APGOPO unit #5 vocab
Campaign finance law: regulations that govern raising and spending of money of political campaigns
Campaign fundraising: the process of raising money for a campaign
Candidate: centered elections with ideologies, personalities, and qualifications
Caucus: a meeting of members of a political party or interest group members to select candidates
Close primary: a primary election in which only registered party members can vote for their party's candidates.
Elections: formal process in which citizens vote to choose political leaders
Electoral college: group of individuals chosen by each state to formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States.
Gender gap: the difference in political attitudes and behaviors between men and women.
Free-rider problem: refers to the tendency for individuals to not participate in elections (they think their vote won't matter)
Horse race journalism: type of political journalism that focuses on the competition and starts of a political campaign
Ideological movements: groups of people who share a common political ideology and work together to promote and advance their beliefs.
Incumbency advantage: the advantage that incumbent politicians have over their opponents, due to their higher visibility, name recognition, and access to resources.
Interest groups: organizations that seek to influence public policy by advocating for specific interests or causes.
Iron triangles: a close and stable relationship between a policy-making agency, a constituent interest group, and a congressional committee, that results in the protection and promotion of a particular policy.
Issue networks: informal networks of individuals and organizations with a common interest in a specific policy area, that work together to influence policy outcomes.
Linkage institutions: organizations and processes that link citizens to their government, such as political parties, interest groups, and the media.
Media: channels of communication, such as television, newspapers, and social media, that convey information and ideas to a broad audience.
Media partisanship: the bias or preference for one political party or ideology over another, demonstrated by media outlets or journalists.
National convention: a meeting of the delegates of a political party to nominate candidates, adopt a party platform, and conduct other party business.
Open primary: a primary election in which any voter, regardless of political party affiliation, can vote for candidates of any political party.
Party identification: the psychological connection that individuals have to a political party, based on shared beliefs, values, and experiences.
Party platform: a written statement of a political party's political principles, policies, and positions of a political party.
Party-line voting: voting for a political party's candidates, regardless of the individual candidates' qualifications or positions on specific issues.
Political action committees (PACs): organizations that raise and spend money to influence the outcome of political campaigns or elections.
Political efficacy: the belief that individuals can make a difference in the political process, by participating in political activities and making their voices heard.
Political parties: organizations that bring together individuals with similar political beliefs, values, and goals, to participate in the political process.
Professional Consultants: individuals or firms that provide expert advice and strategies to political candidates and campaigns to help them win elections.
Proportional Voting: a system of voting that distributes legislative seats based on the proportion of votes received by each political party, rather than winner-takes-all.
Prospective Voting: a type of voting where citizens make decisions based on their expectations and predictions about a candidate's future behavior and performance.
Rational-Choice Voting: a type of voting where individuals make decisions based on self-interest and a cost-benefit analysis of the available options.
Regional Realignments: changes in political party affiliations and voting patterns in different regions of a country over time.
Retrospective Voting: a type of voting where citizens make decisions based on a candidate's past behavior and performance.
Single-Issue Groups: organizations that focus on a specific issue or set of issues, rather than a broader political agenda.
Suffrage: the right to vote in political elections.
Swing State: a state in which an election's outcome is considered uncertain, as it may be won by either of the two major political parties.
Third-Party Agendas: political platforms and goals put forth by political parties other than the two major parties in a country.
Voter Registration: the process by which citizens become eligible to vote by providing personal information and meeting eligibility requirements.
Voting Incentives: factors that motivate individuals to participate in the political process, such as rewards, benefits, or recognition.
Voting Penalties: factors that discourage individuals from participating in the political process, such as fines, imprisonment, or other forms of punishment.
Winner-Take-All Voting: a system of voting where the candidate with the most votes in a given election wins, regardless of the margin of victory.