Untitled Flashcards Set

Amicus curiae brief: “friend of the court” brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision.

Australian Ballot: secret ballot printed at the expense of the state.

Balancing the Ticket: occurs when a presidential nominee chooses a vice presidential running mate who has different qualities in order to attract more votes for the ticket.

Caucus: local party meeting, has same purpose as a primary

Closed primary: party election to choose candidates that is closed to independents. Voters may not cross party lines.

Coattail Effect: The helpful effect a popular president can have on a congressional candidates from the same party.

Divided Government: government in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls the Congress.

Feeding Frenzy: Just as sharks engage in a feeding frenzy when they sense blood in the water, the media “attack” when they sense wrongdoing or scandal in government, and devote great amounts of coverage to such stories.

Free rider problem: the problem faced by interest groups when citizens can reap the benefits of interest group action without actually joining, participating in, or contributing money to such groups.

Front Loading: Scheduling presidential primary elections early (E.G., February or March) in an election year.

General Election: election in which the officeholders are chosen. Happens after a primary election, in which the final two candidates are chosen.

Horse race coverage: the tendency of the media to report on an election campaign as if it were a horse race, i.e., who is ahead, who is behind, who is gaining ground.

Incumbent: an officeholder seeking re-election.

Iron Triangle: an informal association of federal agency, congressional committee, and interest group that is said to have heavy influence over policy making.

Litigation: the act or process of carrying out a lawsuit

Lobbying: attempting to influence policy makers

Open Primary: Election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and in which voters may choose candidates from any one party.

Photo opportunity: a staged campaign event that attracts favorable visual media coverage, e.g., a candidate reading to a group of school children.

Plurality: more votes than anyone else, but less than half, e.g., Clinton won a plurality (43%) of popular votes in 1992, but not a majority. Plurality elections such as those for Congress are won by the person with the most votes, regardless if he/she has a majority.

Political Action Committees (PACs): an interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaigns.

Single Member District System: system in which the people elect one representative per district. With a winner-take-all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weakens minor parties.

Soft Money: campaign contributions that are not donated directly to candidates, but are instead donated to parties.

Solid South: historically, the South voted solidly Democratic. However, the South is now strongly Republican. Bush carried every southern state in 2000.

Sound Bite: a short, pithy comment that is likely to attract media attention, e.g., Ronald Reagan saying, “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression in when you lose your job, and recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job”

Spin Control: placing a certain slant on a story to deflect negative public attention against a candidate or office holder.

Superdelegate: a delegate to the Democratic national convention who is there by virtue of holding an office.

Super Tuesday: a Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held.

Swing State: a state that does not consistently vote either Democratic or Republican in presidential elections.