Civic vocab

1. political party - an organization of individuals with broad, common interests who

organize to win elections, to operate the government, and to thereby influence

government policy

2. two-party system - when there are two political parties that dominate the political field in

all three branches of government

3. third parties - smaller, minor parties that compete for power

4. platform - a series of statements expressing the party’s principles, beliefs, and positions

on election issues

5. plank - an individual part of the series of statements expressing the party’s principles,

beliefs, and positions on election issues

Chapter 9 (pp. 279-284)

6. national committee - representatives from every state that help raise funds for

presidential elections and organize the party’s national convention

7. caucuses - meetings of state and local party organizations in which a party chooses its

delegates

8. precinct - a geographic area that contains a specific number of voters

9. ward - geographically connected areas that make up a larger election unit

10. political machine - a strong local party organization that becomes so powerful that, year

after year, their candidates sweep almost every election

11. direct primary - an election in which voters choose candidates to represent each party

in a general election

12. closed primary - an election in which only the declared members of a party are allowed

to vote for that party’s nominees

13. open primary - an election in which voters do not need to declare their party preference

in order to vote for the party’s nominees

14. plurality - when a candidate gets the most votes (the largest number), and wins the

election, even if this means less than 50 percent of the votes cast

15. majority - when a candidate gets more than 50 percent of the total votes

16. petition - papers that qualified voters sign to declare support for a candidate who is not

affiliated with either of the two major parties in order to get the candidate on the ballot for

the general election

Chapter 10 (pp. 293-299)

17. polling place - the location where voting is carried out

18. ballot - the list of candidates on which voters cast their vote

19. absentee ballot - a ballot used by people who know they will be out of town that day,

those who are too sick to get to the polls, and military personnel serving away from

home. They are requested from and returned to the local election board before Election

Day

20. returns - the results of an election

21. exit poll - a survey in which a sample of voters leaving selected polling places are asked

how they voted

22. electorate - the group of people who are eligible to vote

23. apathy - a lack of interest

Chapter 10 (pp. 301-304)

24. Electoral College - the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years

during the presidential election for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice

president

25. initiative - a system in which citizens who want a new law or state constitutional

amendment can propose it by gathering signatures of qualified voters on a petition

26. proposition - a proposed law that is put on the ballot during a general election after

signatures of qualified voters are gathered on a petition

27. referendum - when citizens approve or reject state or local laws by having the law sent to

the voters for their approval in the next general election

28. recall - a type of special election in which citizens can vote to remove a public official

from office

29. electors - people who hold electoral votes and are part of the Electoral College system

30. winner-take-all system - when the candidate who wins the popular vote receives all of

the state’s electoral votes

Chapter 10 (pp. 306-310)

31. propaganda - information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote

or publicize a particular political cause, point of view or person

32. political action committees (PACs) - organizations set up by interest groups especially to

collect money to support favored candidates

33. soft money - unlimited funds collected for general political purposes, not designated to

particular candidates

34. incumbents - politicians who currently hold elected office