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Honors Government > Test 3 > Flashcards

Test 3 Flashcards

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0
Q

Suffrage

A

The right to vote

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1
Q

Political Party

A

A group of people who seek to control government by winning elections and holding office.

  • principle-oriented
  • issue-oriented
  • election-oriented
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2
Q

Electorate

A

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election

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3
Q

Off-Year Election

A

Congressional elections held in years when there is no presidential election

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4
Q

Closed Primary

A

Only declared party members can vote

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5
Q

Open Primary

A

Any qualified voter can take part

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6
Q

Run-Off Primary

A

If a required primary is not met, the two people with the most votes run again

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7
Q

Non-Partisan Primary

A

Candidates are not identified by party labels

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8
Q

Precinct

A

A voting district, it is the smallest geography unit used to carry out elections.

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9
Q

Polling Place

A

Where the voters in the precinct go to vote.

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10
Q

FECA

A

The Federal Election Campaign Act (1971). It was passed to replace the former, the ineffective legislation

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11
Q

FEC

A

The Federal Election Commision

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12
Q

5 Functions of Political Parties

A
  1. Nominate Candidates
  2. Inform and Activate Supporters
  3. Ensure Candidate Quality
  4. Help Govern
  5. Act as a Watchdog
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13
Q

Nominate Candidates

Function of Political Party

A

Recruit, choose and present candidate for public office

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14
Q

Inform and Activate Supporters

Function of Political Party

A

Campaign, define issues, and criticize other candidates

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15
Q

Ensure Candidate Quality

Function of Political Party

A

Guarantee that their candidate is worthy of office

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16
Q

Help Govern

Function of Political Party

A

Members of government act according to their partisanship, or form alliance to a party

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17
Q

Act as Watchdog

Function of Political Party

A

Parties that are out for power keep a close eye on the actions of the party in power

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18
Q

4 Reasons for Our Two Party System

A
  1. The Historical Basis
  2. The Force of Tradition
  3. The Electoral System
  4. Ideological Consensus
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19
Q

The Historical Basis

Two Party System

A

The nation started out with two parties; the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist

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20
Q

The Force of Tradition

Two Party System

A

America has a two-party system system because it always has had one. Minor Parties, lacking wide political support

21
Q

The Electoral System

Two Party System

A

Certain features of government, such as single-member districts, are designed to favor two-major parties

22
Q

Ideological Consensus

Two Party System

A

Most Americans have a general agreement on fundamental matters. Conditions that would spark several strong rival parties do not exist in the U.S.

23
Q

Advantages of a Multi-Party System

A
  • Provides a broader representation of the people.
  • More responsive to the will of people.
  • Gives voters more choices at the polls.
24
Q

Disadvantages of a Multi-Party System

A
  • Cause parties to form coalitions, which can dissolve easily
  • Failure of coalition can cause instability in government
25
Q

The Sociological Pattern of Voting for Democrats

A
  • Minorities & Women
  • Catholic & Jewish
  • Union Members
  • Middle to Lower Class
  • Inner-City
  • Northwest and Bigger States
  • Younger Voters
26
Q

The Sociological Patterns of Voting for Republicans

A
  • White Males
  • Protestants
  • Business
  • Middle to Upper Class
  • Suburbs & Rural
  • Midwest and Southern States
  • Older Voters
27
Q

Importance of Minor Parties

A
  • “Spoiler Role”
  • Critic
  • Innovator
28
Q

“Spoiler Role”

Importance of Minor Parties

A

Minor Party candidates can pull decisive votes away from one of the major parties’ candidates, especially if the minor party candidate is from a splinter party

29
Q

Critic

Importance of Minor Parties

A

Minor parties, especially single-issue parties, often take stands on and draws attention to controversial issues that the major parties would prefer to ignore

30
Q

Innovator

Importance of Minor Party

A

Minor parties will draw attention to important issues and propose innovate solutions to problems. If the proposals gain popular support, they are often integrated into the platforms of the two major parties.

31
Q

Future of Political Parties for Voters

A
  • More people are willing to label themselves as “Democrats” or”Republicans”
  • Split-Ticket Voting: voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election
32
Q

Future of Political Parties for Candidates

A
  • Structural changes have increased conflict and organization within parties
  • Changes in the technology of campaign, especially the use of television and the Internet, have made candidates more independent of the party organization
  • The growth of the single-issue organization provides candidates with another source of financial support
33
Q

Universal Requirement to Vote

A
  1. Citizenship
  2. Residence
  3. Age
  4. Registration
34
Q

Universal Requirement to Vote for: CITIZENSHIP

A

Most states require U.S. citizenship to vote

35
Q

Universal Requirement to Vote for: RESIDENCE

A

One must be a legal resident of the State to vote in election. Most states require residency for a minimum amount of time in order to vote.

36
Q

Universal Requirement to Vote for: AGE

A

The 26th Amendment requires that no State set a minimum voting age above 18

37
Q

Universal Requirement to Vote for: REGISTRATION

A

All states but North Dakota require residents to register to vote ahead of an election

38
Q

Why People Do Not Vote

A
  • Voting is in some way inconvenient
  • They don’t believe that their vote will make a difference
  • They distrust politics and political candidates
  • Religious beliefs
  • Time-Zone Fall Out
39
Q

Sociological Factors that Promote Voting

A
  • higher level of income
  • higher level of education
  • higher occupational status
  • strong party identification
  • woman
  • live in suburbs
  • older than 35
  • married
40
Q

Ways of Nominating Candidates

A
  1. Self-Announcement
  2. The Caucus
  3. The Convention
41
Q

Self-Announcement

Nominating Candidates

A

A person who wants to run for office announces their candidacy.

42
Q

The Caucus

Nominating Candidates

A

Originally a private meeting of local bigwigs, the caucus as a nominating device fell out of favor in the 1820s

43
Q

The Convention

Nominating Candidates

A

Considered more democratic than the caucus, convention delegates were selected to represent the people’s wishes. By the 1990s the system was on its way out, because they found a way to manuipualte the system.

44
Q

4 Types of Minor Parties

A

Ideological- based on one idea
Single Issue- focused on one issue
Splinter- break off of major parts
Economic Protest- focused on the economy or money

45
Q

What Regulations does FEC enforce?

A
  • Timely disclosure of campaign finance information
  • Limits on campaign contributions
  • Limits on campaign expenditures
  • Provisions for public funding of presidential campaigns
46
Q

Election Funding Loopholes

A
  1. Soft-Money
  2. Independent Campaign Spending
  3. Issue Ads
47
Q

Soft-Money

Funding Loopholes

A

Money given to State and local party organizations for “party-building activities” that is filtered to presidential or congressional campaigns.

48
Q

Industrial Campaign Spending

Funding Loopholes

A

A president unrelated and unconnected to a candidate or party can spend as much money as they want to benefit or work against candidates

49
Q

Issue Ads

Funding Loopholes

A

Take a stand on certain issues in order to criticize or support a certain candidate without actually mentioning that person’s name

Honors Government (5 decks)

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