a representation assembly that is roughly comparable to its percentage of the popular vote.

single-member district

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

winner-take-all system

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

Drafting legislation

Interest groups draft legislation and attempt to convince members of Congress to introduce it on their behaves

Mobilization of membership

Movement of members of interest groups in order to sway legislation

free rider problem

The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group's activities without officially joining. The bigger the group, the more serious the problem.

Political Actors

recognizable sets of people who carry on collective action in which governments are directly or indirectly involved, making and/or receiving contentious claims

single-issue groups

groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance

public interest group

an organization that seeks a collective good that will not selectively and materially benefit group members

Lobbying

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.

grassroots lobbying

indirect lobbying efforts that spring from widespread public concern

Amicus Curiae briefs

"friend of the court" documents filed by interested parties to encourage the court to grant or deny certiorari or to urge it to decide a case in a particular way

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

professional organization

nonprofit organization that works to improve the image, working conditions, and skill levels of people in particular occupations

incumbency advantage

The relative infrequency with which members of Congress are defeated in their attempts for reelection.

open primary

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

closed primary

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

Caucuses

meetings where political parties chose their candidates

party convention

A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office.

National Popular Vote

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.

professional campaign consultants

election cycle

The two-year period between general elections.

Case Law

Judicial interpretations of common law principles and doctrines, as well as interpretations of constitutional law, statutory law, and administrative law.

war chest

funds collected by a candidate to spend on a political campaign

Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

Regulated the amount of money that was able to be generated by the parties, as it was becoming a problem.

soft money

funds obtained by political parties that are spent on party activities, such as get-out-the-vote drives, but not on behalf of a specific candidate

hard money

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.

Dark Money

funds given to politically active nonprofits that can receive unlimited donations from corporations, individuals, and unions but are not required to disclose their donors.

attack ads

Campaign advertising that criticizes a candidate's opponent-typically by making potentially damaging claims about the opponents background or record- rather than focusing on positive reasons to vote for the candidate

issue ads

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

independent expenditures

Spending by political action committees, corporations, or labor unions that is done to help a party or candidate but is done independently of them.

"Stand by Your Ad" Provision

Requires that candidates approve advertisements directly supporting them

Citizens United v. FEC

corporate funding of independent political broadcasts can't be limited

Political Action Committee (PAC)

a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns

SuperPACs

a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.

527 groups

Independent groups that seek to influence the political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly advocate the election of a particular candidate.

501(c)(3) organization

Nonprofit group that is permitted to lobby and campaign; donations to it are not tax deductible.

501(c)4 organizations

Can receive unlimited contributions from corps and individuals (may remain anonymous).
Can spend undisclosed amounts of money to support a candidate as long as that isn't their primary activity.

horserace journalism

a practice which journalist and reporters use in regards to government coverage and campaign coverage with emphasis on who is gaining or losing, not on what is being done about issues.

Gatekeeper

The media can influence what subjects become national political issues and for how long.

Scorekeeper

The role played by the national media in keeping track of and helping make political reputations.

watchdog

The role played by the national media in investigating political personalities and exposing scandals.

Media Bias

the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered