Gov Ch 8-11
Terms
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- political efficacy
- the belief that one's political participation really matters
- presidential primaries
- elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate
- caucus
- a meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention
- proportional representation
- an electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election
- patronage
- one of the key inducements used by party machines. Given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone
- third parties
- electoral contenders other than two major parties
- blanket primaries
- elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all the parties
- New Deal coalition
- a coalition forged by the Democrats. Basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals
- national primary
- a proposal by critics of the causcuses and presidential primaries, which would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year
- retrospective voting
- a theory of voting inwhich voters essentially ask the question, "What have you done for me lately?"
- party platform
- a political partie's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years
- McGovern-Fraser commission
- a commission at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation
- national commitee
- one of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions
- campaign strategy
- the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign
- national convention
- the meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform
- coalition government
- when two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legisdlature
- superdelegates
- national party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the national party convention
- legitimacy
- a characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders
- initiative petition
- a process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such referendum
- party realignment
- the displacement of the majority party by the minority party
- political party
- a "team of men seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election"
- party neutrality
- a term used to describe the fact that many Americans are indifferent toward two major political parties
- open primaries
- elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests
- electoral college
- an American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties
- party machines
- a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and togovern
- Federal Election Commission
- a six-member bipartisan agency that enforces and administers campaign finance laws
- party competition
- the battle of the parties for control of public offices
- mandate theory of elections
- the idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics
- rational-choice theory
- a popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians
- frontloading
- the recent tendency of state to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media ttention
- soft money
- political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising
- party identification
- a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other
- referendum
- a state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment
- suffrage
- the legal right to vote
- party image
- the voters perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for
- party eras
- historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power
- policy voting
- electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters' policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues
- Presidential Election Campaign Fund
- money form the $3 federal income tax check-offs goes into this fund, which is then distributed to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns
- selective perception
- the phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions
- critical election
- an electoral "earthquake" where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party
- party dealignment
- the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification
- Motor Voter Act
- passed in 1993, this act went into effect for the 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver's license
- nomination
- the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
- matching funds
- contributions of up to $250 are matched from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to candidates for the presidential nomination who qualify and agree to meet various conditions
- winner-take-all system
- an electoral system in which seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies.
- civic duty
- the belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote
- coalition
- a group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends
- Federal Election Campaign Act
- a law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. the act created the FEC
- national chairperson
- responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually handpicked by the presidential nominee
- PAC
- funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. a corporation, union, or some other interest group can create one and register it with the FEC, which monitors its expenditures
- voter registration
- a system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of Election Day
- responsible party model
- a model in which parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates
- national party convention
- a place where party leaders meet to nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidatesand to write the party's platform
- ticket-splitting
- voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices
- closed primaries
- elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates
- regional primaries
- a proposal by critics of the causcuses and presidential primaries to replace them with a series of primaries held in each geographic region
- direct mail
- a high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate. involves sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past