3.elections And Campaigns

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incumbent

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The person already holding a political office.

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Coattails

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The alleged tendency of candidates to win more votes in an election because of the presence at the top of the ticket of a better known candidate, such as the president.

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Political Action Committee (PAC)

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A committee set up and representing a corporation, labor union, or special-interest group that raises and spends campaign contributions on behalf of one or more candidates or causes.

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Primary Election

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Election held to determine a party's nominee for the general election ballot

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Open Primary

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Election system that allows voters to pick the party primary of their choice without regard to their party affiliation

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Blanket Primary

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Primary election system that allows voters to select candidates without regard for party affiliation

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Runoff Primary

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an election between the two candidates receiving the most votes when no candidate got a majority in an initial election

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Closed Primary

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Election system that limits primary election participation to registered party members

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Valence Issue

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An issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree to which the associate each party or candidate with conditions, goals, or symbols the electorate universally approves or disapproves of.

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Position Issue

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An issue dividing the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policy positions to attract voters.

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General Election

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Election to fill state and national offices held in november of ever- numbered years

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Caucus

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a meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

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Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)

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a United States federal law which increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns, and amended in 1974 to place legal limits on the campaign contributions

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Federal Election Commission

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an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate federal campaigns

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Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

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a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a federal law which set limits on campaign

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Soft Money

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political contributions made in such a way as to avoid the United States regulations for federal election campaigns

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Hard Money

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Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels

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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

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United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign

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527's

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Organizations that, under section 527 of the INternal Revenue Code, raise and spend money to advance political causes.

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Prospective Voting

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Voting for a candidate because you favor his or her ideas for handling issues.

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Retrospective Voting

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Voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office.

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Critical/Realigning Election

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replacing an old dominant coalition of the other party

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Split Ticket Voting

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Voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election

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Straight Ticket Voting

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the practice of voting for candidates of the same party for multiple positions

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"Front-Loading"

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The practice of scheduling state party caucuses and state primary elections earlier and earlier in advance of the general election

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"Winner-Take-All" Primaries

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states award all of their delegate votes to the winner of the primary/caucus, even if the victory is 51%/49%.

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Super Tuesday

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on which an increasingly large number of states hold their primary elections for the process of nominating presidential candidates

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Bush v. Gore (2000)

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a landmark United States Supreme Court case decided on December 12, 2000. The case effectively resolved the 2000 presidential election

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Oppostion Research

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The term used to classify and describe efforts of supporters or paid consultants of a political candidate to legally investigate the biographical, legal or criminal, medical, educational, financial, public and private administrative

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McConnell v. FEC (2003)

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a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality