AP Gov Unit E (AI Edited) Flashcards
What is political participation?
The various ways in which individuals take part in politics and governance, including voting, campaigning, and engaging in public discussions.
What is a Political Action Committee (PAC)?
Organizations that collect funds to donate to political campaigns or spend on behalf of political causes.
What is a linkage institution?
Structures in society that connect the government to its citizens, such as political parties, media, and interest groups.
What is a social movement?
A wide alliance of people connected through their shared interest in social change.
What is franchise or suffrage?
The right to vote in public elections.
What does the 26th Amendment do?
Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years old.
What does the 24th Amendment do?
Abolished the poll tax for all federal elections.
What is a poll tax?
A tax levied as a prerequisite for voting, historically used to prevent African Americans from voting.
What is voter turnout?
The percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election.
What are demographic characteristics?
The statistical aspects of populations, such as age, race, gender, and income.
What is socioeconomic status (SES)?
An individual’s or group’s position within a hierarchical social structure, determined by occupation, income, wealth, and education.
What is political efficacy?
The belief that one’s political participation makes a difference.
What is political mobilization?
The process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity.
What are registration requirements?
The rules governing who is eligible to vote and how they must register.
What is an absentee ballot?
A vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station.
What is rational choice voting?
Voting based on what a voter believes is in their best personal interest.
What is retrospective voting?
Voting made after taking into consideration factors like the performance of a political party or incumbent during their last term.
What is prospective voting?
Voting based on the predictions of how a candidate will perform in the future.
What is party-line voting?
Casting ballots for all candidates of one’s preferred political party.
What is the Electoral College?
The body of electors chosen from each state to elect the president and vice president of the U.S.
What is a winner-take-all system?
An electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins all of a state’s electoral votes.
What is a battleground state?
A state where the election outcome is uncertain and both candidates have a good chance of winning.
What is a swing state?
A state that does not consistently vote for the same party and is highly sought after in elections.
What does ‘get out the vote’ (GOTV) mean?
Efforts by political parties to encourage their supporters to vote.
What is a Super PAC?
A type of PAC that is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporations, unions, individuals, and associations but is not permitted to coordinate directly with parties or candidates.
What are 501(c) groups?
Nonprofit, tax-exempt groups organized under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code that can engage in varying levels of political activity, depending on the type of group.
What is the difference between soft money and hard money?
Soft money refers to unregulated funds donated to political parties for general ‘party-building’ activities, while hard money is regulated donations directly to political campaigns.
What is the difference between a primary and a general election?
A primary election is used to select a party’s candidate for the general election, where the final election for office occurs.
What does the 15th Amendment do?
Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
What does the 19th Amendment do?
Grants women the right to vote.
What is a political party?
An organized group seeking to achieve power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns.
What is party identification?
A person’s affiliation with a political party, reflecting their political preferences.
What is straight-ticket voting?
Voting exclusively for the candidates of one party for all positions in an election.
What is split-ticket voting?
Voting for candidates from more than one party in the same election.
What is a party platform?
The official statement of a political party’s principles, beliefs, and positions on vital issues.
What is recruitment in the context of political parties?
The process by which political parties identify and encourage candidates to run for office under their banner.
What is a party coalition?
An alliance of distinct interest groups and demographics that support a political party over time.
What is realignment?
Significant and lasting shifts in the political landscape, often marked by changes in party allegiance among voters.
What is a critical election?
An election that reflects a significant change in the way large groups of citizens vote, leading to a new political era.
What is a party era?
A period during which one political party is the dominant force in American politics.
What is an era of divided government?
A period in which the presidency is controlled by one party while the opposing party controls one or both houses of Congress.
What is nomination?
The process through which political parties select their candidates for election to public office.
What is a delegate?
A person authorized to represent others, particularly in a political convention.
What is a primary election?
An election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election.
What is an open primary?
A primary election where voters are not required to declare party affiliation.
What is a closed primary?
A primary election where only registered party members can vote to choose their party’s candidates.
What is a caucus?
A meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement to select candidates or decide policy.
What is a superdelegate?
A party leader or elected official who is given the freedom to choose any candidate at the party’s national convention.
What is front-loading?
The practice of scheduling state party caucuses and primary elections earlier in the calendar year to maximize the impact on the presidential nomination.
What is a national convention?
A convention of a major political party, especially one that nominates a candidate for the presidency.
What is a candidate-centered campaign?
Political campaigns focused on the candidates themselves rather than party affiliations.
What is a two-party system?
A political system dominated by two major parties.
What is a proportional representation system?
An electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.
What is a single-member plurality system?
An electoral system in which the candidate with the most votes in an electoral district wins the election.
What is a third party?
A political party organized as an alternative to the major parties in a two-party system.
What are interest groups?
Organizations that seek to influence public policy, often by lobbying government officials.
What are social movements?
Large groups of people who seek to achieve political or social change.
What is the theory of participatory democracy?
A theory that emphasizes the broad participation of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems.
What is civil society?
The aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens.
What is pluralist theory?
A theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of diverse and potentially competing interest groups, each pressing for its own preferred policies.
What is elitist theory?
A theory of democracy that the elites have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.
What is a policy agenda?
The list of issues that the federal government pays attention to at a given time.
What is collective action?
The action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their status and achieve a common objective.
What is a collective good?
Goods that are collectively produced and freely available for anyone’s consumption.
What are free riders?
Those who benefit from resources, goods, or services without paying for the cost of the benefit.
What are selective benefits?
Benefits that a group can restrict to those who actually join.
What are economic interest groups?
Groups that organize to influence government policy for the economic benefit of their members.
What are public interest groups?
Organizations that seek a public good, which benefits the largest number of people.
What are single-issue groups?
Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics.
What are government interest groups?
Groups that represent the interests of governmental bodies and officials.
What is lobbying?
Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.
What is the revolving door?
The movement of individuals between positions in government and employment in the private sector, often in industries related to their government work.
What is an amicus curiae brief?
‘Friend of the court’ briefs by non-litigants to advise on a matter pending before the court.
What is an iron triangle?
The policy-making relationship among the congressional committees, the bureaucracy, and interest groups.
What is an issue network?
An alliance of various interest groups and individuals who unite in order to promote a single issue in government policy.
What is grassroots lobbying?
Efforts by groups and associations to influence elected officials indirectly, through constituents.
What is a protest?
A statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something.
What is civil disobedience?
The active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power.
What is hyperpluralism?
A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened.
What are amicus curiae briefs?
Briefs submitted by a ‘friend of the court’ for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties.
What is electioneering?
Direct group involvement in the electoral process, including by contributing money to political campaigns or even running their own candidates for office.
