Section 3 - Voting Key Terms Flashcards
registration
The process of demonstrating to state election officials that an individual meets the
qualifications to participate in an election.
literacy tests
A detailed exam on reading ability and civic knowledge, historically used to prevent
African Americans in the South from voting. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended literacy tests.
Disenfranchise
Being denied the right to vote through literacy tests or poll taxes.
poll taxes
Historically in the United States, a fee required with the intention of preventing African
Americans from voting. Poll taxes were banned by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment.
online voter registration
a voter registration process that can be completed over the internet without a
paper application or signature.
Motor Voter Law
A 1993 law, officially named the National Voter Registration Act but commonly called
the Motor Voter Act or Law, that allows voters to register when they sign up for a driver’s license or
some other government services.
voting-eligible population (VEP)
The percentage of citizens who, whether registered or not, are eligible
to vote because they meet age and citizenship qualifications and are mentally competent and not
imprisoned.
voter turnout
the number of registered voters who actually vote in an election.
compulsory voting laws
Laws in some countries (not the United States) that require citizens to vote in
elections.
retrospective voting
A vote cast by a citizen on the basis of events that have transpired in the past
prospective voting
A vote cast by a citizen on the basis of what a candidate is expected to do in the
future.
straight-ticket voting
An approach to voting where a voter selects all candidates on the ballot from a
single party
ballot fatigue
The tendency of a voter to select a candidate in the important offices only, and then stop
voting before selecting candidates for lower offices.
