Chapter 9 Flashcards
single-member district
An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.
Proportional representation
An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.
Electoral college
The electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for a particular party’s candidates.
Safe seat
An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party’s candidate is almost taken for granted.
Coattail effect
The boos that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of the candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president.
Candidate appeal
The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate, such as his/her strengths, weaknesses, background, experience, and visibility.
National tide
The inclination to focus on national issues, rather than local issues, in an election campaign.
Name recognition
Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them, and incumbents are more recognizable.
Caucus
A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.
Interested money
Financial contributions by individuals or groups in the hope of influencing the outcome of an election and subsequently influencing policy.
Federal Election Commission
A commission to administer election reform laws. Consists of six commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. Oversees disclosure of campaign finance info and public funding of presidential elections, and enforces contribution limits.
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
Largely banned party soft money, restored long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy.
Issue advocacy
Promoting a particular position or an issue paid for by interest groups or individuals but not candidates.
527 organizations
Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions, they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising.
Independent expenditures
Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.
