chapter 13 test Flashcards
What is political participation?
-the different ways individuals take action to shape the laws and politics of government
What are Political Action Committees (PACS)-
-pool money to donate to a candidates political campaign
What was the purpose of the bipartisan campaign reform act? (BCRA)
–closed soft- money loopholes (money donated to parties)
What is a linkage institution
-channels that connect individuals to the government
What was decided in the Supreme court case of citizens united vs. FEC in 2010
-corporations are people and have free speech and expenditures independent of campaigns are protected by 1st Amendment
what is a social movement
-the joining of individuals seeking social of political change with the goal of placing issues on the policy agenda
What is the most common way that Americans politically participate other than by voting?
-protests, political meetings, reaching out to other citizens, or contacting elected officals
what is suffrage or franchise
-the right to vote
What was the purpose of the 15th amendment
-extended the right to vote to all males regardless of race
what was the purpose of the 17th amendment
-allowed for direct senatorial election
what was the purpose of the 19th amendment
-extended the right to vote to women
What was the purpose of the 24th amendment
-prohibits congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections
What is voter turnout and how is voter turnout in the U.S compared to that of other democratic countries?
-the number of eligible voters that participate in the election as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters (U.S is one of the lowest in the world)
Which Americans are most likely to participate in elections and vote (give several examples)
-more vested in the system
-those with higher socioeconomic status
-higher levels of education
What is political efficacy
-A persons belief that they can make a difference voting
What is political mobilization
-efforts by political parties to encourage their members to vote
When is election day
-first tuesday after the first monday in november
What is an absentee ballot
-voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election without going to the pools
Describe several barriers to voting
-need to register to vote
-voter ID laws
-tuesdays are a work day
what is rational choice voting
-voting based on what a citizen believes is in his or her best interest
What is retrospective voting
-voting based on how you feel someone has done in the past
What is prospective voting
-voting on someone based on what they promise to do in a future
What is party-line voting
-voting for all candidates of one party
What are qualifications to become president
-at least 35 years old
-have to be born in the U.S
-have to have lived in the US for at least 14 years
How is someone selected as president
what are the two campaigns phases for someone running for president( and most other political offices too)
-Nomination campaign
-general election campaign
What is the difference between open primaries and closed primaries
Open- all voters can participate
Closed-only those registered in that party can vote
What must a candidate running for president do in a general election to win
-try to appeal to independent voters as well as your base
Explain how the Electoral College works. Does a candidate need to win the popular vote to be elected president
-You need at least 270 votes to become president
-The person that gets the most votes gets all the electoral votes from that state
-they do not need to win the popular vote
What is a battleground state
-a state where the polls show a close contest between the republican and democratic candidate in a presidential election
What is a swing state
-any state that either party could win based on history
What are recent trends in the cost of running a political campaign? Why is it important for candidates for political office to raise money
-the costs have gotten much higher
-it is important so that they can buy media times (advertisements)
What limits exist for campaign contributions
-from an individual to a candidate, the limit is $3,500
-from a PAC, $5,000 limit
What type of campaign contributions are currently unlimited
-an organization that can spend unlimited amounts of money on a political campaign, as long as they are not coordinated with a campaign
What are interest groups?
-voluntary groups of people who come together with a goal of getting the policies that they favor enacted
What is participatory democracy?
-the belief that citizens impact policymaking through their involvement in civil society
What is pluralism
-political power is distrubuted amoung competing groups, which means no one can grow too powerful
WHat is elitism
- a theory that the wealthy elite class has a disproportionate amount of economic and political power
Whta is collective action
-political action that occurs when individuals contribute their energy, time, or money to a larger group goal
What is collective good?
-a public benefit that individuals can enjoy or profit from even if they do not help achieve it
What is the free rider problem?
-individuals who benefit from something they dont pay for
What are selective benefits?
-benefits people who are apart of a group only
What are economic interest groups
-advocate on behalf of the financial interests of their members
what are public interest groups
-act on behalf of the collective interest of a broad group of individuals
what are single-issue interest group
-associations focusing on one specific area of public policy(ex: guns or abortion)
what are government interest groups
-organizations acting on behalf of local, state, or foreign governments
what is the role of lobbyists
-represent interest groups and interact with government officials to advance a groups policy goals
what is the revolving door
-movement of individuals between positions in government
what are the different strategies that lobbyists use in working with members of Congress
-direct lobbying-interest groups lobbyists meet directly with policymakers
State several ways that lobbyists can influence the judicial branch
-file lawsuits
What are amicus curiae briefs
-attempt to persuade the court to agree with the arguments set forth in the brief
what is an iron triangle
-the coordinated beneficial activities between bureaucratic agencies, congressional committees, and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals
what is an issue network
-web of influence between interest groups, policymakers and policy advocates
what is grassroots lobbying
mobilizing interest group members to pressure their representatives by contacting them directly
what is a protest
-public demonstration to call attention to the need for change
what is civil disobedience
-intentionally breaking a law to call attention to an injustice
what is the invisible primary
-process of preparing for the next election where prospective candidates quietly begin lining up political and financial support for their race 4 years later
how did political parties choose their nominee for president until the 1960s
-delegates chose their party nominees on the convention floor
how have political parties chosen their nominee for president since 1972
conventions just ratify the results of the primaries and caucuses
state the roles that Iowa and New Hampshire each have, including relationship with eachother on presidential primary elections
-iowa caucus comes first and weed out candidates by the party faithful
how much opposition does an incumbent president typically face from his own party when running for president
-incumbent president usually encounters little to no opposition for re-nomination within the party
what was the purpose of the 23rd amendment
-allow washington D.C to have electoral votes
what are the only two states that do not have a winner take all system for the electoral college
maine and nebraska
what are midterm elections
-general elections in even-numbered years that do not include the presidential election (governor or other positions)
what is an incumbent
-current officeholder that is running for reelection
what is an open election
-an election without an incumbent
how have presidential debated been structures
what have been the trends in presidential and vide presidential debated since 1976
-there had been 3 presidential debated and 1 vice presidential debate
What is the federal election commission (FEC)
-federal agency of 6 members that oversees the financing of national election campaigns
Roles of FEC
-enforce contribution limits
-require full disclosure of campaign spending
-administering public financing of presidential campaigns
What is the current maximum campaign contribution to a candidate from an individual?
no person can give more than 3,500 dollars
What are the objectives of paid advertising
-name recognition
-promote the candidate’s virtues
-attack the opponent or play on emotions
what is negative advertising
-simply criticize a political opponent
what are contrast ads
-ads that both criticize a political opponent and advocate policies of another candidate
what must a candidate do to win in a competitive election
-gain the votes of everyone who identifies with the party
-take some share of the opponent parties peoples votes
what are the differences between how incumbents and challengers campaign?
-incumbents try to campaign on their accomplishments
-challengers campaign by pointing out problems and promising to solve them
why are interest groups formed
-they are formed for people when they are negatively affected by an event
how much money can a PAC donate to a candidate in an election
$5000 per candidate per election
what is direct lobbying
attempts to influence a legislator’s vote through direct contact
