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103 Cards in this Set
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Party |
An organization that seeks to achieve power by winning public office in elections. |
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Responsible Parties |
A party system in which each party offers clear policy alternatives and holds their elected officials responsible for enacting these policies in office. |
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Party Identification |
Self-described identification with a political party, usually in response to the question: “generally speaking, how would you identify yourself: as a republican, Democrat, independent, or something else?” |
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Candidate-Centered Politics |
Individual candidates rather than parties raise funds, create personal organizations, and rely on professional consultants to direct their campaigns. |
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Shoe Leather Campaigning |
Door-to-door campaigning by candidates or party workers. |
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Party Professionals |
Those who participate in campaigns and party politics year-round, often to get jobs for themselves or their friends and to strengthen their party. |
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Political Amateurs |
Part-timers who participate in campaigns and party politics primarily during elections usually to support a specific candidate or cause. |
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“527” Organization |
An independent advocacy group that can spend an unlimited amount of money for or against a candidate. |
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Dealignment |
A decline in party loyalty among voters and a rise in independent and split-ticket voting. |
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Party Activists |
People who serve in city, county, or state party organizations, or who regularly work in campaigns. |
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Primary Election |
An election held to decide a political party’s nominee for public office. |
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Closed Primaries |
Primary elections in which voters must declare (or have previously declared) their party affiliation and can cast a ballot only in their own party’s primary election. |
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Semi-Closed Primaries |
Primary elections in which voters must declare (or have previously declared) their party affiliation and can cast a ballot only in their own party’s primary election; voters can change party registration on primary election Day.
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Open Primaries |
Primary elections in which a voter may cast a ballot in either party’s primary election.
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Blanket Primary |
An open primary in which candidates from both parties appear on the same ballot.
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Voter Nominated “Top Two” Primary |
The top two vote-getters in primary races for congressional, state legislative, and statewide offices (but not the presidency), regardless of their party affiliation run against each other in the general election.
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Crossover Voting |
Voters affiliated with one party casting votes in the other party’s primary election.
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Raiding |
An organized attempt to cross over and vote in another party’s primary in order to defeat an attractive candidate who might beat your own party’s candidate in the general election.
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Plurality Winner |
The candidate receiving the most votes, whether a majority or not.
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Majority Winner |
The candidate receiving 50 percent plus one of the vote.
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Runoff Primary |
An additional primary held between the top two vote- getters in a primary where no candidate has received a majority of the vote
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Party Convention |
A meeting of party members, or delegates chosen by party members, held to choose the party’s nominee and/or to write the party’s platform and to rally party support.
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Presidential Primary Election |
Election held in some states in which voters select the presidential candidate(s) they want their party’s delegates to the national convention to nominate as the national party’s candidate for president.
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Party Caucus |
A meeting of voters at some officially designated location for the purpose of choosing who they prefer to be their party’s standard bearer in the race for president.
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Party Organization |
National, state, county, and precinct party officials and workers, committee members, convention delegates, and others in party office.
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Ideologue |
A person who consistently takes a liberal or conservative stance on issues
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State Committees |
Governing bodies of state party organizations.
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County Committees |
Governing bodies of county party organizations.
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Divided Party Government |
In state politics, where the governorship is controlled by one party and one or both houses of the legislature is controlled by the other party.
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Unified Party Government |
In state politics, where the governorship and both houses of the state legislature are controlled by the same party.
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Legislative Gridlock |
The failure to win gubernatorial and legislative support to enact significant legislation.
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Bimodal Distribution of Opinion |
This occurs when most voters are clearly divided in their ideologies and policy preferences, thereby causing the parties to take divergent policy positions.
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Unimodal Distribution of opinion |
This occurs when most voters are less ideologically divided and prefer moderate or centrist policies, thereby causing the parties to move closer together in their policy positions.
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Polling |
Questioning a representative sample of the population (or of likely voters) to determine public opinion about candidates and issues.
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Media Event |
An activity designed to attract news coverage of a candidate (free media).
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Name Recognition |
The likelihood that people recognize a candidate’s name when questioned in opinion polls.
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Grassroots Campaigning |
Directly contacting potential supporters face-to-face or by phone or social media.
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Media Campaign |
Contacting potential voters and soliciting their support primarily through television, online, radio, and newspaper advertising.
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Microtargeting |
Aiming an ad at a specific subgroup of potential voters
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Negative Campaigning |
Soliciting voter support by attacking one’s opponent.
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Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002 |
Spells out rules for campaign contributions and spending in federal elections (presidential; congressional).
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Soft Money |
Campaign contributions given to party organizations for activities such as party building and voter registration, but not to be used directly for their candidates’ campaigns. soft money contributions to national parties were banned in 2002, but can still be made to state and local party organizations.
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Express Advocacy |
An ad for a federal candidate paid for by an individual or interest group that asks a voter to support (or reject) a particular candidate or party
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Issue Ads |
Ads paid for by an individual or interest group that have an opinion on key policies but do not urge voters to vote for a specific candidate or party.
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Constituents |
Residents of a legislator’s district; the people who are represented by a legislator.
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Legislative Oversight |
The monitoring of activities of state agencies by the legislature and its committees.
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Sunset Laws |
Laws that fix termination dates for programs and agencies in order to force the legislature to renew them if the legislators wish the programs to continue.
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Net Worth |
The total value of all assets after subtracting the total value of all outstanding debts.
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Tort |
A civil wrong that results in damages.
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Full-Time Legislators |
Those for whom service in the legislature is their primary occupation. in states with full-time legislators, legislator salaries are typically higher.
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“Citizen Legislator” |
Legislators who spend a few months in the state capitol during the regular session, then return home to their own business or profession.
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Uncontested Election |
An election in which a candidate has no opponent.
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“Safe” Districts |
Districts in which there is little party competition, one party dominates.
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“Close” Districts |
Competitive districts where electoral competition is great.
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Competition |
In electoral politics, confronting an opponent or party that has a reasonable chance to win the election.
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Competitive Election |
An election in which the loser receives at least one-third of the votes.
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Incumbents |
Persons currently serving in elective or appointed positions in government.
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Quality Challengers |
People who have won previous state or local elections and can raise campaign funds.
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Casework |
Services performed by legislators or their staffs for individual constituents.
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Careerism |
In politics, the tendency of people to view running for and occupying elected public office as a full-time career.
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Apportionment |
The determination of how many residents should live in a representative’s district; must be equal (one person, one vote).
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Traditional Redistricting Principles |
Compactness; contiguity; keeping communities of interest, counties, towns, and precincts together.
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Malapportionment |
Unequal numbers of people in legislative districts creating inequality of representation; declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Districting |
Drawing geographical boundaries of representatives’ districts.
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Gerrymandering |
The drawing of electoral district boundary lines to grant political advantage to a particular party, candidate, or group.
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Splintering |
In districting, dividing and diluting a strong minority to deny it the ability to elect a number of representatives comparable to its percentage of the population.
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Cracking |
Splintering or dividing up a sizable minority group into several districts to deny it the power to elect a representative.
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Packing |
Concentrating partisan voters in a single district in order to maximize the number of representatives that can be elected by the opposition in other districts.
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Partisan Gerrymandering |
The drawing of electoral district boundary lines to grant political power to a particular party, therefore increasing the number of winning candidates within the party.
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Affirmative Racial Gerrymandering |
Drawing legislative district lines in order to maximize opportunities for minority candidates to win elections.
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Majority-Minority Districts |
Districts in which minorities make up the majority of the population.
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Multimember Legislative Districts |
Districts from which two or more members are elected to a legislative body; must meet equal population size criteria.
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Ideal District Population |
The ideal population within a district, calculated by dividing the total state population by the total number of districts in each legislative chamber.
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Independent Nonpartisan Redistricting Commissions |
Bodies designed to, impartially and without political interference, redistrict in an effort to decrease political gerrymandering.
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Logjams |
In legislative affairs, the rush to pass a large number of bills at the end of the session.
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Train |
A number of bills are combined into a single bill that legislators must vote up or down.
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Sessions |
The meetings of elected legislative bodies from their initial convening to their official adjournment.
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Annual Legislative Sessions |
Legislative sessions that take place every year.
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Biennial Sessions |
Legislative sessions that take place every two years.
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Special Session |
Legislative sessions that may be called by the governor, or in some states by the legislative leadership, to consider special topics.
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Institutionalization |
The development of rules and procedures, organizational structures, and standard patterns of behavior in political bodies.
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Professionalism |
In legislatures, the extent to which members are devoted full time to their legislative jobs and have the assistance of staffs and other legislative support services.
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Staff |
In legislatures, aides employed to assist individual members or committees in their work.
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“Coattail” Effects |
Legislators gaining electoral support when running with a popular gubernatorial, u.s. senatorial, or presidential candidate of the same party.
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Turnover Rate |
In legislatures, the percentage of members replaced in each legislative session.
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“Institutional Memory” |
The knowledge of veteran legislators about how issues were handled in the past.
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“Pigeonheld” |
A bill is ignored, never reported out of committee.
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Standing Committees |
Regular committees of a legislature that deal with bills within specified subject areas.
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Bill Referrals |
The assignment of bills to specific committees, usually by the house speaker and the senate president.
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Presiding Officer |
Leader of a legislative chamber selected from the majority party.
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Speaker of the House |
The presiding officer of the lower house of a legislature.
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President of the Senate |
A leader in the controlling party who is supposed to “get the administrative program through.”
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Majority Leader |
A leader in the controlling party who is supposed to “get the administrative program through.”
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Minority Leader |
The leader of the minority party who is supposed to develop a “constructive opposition” against the policies of the controlling party.
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Subject-Matter Experts |
Legislators who gain a reputation for having in-depth knowledge of a particular issue.
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Trustee |
A role that representatives adopt when they decide to vote their conscience and use their best personal judgment, rather than catering to the narrow interests of their constituents.
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Delegate |
A legislator votes on bills based on the priorities of the constituents back home rather than on his or her personal views.
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Burkean Representation |
The belief that legislators should use their own best judgment about what is good for their state or nation, rather than conforming to their constituents’ narrow interests.
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Responsiveness |
The extent to which legislators appear to reflect the views of their constituents in their lawmaking.
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“Politico” |
A legislator who plays both the delegate and trustee roles, but at different times, depending on how “hot” the issue is back home in the district.
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Party Voting |
In legislatures, voting in which a majority of one party’s members vote in opposition to a majority of the other party’s members.
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Capitol, or Statehouse, Press Corps |
Reporters from various news outlets who are assigned to cover state government full time. The capitol press corps usually expands while the legislature is in session.
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Constituent Lobbying |
Individual citizens letting their representatives know how they feel about key issues before the legislature; these constituents are therefore lobbying their representatives.
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