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| an organized effort to persuade voters to choose one candidate over others competing for the same office |
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| a preliminary elections conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for public office in a subsequent election |
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| primary elections in which voters must declare their party affiliation before the are given the primary ballot containing that party's potential nominees |
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| primary elections in which voters need not declare their party affiliation and can choose one party's primary ballot to take into the voting booth |
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| Modified Closed Primaries |
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| primary elections that allow individual state parties to decide whether they permit independents to vote in their primaries and for which offices |
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| primary elections that entitle independent voters to vote in a party's primary |
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| a special primary election used to select delegates to attend the party's national convention, which in turn nominates the presidential candidate |
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| a method used to select delegates to attend a party's national convention. Generally, a local meeting selects delegates for a county-level meeting, which in turn selects delegates fo a higher-level meeting; the process culminates in a state convention that actually selects the national convention delegates |
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| states' practice of moving delegate selection primaries and caucuses earlier in the calendar year to gain media and candidate attention |
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| a national election held by law in November of every even numbered year |
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| in voting, a single party's candidates for all the offices |
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| in voting, candidates from different parties for different offices |
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| First-Past-The-Post Elections |
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| a british term for elections conducted in single-member districts that award victory to the candidate with the most votes |
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| an election that lacks an incumbent |
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| Federal Election Commission |
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| a bipartisan federal agency of six members that oversees the financing of national election campaigns |
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| financial contributions given directly to a candidate running for congressional office or presidency |
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| financial contributions to party committees for capital and operational expenses |
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| committees named after section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code; they enjoy tax-exempt status in election campaigns if they are unaffiliated with political parties and take position on issues, not specific candidates |
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| 501(c)4 Social Welfare Organizations |
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| Groups named after Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code that operate for promotion of social welfare; they are exempt from reporting donors if they spend most of their funds on issues, not candidates |
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