U.S. Elections

Flashcard 1
Q: What were poll taxes?
A: Fee requirements for voting, typically used in southern states to prevent Black people from voting; outlawed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Flashcard 2
Q: What were literacy tests in the voting context?
A: Questions meant to measure citizens' ability to read and understand English but were used to prevent Black people from voting; suspended by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Flashcard 3
Q: What was the White primary?
A: Primary elections in the South that allowed only White voters to participate.

Flashcard 4
Q: What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) accomplish?
A: It was legislation designed to end discriminatory practices disenfranchising Black people, especially in the South.

Flashcard 5
Q: What is a closed primary?
A: An election for a party's nominee in which only registered party members can vote.

Flashcard 6
Q: What is a semi-closed primary?
A: An election for a party's nominee in which party registrants and unaffiliated voters can vote.

Flashcard 7
Q: What is an open primary?
A: An election where registrants can vote in any party’s primary but only in one.

Flashcard 8
Q: What is a blanket (or jungle) primary?
A: An election where all candidates for an office are listed on one ballot, and anyone registered may vote; top two candidates advance to a runoff.

Flashcard 9
Q: What is automatic voter registration?
A: A system where state agencies register people to vote unless they opt out.

Flashcard 10
Q: What is same-day (or Election Day) registration?
A: A system allowing eligible citizens to register to vote as late as Election Day.

Flashcard 11
Q: What are voter identification laws?
A: Laws requiring registered voters to show government-issued ID before voting.

Flashcard 12
Q: What is early voting?
A: In-person voting that occurs before Election Day.

Flashcard 13
Q: What is absentee voting?
A: Voting by mail for those unable to vote in person on Election Day.

Flashcard 14
Q: What is vote-by-mail?
A: A system where ballots are automatically mailed to voters, who then mail them back.

Flashcard 15
Q: What is convenience voting?
A: Methods like absentee, early, or mail voting that occur before Election Day.

Flashcard 16
Q: Who are independent candidates?
A: Individuals running for office without party affiliation.

Flashcard 17
Q: What are term limits?
A: Legal restrictions on the maximum time a person can hold a specific office.

Flashcard 18
Q: What is the permanent campaign?
A: The idea that candidates never stop campaigning due to the constant need to raise money.

Flashcard 19
Q: What are single-member districts?
A: Geographic units electing only one representative.

Flashcard 20
Q: What are at-large elections?
A: Geographic units electing multiple representatives.

Flashcard 21
Q: What is reapportionment?
A: Determining the number of U.S. House representatives each state gets after the census.

Flashcard 22
Q: What is redistricting?
A: Drawing new legislative and U.S. House district lines after the census.

Flashcard 23
Q: What is malapportionment?
A: Significant differences in the number of citizens across districts.

Flashcard 24
Q: What does "one person, one vote" mean?
A: The principle that each vote should have equal weight in representation.

Flashcard 25
Q: What are communities of interest?
A: Redistricting principle to keep citizens with shared interests or history together.

Flashcard 26
Q: What is gerrymandering?
A: Drawing district lines to maximize political interests.

Flashcard 27
Q: What is partisan gerrymandering?
A: Redistricting to favor one political party and maximize its seats.

Flashcard 28
Q: What are majority-minority districts?
A: Districts where racial or ethnic minorities form a majority.

Flashcard 29
Q: What is plurality rule?
A: The candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority.

Flashcard 30
Q: What is ranked-choice voting?
A: A system where voters rank candidates; the winner is determined by majority support using rankings.

Flashcard 31
Q: What is proportional representation?
A: Legislative seats allocated based on the percentage of votes each party receives.

Flashcard 32
Q: What is Duverger’s Law?
A: The idea that single-member, simple plurality election systems lead to two major political parties.

Flashcard 33
Q: What is strategic voting?
A: Voting for a candidate other than one’s first choice to avoid an undesirable outcome.