A.P. Gov. Unit 3
Terms
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- gender gap
- a term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates - women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending
- Reagan coalition
- combination of economic and social conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and dense-minded anticommunists who rallied behind Republican President Ronald Reagan
- single-member district
- electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official
- political party
- an organization that seeks to achieve power by winning public office
- sociotopic voting
- thinks about everyone when voting
- lobbying
- according to Lester Milbrath,a "communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his decision."
- interest group
- an organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals - interest groups pursue their goals in many arenas
- amicus curiae briefs
- legal briefs submitted by a "friend of the court" for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties - these briefs attempt to influence the court
- electioneering
- direct group involvement in the electoral process - groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates, and some from PACs
- party platform
- system of principles adopted by a political party at its national convention - the specific portions of the platform are called planks - a platform is not binding on the party's candidates
- closed primary
- primary elections in which votes must declare or have previously declared their party affiliation and can cast a ballot only in their own party's primary election - it keeps the parties strong, encourages voters to associate with a party, gives parties a base for other party activities and needs
- federal register
- publishes proposals from rule-making hearings
- subgovernments
- a network of groups within the American political system that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas - also known as iron triangles, subgovernments are composed of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the government agency in charge of administering that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling that policy
- 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
- realigning / critical election
- an electoral "earthquake" whereby new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party - critical election periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to ring about a new party era
- retail campaign
- used in state/local/legislative campaigns that includes more appearances to smaller groups
- off year election
- held in odd numbered years, usually local level elections
- 527s
- election focused groups that are not subject to FECA regulations - a 527 is part of the tax code that allows tax exemption for activities that promote democracy - they have become a loophole that is a key to going around FECA rules
- special elections
- replace senators leaving term early (death, retirement...etc)
- 23rd Amendment
- Washington D.C. got 3 electoral votes
- proportional representation
- each party receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of vote, rewards minority parties
- wholesale campaign
- used in presidential campaigns to get the message out in as few appearances to as many voters as possible
- revolving door
- people change jobs around the iron triangle
- divided government
- one party controls the presidency while the other party controls one or both houses of Congress
- nonpartisan election
- a local or judicial election in which candidates are not selected or endorsed by political parties (ex. North Dakota)
- PACs
- funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms - a corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the Federal Election Commission, which will meticulously monitor the PAC's expenditures
- 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 driver's licenses
- soft money
- money contributed to a state of local political party for party-building purposes that does not have to be disclosed under federal law
- direct primary
- a preliminary election at which candidates for public office are chosen by direct vote of the people instead of by delegates at a convention -voters must declare party affiliation and may vote only for candidates of their party
- fixed terms
- an office term that is specified, not indefinite
- winner-take-all
- an election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins
- iron triangles
- entities composed of bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees, which have dominated some areas of domestic policymaking - they are characterized by mutual dependency, in which each element provides key services, information, or policy for the others
- office block ballot
- when all the candidates are mixed together and are only organized by what they are running for
- minor party / parties
- not Republican or Democrat - three types: ideological, splinter, personality
- publicity
- efforts to gain public support or influence public opinion
- 24th Amendment
- got rid of the poll tax (cummulative + cash based)
- movements
- a group of people loosely organized and seeking a change in society and public policy - they work outside the traditional government processes but eventually evolve into interest groups
- dealignment
- declining attractiveness of the parties to the voters - a reluctance to identify strongly with a party, and a decrease in reliance on party affiliation in voter choice
- big state strategy
- strategy that places an emphasis on bigger states such as Florida, California, Pennsylvania, etc, instead of focusing on all states as a whole
- coattail effect
- boost candidates of the president's party because of the candidate's popularity
- bundling
- tactic of PACs where they collect contributions from like-minded individuals and present them to a candidate/political party as a "bundle," increasing their influence
- Democratic Leadership Council
- organization of party leaders who sought to create a "new" Democratic Party to appeal to middle-class, moderate voters
- presidential election
- four-year terms, with a limit to two terms - election occurs every four years, with the most money and time invested in the presidential elections
- litigation
- use of lawsuits to gain policy rulings from courts
- literacy test
- an examination of a person's ability to read and write as a prerequisite to voter registration - outlawed by Voting Rights Act (1965) as discriminatory
- voter turnout
- the total number of voters who participated
- renewal
- change in the traditional party structure so that the national is now the largest, followed by state, then local - an inverted pyramid
- party registration
- act of declaring party affiliation - required by some states when individuals register to vote
- secular / rolling realignment
- society changes too fast to see another realignment
- maintaining election
- an election that indicates the existence of a pattern of partisan support
- BCRA
- the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act - passed in 2002, BCRA is an amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act - the two key aspects of the BCRA include banning the spending of soft money and the placing of limits on campaign advertisements
- term limits
- result in more lame duck periods, but today most frequent targets are state legislators (22nd Amendment)
- grass roots lobbying
- members lobby instead of experts or professionals to provide emotional influence (ex. MADD)
- caucus
- nominating process in which party leaders select the party's nominee
- hard money
- set amount of money given by the government or donations from patrons to elections, come with strict rules and laws about the money, which is used from the time of the convention to the election
- straight ticket
- when a person voters for one party (either all Republican or all Democratic) - people are not voting straight tickets as much as they used to
- rule making
- creation of detailed procedures, rules, regulations, and guidelines that complete the legislation
- realignment
- long-term shift in social-group support for various political parties that creates new coalitions in each party
- electoral college
- electoral system used in electing the president and vice president where voters vote for electors pledged to cast ballots for a party's candidate
- DNC/RNC
- Democrat National Committee / Republican National Committee
- party identification
- self-described identification with a political party
- issue ads
- commercial ads on the radio and T.V. for a particular position on an issue, paid by interest groups to influence voters
- voter registration
- a system adopted by the sates that requires voters to register well in advance of Election Day - a few states permit Election Day registration
- individualistic voting
- "How is it important to me?" - thinking about oneself when voting
- policy networks
- a series of interconnecting iron triangles whose agenda may be different but influences a group of policy
- retrospective voting
- a theory of voting in which voters essentially ask this simple question: "What have you done for me lately?" - thinking about the past when voting
- FECA
- Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which limited amounts that candidates for federal offices can spend on advertising, required the disclosure of the sources of campaign funds as well as how they are spent, and required PACs to register with the government and report all major contributions and expenditures - amended in 1974 and set limits on contributions to candidates (individuals = $1000, PACs = $5000), spending limits for candidates, limits on independent expenditures, created Federal Election Commission (FEC) and system to disperse presidential campaign fund
- mid-term election
- occurs on even numbered years in-between presidential elections -e elections held for Congressional seats and Governor/State Legislaturs
- deviating election
- when voting patterns shift from one election to another
- 26th Amendment
- individuals 18 years and older can vote
- institutional barriers
- registration, ballot complexity, two-party system, and elections are all considered institutional barriers - they all make voting difficult and can hinder some from voting
- front-end strategy
- movement of primaries to the beginning of the primary schedule, makes states more important in choosing a candidate
- reform
- internal changes in the make-up of party membership and leadership
- independent expenditures
- money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office
- crossover primary
- voting for a party that they don't normally identify with
- party column ballot
- when all the Republicans are on one side of the ballot and the Democrats are on the other side
- 15th Amendment
- right to vote cannot be affected by race
- open primary
- weakens parties, less commitment from "partisans," and opens the door to crossover voting
- nominee
- political party's selection of its candidate for a public office
- focus group
- small, ample group of people who are asked questions about candidates and issues in a discussion setting
- frontloading
- when candidates place an emphasis on winning the early primaries to gain momentum (especially in Iowa and New Hampshire)
- prospective voting
- thinking about the future when voting
- 19th Amendment
- right to vote cannot be affected by gender
- psychological barriers
- people say many different reasons of why they don't vote - some candidates say that there is no difference as to who wins, both parties/candidates are the same, won't matter who is elected, and a lack of confidence in the government
- convention
- nomination process in which delegates from local party organizations select the party's nominees
- patronage
- appointment to public office based on party loyalty
- split ticket
- when a person votes some Democratic and some Republican - this type of voting is becoming more popular
- interested money
- contributions by individuals or groups in hopes of influencing the outcome of an election or policy
- partisan politics
- strongly supporting one group in politics
- responsible party model
- system in competitive parties adopt a platform of principles, recruiting candidates and directing their campaigns based on the platform, and holding their elected officials responsible for enacting it