campaigns and elections Test Flashcards
General Election
contests between opposing candidates of different parties & independents (local, state, nat’l)
Recall election
special election to remove an incumbent from office ** rare! **
Ballot measures
public gets to directly vote on laws, amendments, etc
direct democracy
Initiatives
proposed law/changes from citizens that are voted on by citizens
Referendums
proposed by legislators voted on by citizens
open primaries
any voter (regardless of party) can participate in the party’s primary election
closed primaries
only registered \ pledged party members can vote in their party’s primary
cross over voting
voting in primary when you aren’t member
** common **
party Raiding
organized effort to crossover by opposing party to pick weakest candidate
rare
proportional delegate allocation
award delegates based on proportion of votes received in each state (pledged)
superdelegates
party leaders, establishment elites, elected Dems
unpledged (free) delegates can vote for whoever at DNC (not bound to any candidate)
hybrid delegate allocation
combination of winner take all and proportional
ex: overall winner gets half to start, then rest are awarded proportionally
Caucus
like primary but requires more time, in depth, tailored to party activists, relatively rare
stand around and vote with hands \ body
Front-loading
all other states changing their primaries to earlier dates b/c they see the attention that IA and NH get
supertuesday
many primaries on one day (including VA); in 2016 it was on March 1st
open seat
general election where both candidates don’t currently hold the seat
incumbent
current office holder (faces a “challenger” for their seat)
incumbents are able to raise ___________________
than challengers (because they are already in office and more likely to win)
more money
PACs
political action commities
name recognition
incumbents are usually better
known to the voters than are challengers
Incumbents get to use __________
tax dollars for transportation costs
Public
pork
“bring home the bacon”
earmarks
provisions (finding) in laws that designate specific projects or funding in their districts
franking
members of
congress get to mail newsletters to constituents at gov’s expense
Incumbency continuity encourages close relationships between members and____________
interest groups (they like to work with the same person)
single member districts
One person is chosen to represent the entire district
process where a majority party in a state
legislature redraws congressional districts and state districts to ensure the maximum number of seats for its candidates
gerrymandering
Consequences of Gerrymandering
- benefits incumbents
- hurts challengers
- strengthens majority party and weakens minority
4.decreases/increases minority rep
representation is close to actual population’s preferences
fair district lines
sweetheart district
districts designed to protect incumbents with easy elections
cracking
hides minority in majority districts, increase majority party power
Packing
puts majority into easy districts, dilutes their power overall
wesberry v. sanders
drawing congressional districts (gave cities and suburbs greater representation)
voting districts must be
equally populated, compact in a normal shape,
district lines must have a common boarder and uninterrupted,
cannot dilute minority voting,
cannot be drawn based on race.
media’s functions:
entertainment
news reporting
and creating political forums
Yellow journalism
irresponsible, not well researched, sensationalist material (late 1800s)…the original “fake news”
nuckracking
focus on exposing gov today: media provides varying amounts of “news”
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
covering protests
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Mass media connects people to their government officials by….
interviewing citizens
presenting poll results
Agenda Setting
consists of issues that attract serious attention of public officials
How is the media a gatekeeper?
If an issue is not shown on the media, no one will care and will not get on policy agendas
campaigns are more centered on ___________ than ____________
candidates than issues
soundbites
repeat and that the media will air (avg 7.8 seconds in length) has replaced in depth debate or intricate detailed interviews
Gaffes
linguistic errors or bizarre behaviors of candidates get tons of media attention
horse race journalism
focus on how candidates stand in polls and how the polls have changed vs any coverage of their positions on issues
How do you WIN a campaign?
Debates ( appear calm, confidant)
talking points/soundbites
avoid gaffes
use spin (writing off gaffes and using media to their advantage)
