AP Gov Unit 5

Fifteenth Amendment

Fifteenth Amendment

recognized the right of black men to vote

Seventeenth Amendment

granted the people the right to vote senators into office

Nineteenth Amendment

recognized women’s right to vote

Twenty- Fourth Amendment

abolished poll taxes which were used to supress the minority vote

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

Voting Rights Act of 1965

utlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.

Rational Choice voting

person votes based on their individual self-interest , carefully studies the issues and platforms

Retrospective voting

recent past track record on the politician in question

Party-line voting

A person votes for all the candidates of the voter’s party

voter turnout

The number of registered voters who vote in an election.

Political efficacy

The citizen’s belief about whether their vote matters

Prospective voting

Person votes based on predictions of how a part ir candidate will perform in future.

Voter registration

A requirement that eligible voters enroll on an electoral roll before they can vote.

compulsory voting

Laws that require citizens to register and vote in local and national elections.

Mid-term elections

The congressional elections that occur in even-numbered years between presidential elections, in the middle of each presidential term.

Presidential elections

Elections that take place every four years, in which voters elect the president and the vice-president.

Linkage institutions

Institutions that connect the people to the government

Political Parties

Organizations at least partially defined by a certain ideological belief that puts forward candidates for election

Candidate-centric campaigns

Political campaigns that focus on the candidates for office—their personalities and issues—rather than the parties they represent. Since the 1930s, candidate-centered campaigns have predominated in American politics.

Direct primaries

The current process by which voters choose their party’s candidate for national office. Direct primaries have replaced party-controlled mechanisms for choosing candidates.

Critical Elections

An election that leads to a major party realignment. After a critical election, a number of key supporters of one party (for example, southern white voters) switch to the other party.

Realignments

A major change in the composition of party coalitions, often brought on by a new or pressing issue (often economic trouble or war). For example, the Great Depression led many African Americans to leave the Republican Party and join the Democratic Party in the 1932 election, permanently changing each party’s base of supporters.

campaign finance

Funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives. There are complex laws regulating who can contribute to campaigns and how much they can contribute.

proportional system

refers to any type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body

Winner-take-all system

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the party who received the most votes in an election. This is the most common system in the United States, and it does not benefit minor political parties, since third-party candidates rarely win the majority of votes in an election.

party platforms

A set of goals supported by a political party. Parties design their platforms to appeal to the concerns of the public and to encourage voters to support the party.

“Free Rider” problem

A problem of group behavior that occurs when an individual can receive a public benefit without making a personal contribution of money or effort.

single-issue groups

Groups that focus on a narrow interest, dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics.

Ideological/ social movements

large groups of people who come together because they share common beliefs about how society should function or be organized.

Protest movements

collective actions taken by individuals or groups seeking social or political change.

Professional organizations

groups of individuals who share a common profession and are often organized for common political purposes related to that profession

Federal Budget process

1. Federal agencies create budget requests and submit them to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

2. OMB refers to the agencies' requests as it develops the budget proposal for the president.

3. The president submits the budget proposal to Congress early the next year.

4. Proposed funding is divided among 12 subcommittees, which hold hearings. Each is responsible for funding for different government functions such as defense spending or energy and water.

5. The House and Senate create their own budget resolutions, which must be negotiated and merged. Both houses must pass a single version of each funding bill.

6. Congress sends the approved funding bills to the president to sign or veto.

Open and closed primaries

A primary election that is not limited to registered party members. For example, in a state with open primaries, independent voters or Republicans can vote in the Democratic primary to choose candidates for local, state, and national office.

A primary election limited to registered members of a political party. For example, in a state with closed primaries, only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary to choose candidates for local, state, and national office.

Caucuses

A meeting in a voting precinct at which party members choose nominees for political office after hours of speeches and debates. Caucuses tend to promote the views of dedicated party members since participating requires a large time commitment.

Party Conventions

Political parties hold national conventions to select presidential and vice presidential nominees.

Electoral College

the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president.

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.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA)

A law passed in 2002 that banned soft money, put limits on issue advertising, and increased the amount people can donate to candidates; also called the McCain-Feingold bill.

Soft money

A contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations.

“stand by your Ad” provision

provision (SBYA) of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that requires candidates in the United States for federal political office, as well as interest groups and political parties supporting or opposing a candidate, to include in political advertisements on television and radio "a statement by the candidate that identifies the candidate and states that the candidate has approved the communication".

PACs and Super PACs

An organization, usually representing an interest group or corporation, that raises money with the goal of supporting or defeating candidates, parties, or legislation. There are limits to the amount of money a PAC can donate to a candidate or party in each election.

Also called an "independent expenditure-only committee," a super PAC may raise unlimited funds in support of a candidate or party as long as they do not coordinate in any way with the candidate or party.

Horserace Journalism

Journalism that focuses on -who is winning or ahead in the polls rather than on candidates' policy agenda or debates.

Media as a gatekeeper

The media’s role in setting the political agenda by drawing public and government attention to certain issues.

Media Bias

Bias or slant in the selection of which news to report and how the news is reported.

Partisan News sites

communication media that openly support a political party and whose news in significant part follows the party line.

Ideologically Oriented programming

TV and radio news programs that cater to audiences with a particular ideological perspective.