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| a ballot prepared and distributed by government officials that places the names of all candidates on a single list and is filled out by voters in private. First adopted by the US in 1888, the Australian ballot replaced oral voting and party-supplied ballots. |
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| a closed meeting of a political or lefislative group to choose candidates for office or to decide issues of policy. |
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| a term used to describe government when one political party controls the executive branch and the other politcal party controls one or both houses of the legislature. |
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| slates of candidates that "fused the nominees of minor and major parties. Fusion tickets, eventually banned by state legislatures, allowed minor parties to boost their votes by nominating candidates also nominated by major parties. |
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| national party convention |
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| a gathering of delegates to select a party's presidential and vice-presidentail ticket and to adopt it's national platform |
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| An electoral alliance that was the basis of Democratic dominance from the 1930's to the early 1970's. The alliance consisted of Catholics, Jews, racial minorities, urban residents, organized labor, and white southerners. |
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| state or local party organizations based on patronage. They work to elect candidates to public offices that control government jobs and contracts, which, in turn, are used by party leaders (often denigrated as "bosses") to reward the subleaders and activists who mobilize voters for the party on election day. |
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| the practice of awarding jobs, grants, licences, or other special favors in exchange for polical support. |
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| a coalition of people who seek to control the machinery of government by winning elections. Not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, polical parties make mass democracy possible by, among other functions, coordinating the group activities neccessary to translate public preferences into public policy. |
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| an election held before the general election in which voter decide which of a party's candidates will be the party's nominee for the general election. |
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| a period in American history extending roughly from 1880-1920 and associated with the reform of government and electoral institutions in an attempt to reduce the corruption and weaken parties. |
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| proportional representation |
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| an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded to candidates or parties in proportaion to the percentage of votes received. |
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| the act of voting for candidates from different political parties for different offices--for example, voting for a Republican for president and a Democrat for senator. |
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| a delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is eligible to attend because he or she is an elected party official. The Democrats reserve a specific set of delegate slots for party officials. |
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| a polical system in which only two major parties compete for all of the elective offices. Third-party candidates usually have few, if any, chances of winning elective office. |
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