Chapter 10 Vocab

Question 0

Caucuses

Answer 0

Party committees in the house and senate composed of all members of the party in the chamber. Each parties caucus develops a policy agenda for the party, appoints committees to make committee assignments, and raises campaign money for house and senate candidates.

Question 1

Caucus method

Answer 1

A method of selecting the delegates to a political parties national convention by permitting the states conventions to select representatives from their states

Question 2

Closed primaries

Answer 2

Elections to chose a party’s nominees for the general election that are open only to party members

Question 3

Direct popular election plan

Answer 3

A proposal to abolish the electoral college and elect the president directly by national popular vote

Question 4

District plan

Answer 4

A plan to revise the electoral college that would distribute a states electoral college votes by giving one vote to the candidate who wins a plurality in each house district and two votes to the winner statewide.

Question 5

Election

Answer 5

A collective decision making process in which citizens choose an individual to hold and exercise the powers of public office. Elections are the primary mechanism that representative democracies use to achieve popular sovereignty.

Question 6

Electoral college

Answer 6

The institution(whose members are selected by whatever means the state legislature chooses) that is responsible for selecting the president of the United States.

Question 7

Front loading

Answer 7

The tendency of states to move their primaries earlier in the season in order to gain more influence over the presidential selection process.

Question 8

General election

Answer 8

The process by which voters choose their representatives from among the party’s nominees

Question 9

Invisible primary

Answer 9

The period of time between the election of one president and the first contest to nominate candidates to run in the general election to select the next president.

Question 10

Legislative caucus

Answer 10

A method of selecting political party candidates that calls for party members in the state legislature to select candidates for statewide office and party members in the House of Representatives to select a party’s candidates for president and Vice President.

Question 11

Magic number

Answer 11

The number of delegates needed at a political party’s national convention for a candidate to be nominated as the party’s candidate for presidency; this number equals 50% plus 1 of all delegates at the convention

Question 12

National party convention

Answer 12

A nomination method in which delegates selected from each state attend a national party meeting to chose the party’s candidates for president and Vice President.

Question 13

Nomination

Answer 13

The process through which political parties winnow down a field of candidates to a single one who will be the party’s standard-bearer in the general election.

Question 14

Open primaries

Answer 14

Elections to select a party’s candidate for the general election that are open to independent and, in some cases, to members of the other parties.

Question 15

Proportional plan

Answer 15

A plan to revise the electoral college such that the number of electoral college votes given to candidates would be based on the proportion of the popular vote they obtained

Question 16

Runoff primary

Answer 16

A second primary election held between the top two candidates if no candidate received a majority of the votes in the first primary

Question 17

State presidential primary

Answer 17

A method of selecting delegates to a political party’s national convention in which the voters directly elect delegates

Question 18

Super Tuesday

Answer 18

The day in early March when several states hold their primaries. These states choose a significant portion of delegates to the national convention.

Question 19

Swing states

Answer 19

States in which the outcome of a presidential race is unclear, and both candidates have a realistic chance of winning.

Question 20

Unit rule

Answer 20

A rule that permitted a majority of state’s delegation to a political party’s national convention to require that the entire state delegation vote the same way(or as a unit)