Ch. 13-14 (Unit 5 PT 1)

Question 1

PACs (political action committees)

Answer 1

An organization that raises money to elect and defeat candidates and may donate money directly to a candidate’s campaign, subject to limits

Question 2

Linkage institution

Answer 2

Channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and all the media

Question 3

Social movement

Answer 3

The joining of individuals seeking social or political change with the goal of placing issues on the policy agenda

Question 4

suffrage (or franchise)

Answer 4

the right to vote

Question 5

26th Amendment

Answer 5

Allows those 18+ to vote

Question 6

24th Amendment

Answer 6

Prohibits Congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections

Question 7

Poll tax

Answer 7

A payment required by a state or federal government before a citizen is allowed to vote

Question 8

Voter turnout

Answer 8

The number of eligible voters who participate in an election as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters

Question 9

15th Amendment

Answer 9

Gives African American men the right to vote– removes restrictions on voting on the basis of race

Question 10

17th Amendment

Answer 10

Allows citizens to directly cast votes for US senate races

Question 11

19th Amendment

Answer 11

Gives white women the right to vote– WOC got the right throughout the late 1900s

Question 12

demographic characteristics

Answer 12

Measurable characteristics of a population, such as economic status, education, age, race or ethnicity, and gender

Question 13

Political efficiency

Answer 13

A person’s belief that he or she can make effective political change

Question 14

Political mobilization

Answer 14

Effort by political parties to encourage their members to vote

Question 15

Registration requirements

Answer 15

The set of rules that govern who can vote and how, when, and where they vote

Question 16

Absentee ballots

Answer 16

Voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election without going to the polls

Question 17

Rational choice voting

Answer 17

Voting based on what a citizen believes is in his or her best interest

Question 18

Retrospective voting

Answer 18

Voting based on an assessment of an incumbent’s past performance

Question 19

Prospective voting

Answer 19

Casting a ballot for a candidate who promises to enact policies favored by the voter in the future

Question 20

Party line voting

Answer 20

Voting for candidates who belong only to one political party for all of the offices on the ballot

Question 21

Electoral College

Answer 21

A constitutionally required process for selecting the president through slates of electors chosen in each state, who are pledged to vote for a nominee in the presidential election

Question 22

Winner-take-all system

Answer 22

A system of elections in which the candidate who wins the plurality of votes within a state receives all of that state’s votes in the Electoral College

Question 23

Battleground states

Answer 23

A state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate in a presidential election

Question 24

Swing state

Answer 24

A state where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans

Question 25

GOTV (get out the vote)

Answer 25

Efforts to mobilize supporters

Question 26

Super PAC

Answer 26

An organization that may spend an unlimited amount of money on a political campaign, as long as the spending is not coordinate with a campaign

Question 27

Political participation

Answer 27

The different ways in which individuals take action to shape the laws and policies of a government

Question 28

Political party

Answer 28

An organized group of party leaders office holders, and voters who work together to elect candidates to political office

Question 29

Straight-ticket voting

Answer 29

Voting for all of the candidates on the ballot from one political party

Question 30

Party identification

Answer 30

The degree to which a voter is connected to and influenced by a particular political party

Question 31

Split ticket voting

Answer 31

Voting for candidates from different parties in the same election

Question 32

Party platform

Answer 32

A set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to

Question 33

Recruitment

Answer 33

The process through which political parties identify potential candidates

Question 34

Party coalition

Answer 34

Groups of voters who support a political party over time

Question 35

Realignment

Answer 35

When the groups of people who support a political party shift their allegiance to a different political party

Question 36

Critical election

Answer 36

A major national election that signals a change in the balance of power between the two parties

Question 37

Party era

Answer 37

Time period when one party wins the most national elections

Question 38

Era of divided government

Answer 38

A trend since 1969, in which one party controls one or both houses of Congress and the president is from the opposing party

Question 39

Nomination

Answer 39

The formal process through which parties choose their candidates for political office

Question 40

Delegate

Answer 40

A person who acts as the voters’ representative at a convention to select the party’s nominee

Question 41

Primary election

Answer 41

An election in which a state’s voters choose delegates who support a presidential candidate for nomination

Question 42

Open primary

Answer 42

A primary election in which all eligible voters may vote, regardless of their party affiliation

Question 43

Closed primary

Answer 43

A primary election in which only those who have registered as a member of a political party may vote

Question 44

Caucus

Answer 44

A process through which a state’s eligible voters meet to select delegates to represent their preferences in the nomination process

Question 45

Superdelegate

Answer 45

Usually a party leader or activist who is not pledged to a candidate based on the outcome of the state’s primary or caucus

Question 46

Front loading

Answer 46

A decision by a state to push its primary or a caucus to a date as early in the election season as possible to gain more influence in the presidential nomination process

Question 47

National convention

Answer 47

A meeting where delegates officially select their party’s nominee for the presidency

Question 48

Candidate centered campaign

Answer 48

A trend in which candidates develop their own strategies and raise money with less influence from the party elite

Question 49

Proportional representation system

Answer 49

An election system for a legislature in which citizens vote for parties, rather than individuals, and parties are represented in the legislature according to the percentage of the vote they recieve

Question 50

Single member plurality system

Answer 50

An election system for choosing members of the legislature where the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes, even if the candidate does not receive a majority of the votes

Question 51

Third party

Answer 51

A minor political party in competition with the two major parties

Question 52

Corrupt Practices Act (1910; 1911; 1925)

Answer 52

i. Main laws regulating campaign finance until FECA

ii. Rarely enforced

iii. General spending limits and required disclosure of donor names and spending amounts

Question 53

Federal Election Campaign Act and creation of FEC (1972; amended 1974)

Answer 53

i. Result of Watergate scandal and Nixon using CREEP (Committee to Re-elect the President) campaign donations inappropriately

ii. Created the Federal Election Commission to monitor election spending

Question 54

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Answer 54

i. Direct challenge to FECA

ii. Wealthy politician (Buckley) wanted to spend his own money on his own campaign

iii. Court held that individuals spending their own money are exercising their 1st Amendment free speech rights. Candidate expenditures cannot be limited.

Question 55

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (a.k.a. “McCain-Feingold”)—2002

Answer 55

i. Court upheld most of it until 2010.

ii. Individual contribution limits

iii. Limited broadcast of “issue advocacy” ads within 30 days of a primary and 60 days of a general election

Question 56

PACs (details)

Answer 56

i. PACs are Political Action Committees of corporations, labor unions, or other interest groups

ii. Sole purpose is to raise money for the group to spend on elections—a fundraising arm of the organization

iii. Regulated by McCain Feingold

iv. Corporations cannot contribute directly to PACs but can sponsor a PAC for employee donations.

Question 57

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Answer 57

i. Citizens United is a conservative non-profit 527 group that made a documentary bashing Hillary Clinton called “Hillary: The Movie.”

ii. Citizens United was not explicitly working with a candidate or political party

iii. Citizens United planned on airing “Hillary: The Movie” on a video-on-demand service and advertising it on TV during the presidential primary elections. The group receives corporate funding, and corporation-funded ads are against McCain-Feingold. Fined and banned by FEC; appeal ensues

iv. Holding: McCain-Feingold’s prohibition of broadcast, cable and satellite “electioneering communications” by either unions or corporations violated the First Amendment. (See 5F above) Corporations and Unions are no longer limited in amounts of spending

Question 58

The eruption of “SOFT MONEY GROUPS” after Citizens United

Answer 58

i. Characteristics
- Unregulated/Unlimited Money
- $ Cannot Be Donated Directly To A Candidate
- $ Cannot Coordinate With Parties Or Candidate’s Campaigns

ii. “Super PACs”:
Formed after Citizens United v. FEC and SpeechNow.org v. FEC decisions