click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
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 |