Elections Flashcards
Nomination
Official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
Campaign strategy
Master game plan candidates lay out to guide their campain
National Party Convention
Supreme power within the party. Meets every 4 years
Caucus
Meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party convention
Presidential primaries
Voters in a state can vote for a candidate
McGovern-Fraser Commision
Comission formed in 1968 in response to demands for reforms by minorities
Superdelegates
National party leaders who automatically gets a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention
Frontloading
Tendency of states to hold primaries early
National primary
A proposal to replace all electoral methods with a series of primaries in each geographic region
Party platform
A political party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years
Direct mail
High-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate
Federal election Campaign Act
Law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. Created FEC
Federal Election Comission (FEC)
six-member bipartisan agency that administers and enforces campaign finance laws
Presidential Election Campaign Fund
Money from the federal income tax check-off foes into this fund to be used for campaigning
Matching Funds
Contributions of up to $250 are matched to candidates who qualify
Soft Money
Political donations earmarked for party - building expenses, etc
Political Action Committees (PAC)
Funding vehicles created by 1974 tax reforms
Selective participation
The phenomenon that people pay attention to things they already agree to
Legitimacy
Almost universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders
Referendum
State-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to look at legislation
Initiative petition
Process permitted in some states where voters can propose changes in the state consitution and put it to a vote
Suffrage
Legal right to vote
Political efficacy
Belief that one’s political participation matters
Civic duty
Belief that in order to support democratic government, one must vote.
Voter registration
System that requires voters to register before election day
Motor Voter Act
Requires states to permit people to get their driving and voting license at the same time
Mandate theory of election
The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate to carry out their platforms and politics
Policy voting
Electoral choices made on the voter’s policy preferences
Electoral College
Selects the president by electors chosen by state parties
Retrospective voting
Theory of voting where voters ask “What have you done for me lately?”
