Exam 4 Flashcards
Participation paradox
The fact that citizens vote even though a single vote rarely decides an election
Voter turnout
The proportion of eligible Americans who actually vote
Voting-age population
The total number of persons in the United States who are 18 years of age or older
Changed restrictions for voting in Texas
Poll tax, women’s suffrage, white primary, military vote, long residence requirement, property ownership as a requirement for voting in bond elections, annual registration, jury duty, & early registration.
Direct primary
A method of selective party nominees in which party members participate directly in the selection of a candidate to represent them in the general election
Runoff primary
A second primary election the pits the two top vote-getters from the first primary against each other when the winner of the first primary did not receive a majority
Open primary
A type of party primary and watch a voter can choose on election day in which primary to participate
Closed primary
What type of primary in which a voter is required to specify a party preference when registering to vote
Crossover voting
With members of one political party and the other parties primary to influence the selection of the nominee
Plurality vote
An election rule in which the candidate with the most votes wins even if that candidate gets less than 50%
Party column ballot
A type of ballot used in a general election in which all the candidates for each party are listed in parallel columns under the party label
Straight ticket voting
Selecting all of the candidates of one particular party
Office block ballot
The type of ballot used in a general election in which the names of the parties candidates are listed randomly under each office
Split ticket voting
A voter selecting candidates from one party for some offices and candidates from the other party for other offices
Australian ballot
A ballot printed by the government (as opposed to the political parties) that allows people to vote in secret. Adopted by tx in 1892
Early voting
The practice of voting before election day at traditional voting locations, such as schools, and other locations, such as grocery and convenient stores
Negative campaign
Strategy used in election campaigns in which candidates attack their opponents issue positions or character
Political action committees (PACs)
Organizations that raise and then contribute money to political candidates
Soft money
Money spent by political parties behalf on political candidates, especially for the purpose of increasing voter registration and turnout
Independent expenditures
Money individuals and organizations spend to promote a candidate without working or communicating directly with the candidates campaign organization
Two party system
A political system characterized by two dominant parties competing for political offices. In such systems, minor or third parties have little chance of winning
Pragmatism
The philosophy that ideas should be judged in the basis of their practical results rather than the purity of their principles
Valence issues
Issues on which virtually all of the public agrees, such as peace and prosperity
Position issues
Issues in which the public is divided
Decentralization
Exercise of power at the state and local levels of government in addition to the national level
Party realignment
The long-term transition from a system in which one party is consistently dominant to one in which another party is consistently dominant. (When the state/country transitions from being mostly run by one political party to mostly run by another political party). Ex: after civil war tx became more republican)
Partisan identification
A persons attachment to one political party or the other
Dealignment
When increasing numbers of voters choose not to identify with either of the two parties and consider themselves to be independents
Evangelical or fundamentalist Christians
A block of conservative Christians who are concerned with such issues as family, religion, abortion, gay rights, and community morals, and often support the Republican Party
Party platform
The formal issue positions of a political party; specific elements are often referred to as “planks” in the parties platform. Their list of actions
Tea party
A faction or group of very conservative Republicans generally resistant to any compromise of its principles
Tipping
Phenomenon that occurs when a group grows large enough to change the political balance in the electorate
Swing voters
Voters who are not bound by party identification and who support candidates of different parties in different election years
Precinct convention
A gathering of party members who voted in the parties primary for the purpose of electing delegates to the county or district convention
Presidential preference primary
A primary election that allows voters to express their preference among the candidates seeking to become their parties presidential nominee
General sales tax
A broadly based tax collected on the retail price of most items
Selective sales tax
Taxes levied on the sale, manufacture, or use of specific items such as liquor, cigarettes, and gasoline; these are also sometimes known as excise taxes
Gross receipts taxes
Taxes on the gross revenues (sales) of certain enterprises
Hidden taxes
Taxes included in an items purchase orice
Severance taxes
Taxes on the production of raw marterials such as oil and gas
Ad valorem taxes
Taxes assessed on the value of real property (land and buildings) and personal property (possessions
such as furniture and automobiles).
Tax rates
The amount per unit of taxable item or activity
Tax base
The object or activity taxed
Broad-based taxes
Taxes paid by a large number of taxpayers
Regulatory taxes
Taxes that reward approved behavior with lower taxation or punish socially undesirable action with a higher tax
Benefits received tax
A tax assessed scoring to the services received by the payers. Ex: .20 cent per gallon tax- it goes towards tx highway fund
Ability to pay taxes
Taxes apportioned according to taxpayers financial capacity, such as property, sales, and income
Progressive tax rates
Tax rates that increase as income increases- for example, federal income tax rates
Regressive tax rates
Tax rates that effectively decline as a persons income increases
Declining marginal consume
The tendency, as income increases, for persons to save and invest more, thus spending a smaller percentage of their income on consumer items
Tax shifting
Business passing taxes to consumers on the form of higher prices
Supply side economics
a theory that maintains that increasing the supply of goods and services is the engine for economic growth.
General obligation bonds
Bonds to be repaid from general revenues, such as those that voters have approved to finance prison construction
Revenue bonds
Bonds to be repaid with revenues from the projects the finance, such as higher education bonds to be repaid with revenue from student tuition
Appropriations
The process by which a legislative body legally authorizes a government to spend specific sums of money to provide various programs and services
Charter schools
Publicly funded schools that operate independently from the district system
Affirmative action
Positive efforts to recruit members of undeserved populations such as ethnic minorities, women, and the economically disadvantaged. Sometimes these efforts are limited to recruitment drives among target groups, but such programs have sometimes included ethnicity or gender as a part of their admissions criteria
Individual mandate
Requirement that individuals get health insurance or pay a tax penalty to the federal government
Income redistribution
A public policy goal intended to shift income from one class of recipients to another, regardless of whether these programs are designed to benefit lower, middle, or upper income groups
Social insurance
Public insurance programs, such as Social Security and unemployment compensation, in which all eligibility is based on tax premiums paid by the beneficiaries or their employers rather than need alone
Means test
A standard of benefit eligibility based on need
