Ap Government - Unit 2 Terms

Front 1

Coattails

Back 1

A candidate who is so popular that he helps other members of this party to get elected.

Front 2

Gerrymandering

Back 2

Organizing political party districts to receive an advantage.

Front 3

Open Primary

Back 3

Voters may vote in the primary of the party of their choice, despite registration.

Front 4

Closed Primary

Back 4

Voters may only vote for candidates in the party in which they are regulated.

Front 5

Prefrence Primary

Back 5

Voters express their opinion by voting. The delegates are not bound by their choice.

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Winner-take-all primary

Back 6

Candidate getting the most votes from a state's caucus or primary, gets all of that state's delegates at the national convention.

Front 7

Proportional primary

Back 7

Delegates are awarded to the candidate based on what regions of the state they win.

Front 8

Direct primary

Back 8

A preliminary election in which the party's candidates are nominated by direct vote of the people.

Front 9

Machine politics

Back 9

Organizations that are committed to placing candidates in office regardless of ideology to enrich the machine.

Front 10

De-alignment

Back 10

When voters leave major parties or become less committed to them.

Front 11

Hard money

Back 11

money that is contributed directly to a candidate or to a political party. It is regulated by law in both source and amount, and monitored by the Federal Election Commission.

Front 12

Soft Money

Back 12

Unlimited contributions to organizations and committees other than candidate campaigns and political parties.

Front 13

Realignment

Back 13

Sharp, lasting shift in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties.

Front 14

Plurality

Back 14

The largest number of votes to be received by any candidate or proposition when three or more choices are possible.

Front 15

Majority

Back 15

A subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group.

Front 16

Platform

Back 16

A list of the actions which a political party supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said party's candidates voted into office.

Front 17

Split Ticket

Back 17

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

Front 18

Ebb and Flow

Back 18

Term used to describe the emergence and decline of party success.

Front 19

Incumbent

Back 19

The person already holding an elective office.

Front 20

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Back 20

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money for voluntary donations.

Front 21

Mal-apportionment

Back 21

Drawing the boundaries of legislative districts so that they are unequal in population.

Front 22

Position Issue

Back 22

An issue about which the public is divided and rival candidates or political parties adopt different policy positions.

Front 23

Valence Issue

Back 23

An issue about which the public is united and rival candidate or political parties adopt similar position in hopes that each will be thought to best represent those widely shared beliefs.

Front 24

Clothespin vote

Back 24

The vote cast by a person who does not like either candidate and so votes for the less objectionable of the two.

Front 25

Retrospective voting

Back 25

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

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Prospective voting

Back 26

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

Front 27

Australian Ballot

Back 27

A government-printed ballot of uniform dimensions to be cast in secret that many states adopted around 1890 to reduce voting fraud associated with party-printed ballots cast in public.

Front 28

Gender Gap

Back 28

Difference in political views between men and women.

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Plank

Back 29

Individual items of a party platform in United States politics.

Front 30

Constituent

Back 30

A person who authorizes another to act in his or her behalf, as a voter in a district represented by an elected official.

Front 31

One-Man-One Vote

Back 31

A slogan that has been used in many parts of the world where campaigns have arisen for universal suffrage. (everyone gets to vote)

Front 32

Write-In Votes

Back 32

Mechanism of the ballot that allows you to write-in the name of your candidate, even if he or she is not on the ballot.

Front 33

Non-Partisan Election

Back 33

Elections where candidates do NOT align themselves on a party basis, but rather, on their own merits.

Front 34

Partisan Election

Back 34

Elections in which candidate DO align themselves with a specific party.

Front 35

Spin Doctor

Back 35

Groups hired specifically to "spin" events in a positive or negative manner in favor or against a candidate.

Front 36

Convention Bump

Back 36

A surge of support that U.S. presidential candidates in the Republican or Democratic party typically enjoy after the televised national convention of their party.

Front 37

Party Ticket

Back 37

A single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat, usually based on political party.

Front 38

Grassroots Campaign

Back 38

Organizations meant to do fundraising and gain support for specific causes, candidates, and political parties.

Front 39

Favorite Son Candidate

Back 39

A politician whose electoral appeal derives from his or her regional appeal, rather than his or her political views. OR
A member of a political party who is favored by the party leadership to assume a prominent role.