American Gov Final Flashcards
Political parties
- who controls the government
- organized groups that attempt to influence to government by electing their members to government offices
- democratic or republican
interest groups
group of individuals who orginize to influence the governements programs and policeis
traditional participation
- wide range of activities used to influence government, politics, and policies
- voting, signing petitions, attending rallies, attending public meetings, etc.
Virtual participation
- gives citizens access to political information about candidates and campaigns
- examples: discussing issues through social media, posting comments on blogs, and etc.
Primary election
-elections within a political party to select each parties candidates for the general elections. Us is the only nation in the world to use primary elections
Closed Primary
only registered members of a political party may vote in a primary election to select that parties candidates
open primary
allows all registered voters to choose on the day of the primary in which party’s primary they will participate
general election
regularly scheduled election involving most districts in the nation or state, in which voters decide who wins office
ballot initiative
proposed laws passed by a legislator to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection
referendum election
The practice of referring proposed laws passed by a legislator to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection
iron triangle
dynamics of policy making between congress, bureaucrasy, and intrest groups.
congress: takes care of funding and political support, & friendly leglislation and oversight
Bureaucrasy: takes care of low regulation, and special favors and policy choices and execution
intrest groups: electorial support, and congressional support via lobby
incumbent
candidates that held the position beforehand
- has more than double the amount of money for the campaign than challengers
gerrymandering
- manipulation of electoral districts to serve the interests of a particular group
- when party members influence and modify electoral
gerrymandering: cracking
voters with similar charecteristics are seperated across multibel districs in to weaken thier voting strength divided
gerrymandering: packing
when similar voters are placed into as little districts as possible in order to strengthen the voting of specific districts