Ch. 12 Caiou Dowds

Question 1

501 (c) group

Answer 1

Nonprofit, tax-exempt groups organized under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code that can engage in varying amounts of political activity, depending on the type of group. For example, 501(c)(3) groups operate for religious, charitable, scientific or educational purposes

Question 2

527 political committees

Answer 2

non-profit organization formed under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, which grants tax-exempt status to political committees at the national, state and local level

Question 3

Barack Obama

Answer 3

Barack Hussein Obama II is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to be elected to the presidency. He previously served as a Senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008.

Question 4

Bernie Sanders

Answer 4

Bernard Sanders is an American politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Vermont since 2007.

Question 5

bipartisan campaign reform act (BCRA)

Answer 5

United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974, which regulates the financing of political campaigns.

Question 6

campaign consultant

Answer 6

Political consultants sometimes act as political strategists, a senior political consultant who promote the election of certain candidates or the interests of certain groups. This is achieved by planning campaign strategies, coordinating campaign staffers, and arranging events to publicize candidates or causes.

Question 7

Campaign manager.

Answer 7

The campaign manager oversees all aspects of the campaign including day-to-day operations, the hiring and management of staff, the coordination and implementation of the fundraising operations and ongoing coordination with the candidate. They are also responsible for creating and managing the campaign budget.

Question 8

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 8

Principal drafter of the Declaration of Independence; second vice president of the US; third president of the US from 1801 to 1809. Co-founder of the Democratic-Republican party

Question 9

Donald J. Trump

Answer 9

the forty fifth president, a Republican, elected in 2016; first president elected without prior political or military experienced businessman

Question 10

Hillary Clinton

Answer 10

First female major party candidate for president of the US, a Democrat, who ran against President Donald J. Trump in 2016. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013; New York senator from 2001 to 2009; former first lady

Question 11

Electorate

Answer 11

the citizen eligible to vote

Question 12

Mandate

Answer 12

a command, indicated by an electorate’s votes, for the elected officials to carry out a party platform or policy agenda

Question 13

Primary Election

Answer 13

election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent the party in the general election

Question 14

Closed primary

Answer 14

a primary election in which only a party’s registered voters are eligible to cast a ballot

Question 15

Open primary

Answer 15

a primary election in which party members, independents, and sometimes members of the other party are allowed to participate

Question 16

Crossover voting

Answer 16

participation in the primary election of a party with which the voter is not affiliated

Question 17

Runoff primary

Answer 17

a second primary election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in the first primary

Question 18

General election

Answer 18

election in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices

Question 19

Initiative

Answer 19

an election that allows citizens to propose legislation or state constitutional amendments by submitting them to the electorate for popular vote

Question 20

Referendum

Answer 20

an election whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation or state constitutional amendments to the voters for approval

Question 21

Recall

Answer 21

an election in which voters can remove an incumbent from office prior to the next scheduled election

Question 22

Electoral college

Answer 22

representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president

Question 23

Elector

Answer 23

member of the Electoral College

Question 24

Reappointment

Answer 24

the reallocation of the number of seats in the House of Representatives after each decennial census

Question 25

Incumbency

Answer 25

already holding an office

Question 26

Presidential coattails

Answer 26

when successful presidential candidates carry into office congressional candidates of the same party in the year of their election

Question 27

Mid-term election

Answer 27

an election that takes place in the middle of a presidential term

Question 28

Finance chair

Answer 28

the individual who coordinates the financial business of the campaign

Question 29

Press secretary

Answer 29

the individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily basis

Question 30

Pollster

Answer 30

a campaign consultant who conducts public opinion surveys

Question 31

Voter canvass

Answer 31

the process by which campaign reaches individual voters, either by door-to-door solicitation or by telephone

Question 32

Get-out-the-vote (GOTV)

Answer 32

a push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls

Question 33

Positive ad

Answer 33

advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidate’s qualifications, family, and issue positions, with no direct reference to the opponent

Question 34

Negative ad

Answer 34

advertising on behalf of a candidate that attacks the opponent’s character or platform

Question 35

Contrast ad

Answer 35

ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the ad

Question 36

Inoculation ad

Answer 36

advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched

Question 37

Federal election campaign act (FECA)

Answer 37

passed in 1971, this is the primary law that regulates political campaign spending and fundraising. The law originally focused or increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns.

Question 38

Federal election commission (FEC)

Answer 38

an independent regulatory agency founded in 1975 by the US Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the US

Question 39

Citizens United v. FEC

Answer 39

the 2010 US Supreme Court case that enabled corporations and unions have the same political speech rights as individuals under the 1st amendment. As part of this ruling, the Supreme Court found that the government may not prohibit corporations or unions from using their general treasury funds to support or denounce political candidates in elections

Question 40

McCutcheon v FEC

Answer 40

the 2014 Supreme Court ruling that declared Section 441 of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) unconstitutional. Section 441 imposed limits on any individual’s total political contributions (to federal candidates, parties, or political action committees) in a two-year period

Question 41

Political action committee (PAC)

Answer 41

officially recognized fund-raising organizations that represent interest groups and are allowed by federal law to make contributions directly to candidates’ campaigns

Question 42

Super PAC

Answer 42

political action committees established to make independent expenditures

Question 43

Independent expenditures

Answer 43

spending for campaign activity that is not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign

Question 44

Public funds

Answer 44

donations from general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates

Question 45

Matching funds

Answer 45

donations to presidential campaigns whereby every dollar raised from individuals in amounts less than $251 is matched by the federal treasury

Question 46

Conventional political participation

Answer 46

activism that attempts to influence the political process through commonly accepted forms of persuasion such as voting or letter writing

Question 47

Unconventional political participation

Answer 47

activism that attempts to influence the political process through unusual or extreme measures, such as protests, boycotts, and picketing

Question 48

Turnout

Answer 48

the proportion of the voting-age public that casts a ballot

Question 49

Retrospective judgment

Answer 49

a voter’s evaluation of a candidate based on past performance on a particular issue

Question 50

Prospective judgment

Answer 50

a voter’s evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do about an issue if elected

Question 51

Front-loading

Answer 51

the tendency of states to choose an early date on the nomination calendar

Question 52

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

Answer 52

a federal law passed in 2002 that addresses issues of voting systems and voter access that were identified following the 2000 election. It established minimum election administration standards for states and units of local government with responsibility for the administration of federal elections for other purposes related to the bill

Question 53

Communications director

Answer 53

the person who develops the overall media strategy for the candidate