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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Super PACs |
Independent groups that can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, laborunions, and corporations and can spend it to support or oppose political candidates but cannot coordinate directly with candidates or political parties |
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Electoral College |
The presidential electors, selected every four years torepresent the votes of their respective states, who meet to cast the electoral votes for president and vice president |
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Redistricting |
Process whereby state legislatures redraw the boundaries of congressional districts in the state to make them equal in population size |
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Gerrymandering |
Redistricting that blatantly benefits onepolitical party over the other or concentrates (or dilutes) the voting impact of racial and ethnic groups |
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Permanent Campaign |
Charge that presidents and members of Congress focus more on winning thenext election than on governing |
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Invisible Period |
Period just before the primaries begin during which candidates attempt to capture party support and media coverage |
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Swing Voters |
Voters who are neither reliably Republican nor reliably Democratic and who are pursued by each party during an election,as they can determine which candidate wins |
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Swing States |
States that are not clearlypro-Republican or pro-Democrat and therefore are of vital interest to presidential candidates, as they can determine election outcomes |
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Battleground State |
State in which the outcome of the presidential election is uncertain and in which both candidates invest much time and money, especially if its votes are vital for a victory in the ElectoralCollege |
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Microtargeting |
Gathering detailed information on cross sections of the electorate to track potential supporters and tailor political messages for them; also called narrowcasting parties microtarget cross-pressured individuals ontheir wedge issues |
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Valence Issues |
Noncontroversial or widely supported campaign issues that are unlikely to differentiate the candidates |
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Position issues |
Political issues that offer specific policy choices and often differentiate candidates’ views and plans of action |
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Wedge Issue |
Divisive issue focused on particular group of the electorate that candidates use to gain more support by taking votes away from their opponents |
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Negativity |
Campaign strategy of telling voters why they should not vote for the opponent and of highlighting information that raises doubts about the opponent |
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Vanishing Marginals |
Trend marking the decline of competitive congressional elections |
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Safe Seats |
Seat in Congress considered to be reliably held by one party or the other |
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Suffrage |
Right to vote |
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Rational Voting |
Economic model of voting where in citizens weigh the benefits of voting against the costs in order to take the most personally beneficial course of action |
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Efficacy |
Extent to which people believe theiractions can affect public affairs and the actions of government |
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Contextual Factors |
-Negative campaigning -Media coverage -Campaign spending -Actual/perceived competitiveness of election -Actual/perceived importance of election |
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Compulsory Voting |
Practice that requires citizensto vote in elections or face punitivemeasures such as community service,fines, or imprisonment |
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Voting Age Population (VAP) |
Used to calculate the rate of participation by dividing the number ofvoters by the number of people in the country who are 18 and over |
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Voting Eligible Population (VEP) |
Used to calculate the rate of participation bydividing the number of voters by thenumber of people in the country whoare eligible to vote rather than just ofvoting age |
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Graveyard Voting |
Corrupt practice of using a dead person’s name tocast a ballot in an election |
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Individual Factors |
-Voting more likely with higher income -Voting more likely with more education - Homeowners more likely to vote -Efficacy -Strong partisanship - Mobilization |
