Chapter 9 - Nominations, Elections, and Campaigns Flashcards
an organized effort to persuade voters to choose one candidate over others competing for the same office
Election Campaign
a preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for public office in a subsequent election
Primary Election
primary elections in which voters must declare their party affiliation before they are given the primary ballot containing that party’s potential nominees
Closed Primaries
primary elections in which voters need not declare their party affiliation and can choose one party’s primary ballot to take into the voting booth
Open Primaries
primary elections that allow individual state parties to decide whether they permit independents to vote in their primaries and for which offices
Modified Closed Primaries
primary elections that entitle independent voters to vote in a party’s primary
Modified Open Primaries
a special primary election used to select delegates to attend the party’s national convention, which in turn nominates the presidential candidate
Presidential Primary
a method used to select delegates to attend a party’s national convention; generally, a local meeting selects delegates for a county-level meeting, which in turn selects delegates for a higher-level meeting; the process culminates in a state convention that actually selects the national convention delegates
Caucus/Convention
states’ practice of moving delegate selection primaries and caucuses earlier in the calendar year to gain media and candidate attention
Front-Loading
a national election held by law in November of every even-numbered year
General Election
in voting, a single party’s candidates for all the offices
Straight Ticket
in voting, candidates from different parties for different offices
Split Ticket
a British term for elections conducted in single-member districts that award victory to the candidate with the most votes
First-Past-The-Post Elections
an election that lacks an incumbent
Open Election
a bipartisan federal agency of six members that oversees the financing of national election campaigns
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
financial contributions given directly to a candidate running for congressional offices or the presidency
Hard Money
financial contributions to party committees for capital and operational expenses
Soft Money
committees named after Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code; they enjoy tax-exempt status in election campaigns if they are unaffiliated with political parties and take positions on issues, not specific candidates
527 Committees
groups named after Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code that operate for promotion of social welfare; they are exempt from reporting donors if they spend most of their funds on issues, not candidates
501(c)4 Social Welfare Organizations
