Chapter Seven

Question 1

Ballot Fatigue

Answer 1

result when voter stops voting for offices and initiatives at the bottom of a long ballot

Question 2

Caucus

Answer 2

form of candidate nomination that occurs in town-hall style format rather than a day-long election; usually reserved for presidential elections

Question 3

Chronic Minority

Answer 3

voters who belong to political parties that tend not to be competitive in national elections because they are too small to become a majority/Electoral College system distribution in their state; ex: voting for the Green Party/Libertarian party

Question 4

Closed Primary

Answer 4

election in which only voters registered with a party may vote for that party’s candidates

Question 5

Coattail Effect

Answer 5

result when a popular presidential candidate helps candidates from the same party win their own elections`

Question 6

Delegates

Answer 6

party members who are chosen to represent a particular candidate at the party’s state-or-national-level nominating convention

Question 7

District system

Answer 7

means by which electoral votes are divided between candidates based on who wins districts and/or the state

Question 8

Early Voting

Answer 8

accommodation that allows voting up to two weeks before Election Day

Question 9

Electoral College

Answer 9

constitutionally created group of individuals, chosen by the states, with the responsibility of formally selecting the next US president

Question 10

Incumbency Advantage

Answer 10

advantage held by officeholders that allows them to often win reelection

Question 11

Incumbent

Answer 11

current holder of a political office

Question 12

Initiative

Answer 12

law/constitutional amendment proposed/passed by the voters and subject to review by the state courts; AKA proposition

Question 13

Midterm Elections

Answer 13

AKA congressional elections that occur in the even-numbered years between presidential election years, in the middle of the president’s term

Question 14

Open Primary

Answer 14

elections in which any registered voter may vote in any party’s primary or caucus

Question 15

Platform

Answer 15

set of issues important to the political party/party delegates

Question 16

Political Action Committees(PACs)

Answer 16

organizations created to raise money for political campaigns/spend money to influence policy/politics

Question 17

Recall

Answer 17

removal of a politician/govt official by the voters

Question 18

Referendum

Answer 18

yes/no vote by citizens on a law/candidate proposed by the state government

Question 19

Residency requirement

Answer 19

stipulation that citizen must live in a state for a determined period of time before a citizen can register to vote as a resident of that state

Question 20

Shadow Campaign

Answer 20

campaign run by political action committees/other orgs without the coordination of the candidate

Question 21

Straight-ticket voting

Answer 21

practice of voting only for candidates from the same party

Question 22

Super PACs

Answer 22

known as the Independent Expenditure-Only Committees; orgs that can fundraise/spend as they please to support or attack a candidate but not contribute directly to a candidate or strategize with a candidate’s campaign.

Question 23

Top-two primary

Answer 23

primary election where two candidates with the most votes, regardless of party, become the nominees for the general election AKA jungle primary

Question 24

Voter Fatigue

Answer 24

result when voters grow tired of voting and stay home from the polls

Question 25

Voting-age population

Answer 25

number of citizens over 18

Question 26

Voting-eligible population

Answer 26

number of citizens eligible to vote

Question 27

Winner-take-all system

Answer 27

all electoral votes for a state are given to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state

Question 28

War Chest

Answer 28

campaign accounts registered with the Federal Election Commission, candidates allowed to keep earlier donations if they intend to run for office again.

Question 29

Tillman Act(1907)

Answer 29

prohibited corporations from contributing money to candidates/how contributions were spent/what information would be disclosed to the public

Question 30

Retrospective Voting

Answer 30

when voter looks at the candidate’s past actions and the past economic climate/makes a decision using these factors only

Question 31

Pocketbook Voting

Answer 31

voters look at their personal finances/circumstances to decide how to vote

Question 32

Prospective Voting

Answer 32

when the voter applies information abt a candidates past behavior to decide how candidate will act in the future