AP Government Vocabulary
Terms
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- Political Party
-
-Group that elects candidates to office
-Provides identification, known to voters - Mugwumps
-
-split of republican party in the 1880's-1910's
-composed of reformers who were against the political machine - National Convention
-
-meeting of elected delegates
-nominates presidential and vice-presidential candidates - National Committee
- -Runs party affairs between national conventions
- Congressional Campaign Committee
- A committe that provides funds to re-election members and new members.
- National Chairman
- -A full-time manager of a party's day-to-day work who is elected by the national committee.
- Superdelegates
- -leaders and elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses.
- Political machine
- a party organization that uses money, jobs, opportunity to get favors to attract members to a party.
- Ideological party
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opposite of the machine.
-based on principles and morals.
-Has a radically different view of government and society. - Sponsored Party
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local/state party that is staffed and funded by another organization.
-Example: Democratic party is funded by the United Auto Works Union - Personal Following
- Support provided to a candidate on the basis of personal popularity and networks..
- Two-party system
- electoral with two dominant parties that compete in state or national elections.
- Plurality
- Electoral system, used in American elections (unless changed on the state level to nominate candidates)where the winner is the pesron who gets the most votes, even if he/she does not get the majority.
- Caucus
- Alternative to primary in which the party followers meet, often for many hours, to select candidates.
- Incumbent
- The person currently in office.
- Coattail
- Tendency of lesser-known/weaker candidates to profit by the presence on the ticket of a more popular candidate.
- PAC
- Political Action Committee-set up by and representing a corporation labor union, raises and spends campaign contributions on behalf of one+ candidates or causes.
- General election
- An election used to fill an elective office.
- Primary
- Prior to general election, selects candidates who will run on the party's ticket. A presidential primary is held to select delegates to the national conventions of the major parties.
- Closed primary
- limited to registered members. Prevents voter fraud.
- Open primary
- choose any primary, but only one primary
- blanket primary
- (declared unconstitutional)-all voters can vote in multiple primaries. Unconstitutional because it considers a person more than one vote.
- runoff primary
- second primary held in some states when candidate receives a majority of the votes.
- Presidential primary
- primary to select the representative candidate for president of a particular party.
- soft money
- money received (solicited)from corporations and unions that are spent on party activities. Funds need not be reported to the FCC (Federal Campaign Committee).
- Prospective voting
- voting for a candidate because they favor his ideas.
- Retrospective
- voting for/against a candidate or party in office because of likes/dislikes how things have gone in the past.
- Critical period
- Periods in which a shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties. Issues and types of voters change.
- Split ticket.
- One who votes for a presidential candidate in one party and a Congress candidate in the other party.
- office bloc ballot
- ballot listing of candidates for a given office under the name of the office. "Massachusetts" ballot
- Party column ballot
- ballot listing all candidates of a given party under the name of the party. "Indiana" ballot
- Position issue
- Issue dividing the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policies to attract voters.
- Valence issue
- an issue on which voters distinguise parties by a degree to which they associate a party/candidate with goals or symbols the electorate approves/disapproves of.