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Poli S 102 > Final Exam > Flashcards

Final Exam Flashcards

(53 cards)

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1
Q

What is a criteria of democracy?

A

Competitive elections

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2
Q

What is a political party?

A

An organization that sponsors candidates for political office under the organization’s name

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3
Q

Define the term “Factions”

A

Groups of people with shared interests or goals who work together to influence government decisions, often competing with other groups

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4
Q

What do political parties do?

A
  1. Organize the election process
  2. Facilitate voter choice
  3. Accountability
  4. Inform the people & define issues
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5
Q

Define the term “Nomination”

A

When political parties pick who will run for office

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6
Q

What are primaries?

A

Elections where people vote to help choose a party’s candidate

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7
Q

What is an open primary?

A

Anyone can vote, no matter their party

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8
Q

What is a closed primary?

A

Only people registered with that party can vote

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9
Q

What is a caucus?

A

A meeting where party members talk, vote, and decide who they want as their candidate. It’s like a big group discussion instead of a regular election.

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10
Q

How do political parties facilitate voter choice?

A

By reducing the number of candidates on the ballot to those who have a realistic chance of winning, usually a democrat or republican

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11
Q

How do political parties take accountability?

A

Party whip, they count heads & round up party members for votes, they also vote with their party platform

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12
Q

How do political parties inform the people & define issues?

A

Party platform, democrat, republican, libertarian, green party, they all push laws related to their platform

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13
Q

What are two characteristics of the American party system?

A

Candidate centered vs. Party (or policy) centered

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14
Q

Define “candidate centered”

A

Focuses on the individual candidate’s personality, qualifications & personal appeal, rather than their party or policies

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15
Q

Define “party centered”

A

Emphasizes the party’s platform, ideology, & collective goals over the individual

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16
Q

Define “Two-party system”

A

A political system in which two major political parties compete for control of the government
- 3rd parties have little chance of winning

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17
Q

Why do we have a two-party system?

A
  1. Historical foundations of the system
  2. Self-perpetuation of parties
  3. Media coverage
  4. State & federal laws favoring the two-party system
  5. Money
  6. Electoral laws
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18
Q

How does the state & federal laws favor the 2 party system?

A

Ballot access & structure, committee rules, debates

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19
Q

How does money involve the two-party system?

A

Interest group contributions, give money in support of a certain party

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20
Q

Define “single member districts”

A

Has plurality voting, where 1 candidate with the most votes wins, tends to favor a two-candidate system, smaller parties often struggle to win enough votes to compete effectively

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21
Q

Define “office block voting”

A

A way of organizing election ballots in the U.S
- Candidates are listed by the office they are running for rather than by political party
- Encourages voters to make decisions based on the candidate rather than simply voting for all candidates from one party, which happens more often with a party-column ballot. Designed to reduce straight-ticket voting

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22
Q

What are political consequences of electoral laws?

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A

Duverger’s Law

23
Q

Define “Duverger’s Law”

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A

Electoral laws shape the party system
- how we calculate the winning candidate determines the party system

24
Q

Define “Plurality Rule”

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A
  • Winner take all
  • Candidate with the most votes wins
  • Single member districts (SMDs)
  • Creates & maintains a two-party system
  • “Wasted vote”
  • Catch-all-parties/center positions
  • Stable democracy
25
Define "proportional representation"
- Seats assigned to % of votes received - Multimember districts - Creates a multi-party system - High voter turnout rate - Voter support = seats in parliament
26
What are the minor parties in the United States?
- Platforms are adopted by major parties --> address issues - Speak for the people - Candidates can have an impact on the outcome of an election
27
How do we link "the people" to the government?
1. Political parties 2. Running for office 3. Voting 4. Money
28
What are the reasons for low voter turnout?
Lack of candidates, wasted vote, frequency of elections, registration, no compulsory, no time-national holiday
29
Define the term "no compulsory"
Voting is not required by law
30
How are elections conducted?
Primary vs. Caucus, in-person vs. vote by mail, forms of ID required
31
What are the current qualifications?
18 years old, citizen, registered, have ID
32
What are factors that influence voter turnout?
Level of education, socio-economic status, ethnic background, age
33
Who actually votes?
Well educated, wealthy, caucasian, senior citizens
34
Define "Election Laws"
States have jurisdiction over election laws
35
Define "straight-ticket voting"
Allows voters to choose a party's entire slate of candidates with just a single ballot mark
36
Why are campaigns important?
They are now longer in the past, greater emphasis on fundraising, greater reliance on consultants for strategy, use of polls & focus groups, emphasis on candidate recognition, candidates must become performers
37
Define the term "Game Frame"
Media relies on a "game frame" for campaign coverage
38
Define the term "Horse race politics"
Greater focus on people & polls, not policy
39
Define the term "Ground War"
Candidate appearances, fundraising polling
40
Define the term "Air War"
Most expensive part of a campaign, also most useful for reaching national audience
41
What is important about the TV, radio, social media, and internet ads in campaigning?
It dominates candidate spending, tv time is particularly expensive
42
Define the term "Political Events"
Political events as psuedo-events, carefully planned & managed, aimed at the media, surrogates
43
Define the term "Campaign Advertising"
Positive ads --> Soft, slow motion, lyrical or patriot music - Negative ads --> Has increased over the past few decades
44
What are adbites?
Political ads created to lead media sound bites, negative ads do this well, also secures free ad time
45
When was the original adbite?
1964, Lyndon Johnson's Daisy ad
46
Why is debate coverage important?
It has turned into the ultimate "strategy" evaluation - Also shows who won, was better prepared, who messed up, who lied?
47
Who regulates money in politics/
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
48
What is the "Federal Election Commission"?
A bipartisan federal agency that oversees the financing of national election campaigns - They also enforce limits on financial contributions - Requires disclosure of campaign spending
49
What is the "McCain-Feingold Act (2002) (BCRA)"?
Placed stricter limits on individual contribution, banned "soft money" contributions
50
Define the term "soft money'
Donations to a party, not candidates
51
Define the term "Political Action Committees" (PACs)
An organization that raises money privately to donate to candidates for political office
52
What is "Citizens United V. FEC"?
This was a supreme court case that said corporations & groups can spend unlimited money on political campaigns - The court decided that limiting their spending would violate free speech, but they can't give money directly to candidates-only to support them through ads or other ways
53
Define the term "mental heuristics"
People use mental heuristics to decide who to vote for based on things that make sense to them - Not really about principles & policy positions - They take mental shortcuts : respected sources & the political party

Poli S 102 (3 decks)

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