Ch. 7, Sec. 1-2: The Electoral Process

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NOMINATION

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candidate selection; the naming of those who will seek office on a party’s ticket

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GENERAL ELECTIONS

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regularly scheduled elections at which voters make the final selection of officeholders

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FIVE WAYS NOMINATIONS ARE MADE

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(1) Self-announcement, (2) caucus, (3) convention, (4) direct primary, and (5) petition

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SELF-ANNOUNCEMENT

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oldest form of nomination; a person who wants to run for office simply announces that fact

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CAUCUS

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a group of lie-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election

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ANTI-MASONS

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party which held the first national convention to nominate a presidential candidate in 1831

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CONVENTION SYSTEM

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at the county convention, delegates nominate candidates for county office and select delegate to the state convention where delegates pick the party’s nominee for governor and other statewide offices and select delegates to the national convention where the party picks its pres. and VP nominees

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DIRECT PRIMARY

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an intra-party election; an election held within a party to pick that party’s candidates for the general election

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CLOSED PRIMARY

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a party nominating election in which only declared members of the party can vote; voters register to vote as party members and can vote only in their chosen party’s primary; registered independents cannot vote in any party primary

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OPEN PRIMARY

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a party nominating election in which any qualified voter can take part; the voter can choose which primary he/she wishes to vote in

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BLANKET PRIMARY

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type of primary in which all voters receive the same ballot – a long one that lists every candidate regardless of party for every office; voters can switch back and forth – vote for a Democrat for one office and a Republican for another

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ARGUMENTS FOR CLOSED PRIMARIES

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(1) prevents one party from crossing-over to vote in the hope of nominating the weaker candidate to run against their own party’s nominee in the general election (2) makes candidates more responsive to the party (3) makes voters really think about which primary they want to vote in

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ARGUMENTS AGAINST CLOSED PRIMARIES

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(1) compromises secrecy of the ballot by forcing voters to make their party preferences known in public (2) excludes independent voters from the nominating process

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ARGUMENTS FOR OPEN PRIMARIES

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(1) voters aren’t forced to make their party preferences known in public (2) independents aren’t excluded

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ARGUMENTS AGAINST OPEN PRIMARIES

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(1) permits primary “raiding” (2) undercuts party loyalty and party responsibility

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PLURALITY

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the greatest number of votes received by any candidate, whether it’s a majority or not

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MAJORITY

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50% +1 of the votes

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RUNOFF PRIMARY

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when no candidate receives a majority, these are held a couple of weeks after the primary in states which require the winner to have an absolute majority

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NONPARTISAN ELECTION

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elections in which candidates are not identified by party labels

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“BEDSHEET” BALLOT

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long list of candidates that typically appears on a primary ballot

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PETITION

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candidates for office are sometimes nominated by means of these, which are signed by a certain required number of qualified voters in the election district

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ABSENTEE VOTING

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usually offered to those (1) too ill or disabled to make it to their polling places and (2) those who expect to be away from home on election day or (3) those serving in the armed forces

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FEDERAL ELECTION DAY

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the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in even numbered years

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PROVISIONAL VOTE

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offered to a person whose eligibility to vote has been challenged; the ballot is cast and will be counted if it is later found that the voter is indeed qualified

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HAVA (Help America Vote Act)

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passed in 2002, it required States to (1) replace all lever-operated and punch-card voting devices by 2006 (2) provide better training to election officials and volunteers (3) centralize and computerize voter registration systems to minimize fraud (4) provide for provisional voting

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STATE AND LOCAL

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Most elections are for offices at these levels

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FEDERAL

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Most election laws are STATE rather than ______.

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THE COATTAIL EFFECT

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occurs when a strong candidate running for the top office on the ballot attracts voters to other candidates on the party’s ticket

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PRECINCT

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a voting district; the smallest geographic units used to conduct elections

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POLLING PLACE

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the place where voters who live in a precinct actually vote

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BALLOT

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the device by which a voter registers a choice in an election; it can be paper or electronic

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FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT

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(1) printed at public expense (2) lists names of all candidates in an election (3) is given out only at the polls, one to each qualified voter (4) marked in SECRET

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OFFICE-GROUP and PARTY COLUMN

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two kinds of formatting for ballots

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PARTY-COLUMN BALLOT

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(Indiana ballot) ballot which lists each party’s candidates in a column

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OFFICE-GROUP BALLOT

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ballot which lists all candidates by office for which they are running

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PARTY COLUMN

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ballot format which encourages straight-ticket voting