Political Campaigns and Elections Vocabulary

Political Efficacy

• Definition: The belief that citizens can understand and influence government and political affairs.

501(c) Group

• Description: Interest groups whose primary purpose is not electoral politics.

Key Political Figures

• Barack Obama: 44th president of the United States (2009-2017), first African American president, Democrat, senator from Illinois (1997-2004).
• Bernie Sanders: Longest-serving independent in U.S. Congress, senator from Vermont since 2007, first elected to the House in 1991, candidate in the 2016 Democratic primary against Hillary Clinton.
• Donald J. Trump: 45th president (elected 2016) and a Republican; notable for being elected without prior political or military experience.
• Hillary R. Clinton: First female major party candidate for president (2016), former Secretary of State and New York senator.

Campaign Finance and Elections

• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA): Enacted in 2002, amended the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) to prohibit “soft money” in federal elections.
• Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA): Established rules for political campaign spending and fundraising since 1971.
• Federal Election Commission (FEC): Independent regulatory agency formed in 1975 to oversee campaign finance legislation.
• Citizens United v. FEC: 2010 Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations and unions to spend freely in campaigns.
• McCutcheon v. FEC: 2014 ruling that eliminated limits on total contributions individuals can make across all candidates.
• Help America Vote Act (HAVA): Law passed in 2002 to improve voting systems and voter access in response to the 2000 election.
• Matching Funds: Donations to presidential campaigns matched by federal treasury for individual contributions below $251.

Types of Elections

• General Election: Where voters choose candidates for public office.
• Primary Election: Determines which candidates will represent a party in the general election.
  • Closed Primary: Only registered party members can vote.
  • Open Primary: Independents and members of other parties can participate.
  • Crossover Voting: Voting in a primary of a party not affiliated with.
• Mid-Term Election: Elections in the middle of a presidential term.
• Runoff Primary: A second primary between the top two candidates from the first primary.
• Recall Election: Allows voters to remove an incumbent from office before the next scheduled election.

Campaign Strategies and Roles

• Campaign Consultant: Professional who sells strategies to candidates.
• Campaign Manager: Coordinates all aspects of a campaign.
• Communications Director: Develops the campaign’s media strategy.
• Finance Chair: Oversees the campaign's financial operations.
• Pollster: Conducts public opinion surveys for the campaign.

Advertising in Campaigns

• Positive Ads: Highlight a candidate's qualities and issues without attacking opponents.
• Negative Ads: Attack the opponent’s character or platform.
• Inoculation Ads: Preemptively counter expected attacks from opponents.
• Contrast Ads: Compare candidates' records with bias towards the sponsor.

Voter Concepts

• Electorate: Citizens eligible to vote.
• Turnout: Proportion of voting-age individuals who vote.
• Prospective Judgement: Evaluating a candidate based on future promises.
• Retrospective Judgement: Evaluating a candidate based on their past performance.
• Consensus Candidate: Gathers broad support across political groups.

Political Engagement

• Conventional Political Participation: Sought through accepted forms like voting and letter writing.
• Unconventional Political Participation: Involves protests, boycotts, etc.
• Voter Canvass: Reaching out to voters through direct solicitation.

Mass Media and its Role

• Mass Media: The organizations through which information is disseminated to the public.
• Narrowcasting: Targeting media to specific populations.
• Framing: How issues are presented affects public perception.
• Muckraking: Investigative journalism exposing misconduct.
• Yellow Journalism: Sensationalized news coverage prevalent in the 19th century.

Media Regulations

• Equal Time Rule: Requires equal advertising time for candidates.
• Right of Rebuttal: Allows individuals to respond to media attacks.
• Prior Restraint: Constitutional doctrine barring pre-publication censorship of speech.