Ap Gov Chapter 9 And 10 Terms

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nomination

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the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party; generally, success in the nomoination game requires momentum, money, and media attention

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campaign strategy

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the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign

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national party convention

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the supreme power within each of the parties; the convention meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to write the party's platform

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caucus (state party)

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a meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention; caucuses are usually organized as a pyramid

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presidential primaries

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elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate (or delegates pledged to him or her); most delegates to the national party conventions are chosen this way

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McGovern-Fraser Commission

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a commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation

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superdelegates

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national party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention

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frontloading

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the recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention

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national primary

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a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries, which who would replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year

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regional primaries

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a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region

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direct mail

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a high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate; it involves sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past

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Federal Election Campaign Act

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a law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances; the act created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions

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Federal Election Commission (FEC)

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a six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campagin Act of 1974; the FEC administers the campaign finance laws and enforces compliance with their requirements

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soft money

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political contributions earmarked for party-building expenses at the grass-roots level or for generic party advertising; unlike money that goes to the campaign of a particular candidate, such party donations are not subject to contribution limits

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Political Action Committees (PACs)

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funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finanace reforms; a corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a PAC and register it withthe Federal Election Commission

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selective perception

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the phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions

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legitimacy

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a characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders; when legitimacy is high, as in the United States, even the losers accept the results peacefully

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referendum

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a state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment

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initiative petition

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a process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a referendum

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suffrage

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the legal right to vote, extended to African Americans by the Fifteenth Amendment, to women by the Nineteenth Amendment, and to people over the age of 18 by the Twenty-sixth Amendment

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political efficacy

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the belief that one's political participation really matters- that one's vote can actually make a difference

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civic duty

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the belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote

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voter registration

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a system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of election day

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Motor Voter Act

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passed in 1993, this act went into effect for the 1996 election; it requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver's license

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mandate theory of elections

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the idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics; politicians like the theory better than political scientists do

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policy voting

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electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters' policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues

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electoral college

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a unique American institution, created by the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties; although the electoral college vote usually reflects a popular majority, the winner-take-all rule gives clout to big states

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retrospective voting

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a theory of voting in which voters essentially ask the simple question "What have you done for me lately?"