Chapter 7: Elections Flashcards
A primary election in which any registered voter can participate in the contest regardless of party affiliation
Open primary
A politician running for re-election to the office he or she currently holds
Incumbent
A primary election in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote
Closed primary
The election in which voters cast ballots for house members senators and (every four years) a president and vice president
General election
Voting system in which the candidate who received the most votes within a geographic area Winfield action regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority (more than half) of the votes
Plurality voting
A voting system which a candidate must win more than 50% of votes to win election if no candidate wins enough votes to take off it’s a runoff election is held between the two vote getters
Majority voting
Under majority voting system a second election held only if no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the first general election. Only the top the top two vote getters in the first election compete in the run off
Runoff election
The ballot vote in which citizens like to party’s nominee for the general election
Primary
A local meeting in which party member select the party’s nominee for the general election
Caucus
During the presidential primaries the practice of determining the number of convention delegates allotted to each candidate based on the percentage of the popular vote cast for each candidate. All Democratic primaries and caucuses use the system as do some states’ with Republican primaries and caucuses
Proportional allocation
During the presidential primaries the practice of assigning all of the given States delegates to the candidate who received the most popular votes. Some states Republican primaries and caucuses use this system
Winner- take -all
Body that votes to select America’s president and vice president based on the popular vote in each state. Each candidate nominees a slate of Elektoy who are selected to attend the meeting of the college if their candidate wins the most votes in a state or district
Electoral college
The two-year period between general elections
Election cycle
An elected position for which there is no incumbent
Open seat
The actions officeholders take the election cycle to build support for their re-election
Permanent campaign
A campaign’s efforts “get out the vote” or make sure their supporters vote on election day
GOTV (“get out the vote”) or the ground game
Campaign advertising that criticizes the candidates opponent typically by making potentially damaging claims about the opponents background or record -rather than focusing on positive reasons to vote for the candidate
Attack ads
The government agency that enforces them regulates election laws; made up of six presidential appointees of whom no more than three can be members of the same party
Federal election commission
Donations that are used to help elect or defeat a specific candidate
Hard money
Contributions that can be used for voter mobilization or to promote a policy proposal or point of view as long as these efforts are not tied to supporting or opposing a particular candidate
Soft money
The question of why citizens vote even though the individual votes stand little chance of changing the election outcome
Paradox of voting
Pieces of information about a candidate that are readily available, easy to interpret, and lead a citizen to decide to vote for a particular candidate
Voting cues
A typical Congressional election in which he reelection rate is high and the influences the House and State contests are largely local
Normal election
The idea that a popular president can generate additional support for candidates affiliate with his party. Coattails are weak and or nonexistent in most American elections
Coattails
A ballot on which a voter selects candidates from more than one political party
Split ticket
A ballot on which a voter selects candidates from only one political party
Straight ticket
