AP gov political parties Flashcards
Party Competition
Battles of the parties for control of public offices
Political party
Group of people seeking to control the government
Linkage institutions
Channels through which people’s concerns get onto the policy agenda
Party Image
Voter’s perception of what political parties stand for
Rational-choice theory
Individuals act in their own best interests
Party Identification
Citizen’s self-proclaimed preference for one party
Ticket-splitting
Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices
Party machines
Party organization that relies on material inducements
Patronage
A job given for political reasons rather than for merit
Closed primaries
Only voters who have registered in advance with a party can vote for them
Open primaries
Voters can decide on election day which party to vote for
Blanket primaries
Voters can decide on election day which party to vote for
Blanket primaries
Voters are given a list of candidates from all parties
National Convention
Meeting of party delegates every 4 years to write the party’s platform
National Committee
Composed of representatives from the states and territories
National Chairperson
Responsible for day-to-day activities of the party
Coalition
A group of people with a common interest which every political party depends
Party Eras
Historical periods in which a majority voters are for one party
Critical election
An election where new issues emerge, sometimes marked by national crisis
Party realignment
Displacement of the majority party by the minority party
New Deal Coalition
Coalition of Democrats who dominated politics from 1930s to 1960s
Party dealignment
Gradual disengagement of people from the parties
Party nuetrality
Used to say that many Americans are indifferent towards political parties
Third Parties
Electoral contenders other than the two major parties
Winner-take-all system
Legislative seats are rewarded only to candidates who come in first
Proportional representation
System that awards legislative seats to parties due to the number of votes won in an election
Coalition government
When multiple parties join to form a majority in government
Responsible party model
Parties should offer clear choices to voters
