Ch. 13-14 (Unit 5 PT 1) Flashcards
PACs (political action committees)
An organization that raises money to elect and defeat candidates and may donate money directly to a candidate’s campaign, subject to limits
Linkage institution
Channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and all the media
Social movement
The joining of individuals seeking social or political change with the goal of placing issues on the policy agenda
suffrage (or franchise)
the right to vote
26th Amendment
Allows those 18+ to vote
24th Amendment
Prohibits Congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections
Poll tax
A payment required by a state or federal government before a citizen is allowed to vote
Voter turnout
The number of eligible voters who participate in an election as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters
15th Amendment
Gives African American men the right to vote– removes restrictions on voting on the basis of race
17th Amendment
Allows citizens to directly cast votes for US senate races
19th Amendment
Gives white women the right to vote– WOC got the right throughout the late 1900s
demographic characteristics
Measurable characteristics of a population, such as economic status, education, age, race or ethnicity, and gender
Political efficiency
A person’s belief that he or she can make effective political change
Political mobilization
Effort by political parties to encourage their members to vote
Registration requirements
The set of rules that govern who can vote and how, when, and where they vote
Absentee ballots
Voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election without going to the polls
Rational choice voting
Voting based on what a citizen believes is in his or her best interest
Retrospective voting
Voting based on an assessment of an incumbent’s past performance
Prospective voting
Casting a ballot for a candidate who promises to enact policies favored by the voter in the future
Party line voting
Voting for candidates who belong only to one political party for all of the offices on the ballot
Electoral College
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
Winner-take-all system
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
Battleground states
A state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate in a presidential election
Swing state
A state where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans
GOTV (get out the vote)
Efforts to mobilize supporters
Super PAC
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
Political participation
The different ways in which individuals take action to shape the laws and policies of a government
Political party
An organized group of party leaders office holders, and voters who work together to elect candidates to political office
Straight-ticket voting
Voting for all of the candidates on the ballot from one political party
Party identification
The degree to which a voter is connected to and influenced by a particular political party
Split ticket voting
Voting for candidates from different parties in the same election
Party platform
A set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to
Recruitment
The process through which political parties identify potential candidates
Party coalition
Groups of voters who support a political party over time
Realignment
When the groups of people who support a political party shift their allegiance to a different political party
Critical election
A major national election that signals a change in the balance of power between the two parties
Party era
Time period when one party wins the most national elections
Era of divided government
A trend since 1969, in which one party controls one or both houses of Congress and the president is from the opposing party
Nomination
The formal process through which parties choose their candidates for political office
Delegate
A person who acts as the voters’ representative at a convention to select the party’s nominee
Primary election
An election in which a state’s voters choose delegates who support a presidential candidate for nomination
Open primary
A primary election in which all eligible voters may vote, regardless of their party affiliation
Closed primary
A primary election in which only those who have registered as a member of a political party may vote
Caucus
A process through which a state’s eligible voters meet to select delegates to represent their preferences in the nomination process
Superdelegate
Usually a party leader or activist who is not pledged to a candidate based on the outcome of the state’s primary or caucus
Front loading
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
National convention
A meeting where delegates officially select their party’s nominee for the presidency
Candidate centered campaign
A trend in which candidates develop their own strategies and raise money with less influence from the party elite
Proportional representation system
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
Single member plurality system
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
Third party
A minor political party in competition with the two major parties
Corrupt Practices Act (1910; 1911; 1925)
i. Main laws regulating campaign finance until FECA
ii. Rarely enforced
iii. General spending limits and required disclosure of donor names and spending amounts
Federal Election Campaign Act and creation of FEC (1972; amended 1974)
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
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
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.
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (a.k.a. “McCain-Feingold”)—2002
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
PACs (details)
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.
Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
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
The eruption of “SOFT MONEY GROUPS” after Citizens United
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
