Term
|
Definition
| the political ladder of local, state, and national offices that brings greater prestige and power as one moves toward the presidency. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a forum for choosing candidates that was closed to the public until the Progressive Era; contemporary caucuses are local party meetings, open to all who live in the precinct, in which citizens discuss and then vote for delegates to district and state conventions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an election in which party members (in some states, nonparty members and independents may participate) select candidates to run for office under the party banner. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a primary election in which any qualified voter may participate, regardless of party affiliation. The voter chooses one party ballot at the polling place. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a primary election in which a voter is allowed to obtain only a ballot of the party in which he or she is registered. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a primary in which candidates run for their own party’s nomination. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a primary in which candidates are listed on a ballot with no party identification. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – an electoral contest between the top two vote getters in the primary that determines the party’s candidate in a general election. Such primaries are held in the ten southern states in which a majority of the vote is needed to win the primary. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – the scheduling of primaries very early in the campaign season by states eager to have an early influence on the Republican and Democratic nomination process, as occurred in 2008. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – delegates to the national convention who are not elected in a primary or selected in a caucus but who serve as delegates based on being elected officials. State parties can also designate a limited number of additional superdelegates to attend the national convention. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – unrestricted contributions to political parties by individuals, corporations, and unions that can be spent on party-building activities such as voter registration drives and get-out-the-vote efforts. The problem is that loopholes in the law allow soft money to also be spent in support of party candidates as long as key words such as “elect”, “vote for”, or “vote against” do not appear in the ads. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – tax-exempt groups that can raise unlimited soft money to be used to mobilize targeted voters and for issue advocacy if there is no expressed support for or against a specific candidate. These 527 committees are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – a candidate who holds the contested office at the time of election. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – an election in which there is no incumbent in the race. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – an individual, often trained in public relations, media, or polling techniques, who advises candidates on organizing their campaign. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – a campaign in which the party coordinates activities, raises money, and develops strategies. |
|
|
Term
| Candidates-centered campaign |
|
Definition
| – a campaign in which paid consultants or volunteers coordinate campaign activities, develop strategies, and raise funds. Parties play a secondary role. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – individuals basing their votes on the candidates’ or parties’ past record of performance. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – the system in which the people in each states elect a number of electors equal to the number of senators and representatives for that state. In most states the presidential candidates winning the plurality of the vote in that state receives all its electoral college votes. The two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska. Maine awards two of its electoral college votes according to the statewide vote and two according to which candidate wins each of the two congressional districts. Nebraska, with five electoral college votes, has a similar system. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – The collective preferences expressed by people on political issues, policies, institutions, and individuals. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – The strength of one’s opinion about an issue. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – One’s perception of the relevancy of an issue |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – the degree to which public opinion on an issue changes over time. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – one’s position in favor of or against a particular issue. Much of the time there are various shades of support for an issue, with no clear and precise direction of public opinion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – a set of values, beliefs, and traditions about politics and government that are shared by most members of society. Political culture in the United States includes faith in democracy, representative government, freedom of speech, and individual rights. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – the process by which individuals acquire political values and knowledge about politics. It is strongly influenced by people with whom an individual has contact from early childhood through adulthood. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the perception of one’s ability to have an impact on the political system. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – the tendency of people to think of themselves as democrats, republicans, or independents. |
|
|
Term
| Random probability sampling |
|
Definition
| – a method by which pollsters choose interviewees, based on the idea that the opinions of individuals selected by chance will be representative of the opinions of the population at large. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – polls that rely on an unsystematic selection of respondents. The respondents in straw polls frequently are not representative of the public at large. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – taking part in any of a broad range of activities, from involvement in learning about politics to engagement in efforts that directly affect the structure of government, the selection of government authorities, or the policies of government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – a pattern of complex political ideas presented in an understandable structure that inspires people to act to achieve certain goals. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| – refusal to obey civil laws that are regarded as unjust. This may involve methods of passive resistance such as sit-ins and boycotts. |
|
|
