Government Chapter 11

Front 1

Adverse selection

Back 1

The problem of incomplete information -- of choosing alternatives without fully knowing the details of available options. (See page 441)"

Front 2

Moral hazard

Back 2

The problem of not knowing all aspects of the actions taken by an agent (nominally on behalf of the principal but potentially at the principal's expense). (See page 442)"

Front 3

Australian ballot

Back 3

An electoral format that presents the names of all the candidates for any given offi ce on the same ballot. Introduced at the end of the eighteenth century, the Australian ballot replaced the partisan ballot and facilitated split-ticket voting. (See page 453)"

Front 4

Single-member district

Back 4

An electorate that is allowed to elect only one representative from each district -- the typical method of representation in the United States. (See page 454)"

Front 5

Electoral college

Back 5

The presidential electors from each state who meet in their respective state capitals after the popular election to cast ballots for president and vice president. (See page 454)"

Front 6

Gerrymandering

Back 6

The apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one political party. (See page 459)"

Front 7

Plurality rule

Back 7

A type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets the most votes in an election, but not necessarily a majority of the votes cast. (See page 463)"

Front 8

Majority rule

Back 8

A type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in a representative body, a candidate must receive a majority (50 percent plus 1) of all the votes cast in the relevant district. (See page 464)"

Front 9

Proportional representation (PR)

Back 9

A multiple-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the vote. (See page 464)"

Front 10

Duverger's Law

Back 10

Law of politics, formalized by Maurice Duverger, stating that plurality-rule electoral systems will tend to have two political parties. (See page 465)"

Front 11

Referendum

Back 11

A measure proposed or passed by a legislature that is referred to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection. (See page 466)"

Front 12

Initiative

Back 12

A process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal on the ballot for public vote. (See page 467)"

Front 13

Recall

Back 13

The removal of a public official by popular vote. (See page 467)"

Front 14

Party identification

Back 14

An individual's attachment to a particular political party, which might be based on issues or ideology, past experience, or upbringing. (See page 471)"

Front 15

Issue voting

Back 15

An individual's propensity to select candidates or parties based on the extent to which the individual agrees with one candidate more than others on specific issues. (See page 475)"

Front 16

Prospective voting

Back 16

Voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate. (See page 476)"

Front 17

Retrospective voting

Back 17

Voting based on the past performance of a candidate. (See page 476)"

Front 18

Spatial issue

Back 18

An issue for which a range of possible options or policies can be ordered, say, from liberal to conservative or from most expensive to least expensive. (See page 476)"

Front 19

Median-voter theorem

Back 19

A proposition predicting that when policy options can be arrayed along a single dimension, majority rule will pick the policy most preferred by the voter whose ideal policy is to the left of half of the voters and to the right of exactly half of the voters. See Chapter 6 for further discussion. (See page 478)"

Front 20

Valence issue

Back 20

An issue or aspect of a choice for which all voters prefer a higher value, in contrast to a spatial issue. For example, voters prefer their politicians to be honest, and honesty is a valence issue. (See page 480)"

Front 21

Political action committee (PAC)

Back 21

A private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns. (See page 487)"