Studied by 15 people
Rational choice
What is in the citizen’s individual interest
Retrospective voting
Whether or not a party/candidate should be reelected based on their past performance
Prospective voting
The potential performance of a party/candidate
Party-line voting
Voting for candidates from a single political party for all offices
Political parties
Organizations with similar ideologies that try to influence election outcomes and legislative problems; formed to unite people who have the same political ideals to elect similar-minded representatives and have similar legislative goals
Two-party/bi-partisan system
A system of government made of two major political parties
Party platforms
List of goals that outlines party’s issues and priorities
Party characteristics
Intermediaries between government and people
Made of activist members, leadership, and grassroots members
Raise money, get candidates elected, and have positions on policy
Subdivisions of parties
Party among electorate
Party in government
Party organization
Party among the electorate
Voters identify with and enroll in parties; vote for candidates from their party
Party in government
Officials belong to parties, pursue goals together (sometimes there are ideological differences)p
Party organization
Group of people, political professionals, who recruit voters and candidates, organize events, and raise money for the party
Party tasks
Recruit and nominate candidates, educate and mobilize voters, provide campaign funds and support, organize government activity, provide balance through opposition of two parties, and reduce conflict and tension in society
National conventions
Occur every four years to nominate presidential candidate; organized by national party
Party coalitions
Political parties made of multiple groups made of multiple individuals; larger coalition increases candidate’s chance of winning
Critical election
When a new party do images politics
Dealignment
Results from party members becoming disaffected because of a policy position taken by the party, disaffected members join no party and vote for candidate instead of party
Splinter/bolster parties
Third parties formed to represent constituencies that feel disenfranchised by major parties
Doctrinal parties
Third parties that form to represent ideologies major parties consider too radical
Single-issue parties
Third parties formed to promote one principle
Independent candidates
Candidates who run without a party affiliation
Lobbying
Trying to influence legislators
Economic groups
Promote and protect members’ economic interests, including business groups and labor groups
Public interest groups
Nonprofit groups organized around a set of public policy issues, including consumer, environmental, religious, and single-issue groups
Government issue groups
Localities like states and cities have lobbying organizations in DC, including mayors and governors
Interest group tactics
Direct lobbying, testifying before Congress, socializing, political donations, endorsements, court action, rallying membership, propaganda
Influence peddling
Using friendships and inside information to get political advantage
Political action committees (PACs)
Allowed by FECA (1974); formed by corporations, unions, and trade associations to raise funds
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act)
Regulated campaign finance and PAC donations; prohibited soft money to national political parties; limited corporate and union funding for ads about political issues within 60 days of general election and 30 days of primary election
Hard money
Regulated contributions to candidates
Soft money
Unregulated, unlimited contributions to parties for activities
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
Supreme Court overturned BCRA limits on PAC funding for “corporate independent expenditures”
Super PACs
PACs with no fundraising limits as long as they do not coordinate with specific candidates
527 Groups
Tax-exempt organization that promotes political agenda but cannot advocate for/against a specific candidate
Incumbent advantage
Representatives who run for reelection (incumbents) win ~90% of the time
House incumbents have a greater advantage than senators
Election nominations
When parties choose candidates for general election, mostly through primary elections
State caucuses and conventions
Local meetings of party members select representatives to send to statewide party meetings
Plurality
Greatest number of votes
Runoff primary
Held between top two candidates in a primary if no candidate gets the required number of votes
Superdelegates
Party leaders who are automatically granted delegate status by the Democratic Party who generally support the front-runner
McGovern-Fraser Commission (1968)
Created to promote diversity in delegate pool, recommended that delegates are represented by proportion of population in each state
Closed primary
Primary election in which only registered members of a political party can vote
Open primary
Primary election in which voters can vote in any single party primary which they choose
Blanket primary
Primary election in which voters can vote for one candidate per office of either party
General elections
Election in which voters decide who will hold office; held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November
Presidential elections
Elections when the president is being selected
Midterm elections
Elections between presidential elections
Federal matching funds
Double all campaign donations of $250 and less by matching them
Super Tuesday
Day in early March on which many states hold primary elections
Brokered conventions
Held when no candidate has received the pledge of a majority of delegates and the conventions must decide the nominee
Party platform
Party purpose and goals
Post-invention bump
Boost in approval ratings seen in polls after national conventions
Electoral College
Electoral system in which each state is given a number of electors equal to the senators and representatives and the winner of the state wins all of its electors; created by framers to insulate government from whims of less-educated public
Voter turnout
How many voters vote in an election
Mandate
A clear winner of an election
Split-ticket voting
Voting for a presidential candidate of one party and legislators of another
Issue-attention cycle
Requires policymakers to act quickly before the public gets bored and loses interest
Incrementalism
Slow, step-by-step way of making policy
Inaction
Taking no action to make policy (maintaining the status quo)
Policy fragmentation
When many pieces of legislation deal with parts of policy problems but never address the problem as a whole
Mixed economies
Made of capitalist free-market systems where government and private industry play a role
Deficit spending
Funds raised by borrowing, not taxation
Mandatory spending
Required by law to fund programs such as entitlement programs, Medicare, Social Security, payment on national debt, and veterans’ pensions
Discretionary spending
not required by law, programs include research grants, education, defense, highways, and all government operations
Social insurance programs
National insurance programs to which employees and employers pay taxes; public believes that benefits have been earned because they pay into them
Public assistance programs
Not paid for by recipients, result of condition and government responsibility to help the needy
Note 
Flashcard (32)