AP Gov- Vocab 21

Party convention – A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office.

Direct primary – Election in which voters choose party nominees.

Open primary – Primary election in which any voter, regardless of party, may vote.

Crossover voting – Voting by a member of one party for a candidate of another party.

Closed primary – Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote.

Proportional representation – An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

Libertarian party – A minor party that believes in extremely limited government. Libertarians call for a free market system, expanded individual liberties such as drug legalization, and a foreign policy of nonintervention, free trade, and open immigration.

Green party – A minor party dedicated to the environment, social justice, nonviolence, and the foreign policy of nonintervention. 

Reform party – A minor party founded by Ross Perot in 1995. It focuses on national government reform, fiscal responsibility, and political accountability..

Realigning election – An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point, redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.

Divided government – Governance divided between the parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.

National party convention – A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules.

Party registration – The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.

Party identification – An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.

Dealignment – Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents