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political beliefs/
key terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| attentive public | those who follow politics and public affairs carefully |
| australian ballot | secret ballot printed at the expense of the state. |
| balancing the ticket | occurs when a presidential nominee chooses a vice presidential running mate who has a different qualities in order to attract more votes for the ticket. |
| caucus | local party meeting |
| closed primary | party election to choose candidates that is closed to independents. voters may not cross party lines. |
| coattail effect | the influence of a popular presidential candidate on the election of congressional candidates of the same party. |
| demographics | characteristics of populations, e.g., race, sex, income. |
| direct election | election of an official directly by the people rather than by an intermediary group such as the electoral college |
| direct primary | election in which the people choose candidates for office |
| fixed terms | terms of office that have a definite length of time, e.g. two years for a member of the house |
| front loading | scheduling presidential primary elections early in an election year |
| gender gap | difference in voting patters for men and women |
| general election | elections in which the office holders are chosen |
| hard money | campaign contributions donated directly to candidates |
| ideology | set of beliefs about political values and the role of the government |
| incumbent | an officeholder who is seeking reelection |
| independent | one is not registered with a political party |
| issue advocacy ads | ads that focus on issues and do not explicitly encourage citizens t vote for a certain candidate |
| open primary | elections to choose candidates that is open to independents and in which voters may choose candidates from any one party |
| party identification | a sense of affiliation that a person has with a particular political party |
| party platform | a list of positions and programs that the party adopts at the national convention |
| political culture | the widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government |
| plurality | more votes than anyone else but less than half |
| political efficacy | capacity to understand and influence political events |
| political socialization | process in which one aquires his/her political beliefs |
| realigning ("critical") election | an election in which there is a long term change in party alignment |
| safe seat | an office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party |
| single member district system | systen in which the people elect one representative per district.with a winner take all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weakens minor parties |
| soft money | campaign contributions that are not donated directly to candidates, but are instead donated to parties |
| solid south | the south voted solidly democratic, however now its strongly republican |
| split ticket voting | casting votes for candidates of one's own party and for candidates of opposing parties |
| straigt ticket voting | casting votes only for candidates of one's party |
| suffrage | the right to vote |
| superdelegate | a delegate to the democratic national convention who is there by virtue of holding an office |
| super tuesday | a tuesday in early march in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the south, are held |
| swing states | a state that does not consistently vote either democratic or republican in presidential elections |