Comprehensive Review of U.S. Political Parties, Elections, and Media Influence

Political party

Narrow definition: organization of people established to win elections

Party platform

A political party's official statement of its principles, goals, and specific policy positions on key issues.

Caucus

A meeting that voters attend at a particular time and place to support a specific candidate.

Direct primaries

A primary in which voters choose candidates via direct vote.

Duverger's Law

Electoral systems with single member districts and plurality winners tend to produce two parties.

Single member districts

An electoral system that divides a state or country into districts, each of which elects a single representative.

Ranked choice voting

An election method in which voters rank candidates for an office in order of their preference.

Ballot access laws

State laws that specify prerequisites for the names of candidates to appear on election ballots.

National committees (DNC and RNC)

Responsible for coordinating overall election strategy, raising money, and running the party's national convention every four years.

Congressional campaign committees

Committees that help coordinate election efforts for congressional candidates.

National convention

Historically, presidential nominees were chosen at national conventions held every four years.

Delegates/Superdelegates

A delegate is a person authorized to act on behalf of a larger group; a superdelegate is a delegate who is seated automatically.

Median voter

The individual in the exact middle of the political spectrum whose preferences determine the likely outcome of an election.

Pluralism

Classical pluralism: optimistic view of the role of organized interest.

Pledged delegates

Delegates selected in primaries or caucuses.

Smoke-filled room

Phrase describing the bargaining that went on between party leaders at national conventions.

Electoral college votes

In all states except Maine and Nebraska, allocated winner takes all.

State party organizations

Organizations that are less important in modern presidential politics due to the nationalization of fundraising.

Local party organizations

Organized at the local level, with varying strength across different areas.

Modern rules for nominating presidential candidates

Rules adopted following the 1968 election that changed the nomination process.

Central Position

The position of the median voter in a single ideological dimension.

Decisive Role

According to the median voter theorem, this voter's preferred policy will defeat any other alternative in a majority vote.

Political Strategy

Rational politicians tailor their platforms to appeal to the median voter.

Compromises in party platforms

Represent the need to unite diverse party members and appeal to the wider electorate.

Collective Action Problem

A major flaw in the pluralist arguments where people free ride and let others advocate for public policies.

Selective Incentives

Benefits that are available only to people who join or support an interest group, offsetting the temptation to free ride.

Lobbyist

Advocates who would loiter in the lobby of a hotel of the Capitol building; protected by the 1st amendment to petition the government.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Organizations that raise money from individuals to make campaign contributions, as unions and corporations cannot contribute directly.

Independent Expenditures

Expenditures not made in consultation with or at the request of any candidate or political party committee.

Super PACs

Organizations that make independent expenditures and can evade public disclosure requirements, often referred to as dark money.

Amicus Briefs

Legal briefs written by third parties favoring one side in a case, submitted after the Supreme Court decides to hear a case.

Citizens United v. FEC

A landmark 2010 Supreme Court case ruling that corporations and unions have the same First Amendment free speech rights as individuals.

Key Aspects of Citizens United v. FEC

The Court struck down parts of the BCRA that prohibited corporations and unions from using general funds for electioneering communications.

Free Speech in Citizens United v. FEC

The majority opinion argued that the First Amendment protects political speech regardless of the speaker's corporate identity.

Independent Spending in Citizens United v. FEC

The ruling applied to independent expenditures, meaning money spent not coordinated with a campaign.

Disclosure Upheld in Citizens United v. FEC

The Court upheld requirements for disclaimers and disclosure of donors for independent ads.

Impact of Citizens United v. FEC

Paved the way for Super PACs, leading to increased spending and controversial debates about political influence.

Citizens Groups

Groups that participate in elections by communicating with members, mobilizing voters, and making campaign contributions.

Lobbying the President

Access to the president is limited; organized interests may get meetings, and the White House may organize lobbying campaigns.

Lobbying the Legislature

Lobbying most likely to influence public policy occurs in the legislature through direct and indirect lobbying.

Direct Lobbying

Consists of communicating directly with elected legislators or their staff.

Indirect (Grassroots) Lobbying

Communication with a group's supporters or the general public to encourage them to contact their representatives.

Lobbying

Generally unobserved activity where a great deal of money is spent, indicating its perceived value.

1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act

Requires that professional lobbyists register their clients, the general issues they work on, and the amount spent on lobbying efforts.

Administrative Procedure Act

Requires a period for public comment on proposed regulations before they can be adopted.

Amicus curiae briefs

Briefs filed by non-litigants that inform the court of context and practical consequences of a decision.

Access strategy

A strategy where business and trade PACs aim to maintain good relations with those in power.

Primary election

Citizens pick which candidate from their party will run for a specific office in the general election.

General election

An election where a Democrat runs against a Republican, characterized by candidate-centered campaigns.

Voter turnout

The rate of participation in elections, with high turnout indicating civic engagement and legitimacy.

Midterm elections

Congressional elections that occur between presidential elections, often resulting in midterm loss for the president's party.

Electoral College

A set of delegates selected by the state based on popular vote that meets to select the president.

Faithless elector

An elector who does not vote for the candidate they pledged to support.

Initiatives

A process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal on the ballot for public voting.

Referendum

A policy proposal that the state legislature puts on the ballot for public voting.

Recall

A process where citizens seek to remove an elected official from office before the end of their term.

Free press

The principle that government should not interfere with the media, guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Muckraker

A journalist who conducts concentrated and prolonged investigation of one topic.

Yellow journalism

A type of journalism that relies on sensationalism rather than news to attract readers.

News deserts

Communities that are not covered by a daily or nondaily news outlet.

Libel

A published false statement that damages an individual's reputation, requiring proof of 'actual malice' to prove.

Overclassification

The federal government's practice of classifying large amounts of information, often to prevent media accountability.

Leak

An important way that media discovers information about the government through unauthorized disclosures.

Prior restraint

Censoring speech or publication before it is made, requiring government regulations to be content neutral.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to search for evidence that aligns with already-held beliefs.

Framing

Effects occur when the way in which the media presents information changes our perception of it.

Priming

The notion that people evaluate politicians based on issues covered in the media.

Agenda setting

The notion that the media can determine what issues are important or discussed.

Public opinion

Those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed.

Values

Core principles about how the world should be, highly influenced by a person's childhood environment.

Ideology

A structured set of political attitudes that help a person make sense of the world.

Partisanship/Party identification

An attachment to a party, usually one of two main political parties in the U.S.

Population

A particular group of people that polls aim to understand.

Sample

A subset of the population that is asked questions in a poll.

Sampling error

Some level of uncertainty that exists in any poll.

Random sample

A Random Sample of 1,000 will give reasonably accurate estimates for the whole population 95% of the time.

Focus group

Allows researchers to see how opinions play out in group settings.

Nonresponse bias

Occurs when those who cannot be reached or refuse to participate differ systematically from those who do.

Weighting

Methods applied by polling companies to make their poll sample match what they believe the electorate will look like.

Echo chamber

When people hear only those points of view that they agree with, leading to a closed loop with no room for change.

Open primary

Citizens register to vote but do not state a party preference.

Closed primary

Voters must vote in the party's primary for which they are registered.

John Aldrich's view on political parties

Political parties formed because ambitious politicians needed institutional solutions to solve fundamental problems in democracy.

Geographic constituency

The actual district that the representative is elected from; it is the farthest away.

Re-election constituency

Those people who vote for the elected official in the general election.

Primary constituency

Those people who vote for the incumbent in the primary election.

Personal constituency

Those people whom the representative knows personally, such as friends and family.

Candidate-centered election

An electoral system where individual candidates are the dominant focus of campaigning and voter decision-making.

Party-centered election

An electoral process where political parties hold most of the influence and initiative.

Third parties

Parties that promote views and policies not addressed by the two major parties.

Influence of third parties

Third parties can influence the development of major party platforms.

Cost of running for public office

Has increased incredibly over the last few decades.

Media's effect on public opinion

The media can tell the people what to think about and influence how they think about it.

Fragmentation of media

Now Americans have access to hundreds of different channels, leading to a more specific audience targeting.