The election of the President

Question 1

entrench

Answer 1

enfoncer / enraciner

Question 2

caveat

Answer 2

l’avertissement

Question 3

shift

Answer 3

changement

Question 4

to rule

Answer 4

statuer

Question 5

binding

Answer 5

contraignant

Question 6

ballot

Answer 6

A system or occasion of secret voting; also the piece of paper used to record a
person’s vote

Question 7

brockered convention

Answer 7

Occurs when no candidate wins a majority in the first round of
delegate voting at the National Convention. Delegates are freed from their pledges and can
vote for whomever they choose in repeated rounds of voting until a candidate has a majority

Question 8

Buckley v. Valeo 1976

Answer 8

The Supreme Court decision that ruled that limits on campaign
expenditures are unconstitutional, but limits on campaign contributions are constitutional. It
also allowed unlimited self-funding of campaigns.

Question 9

Caucus

Answer 9

A meeting of party members to discuss and elect
delegates to county conventions, who in turn elect delegates to state conventions, where the
delegates for the National Convention are chosen

Question 10

Chiafalo v. Washington 2020

Answer 10

The Supreme Court decision that ruled that states can
sanction and replace faithless electors

Question 11

Citizens United v. FEC 2010

Answer 11

The Supreme Court decision that ruled that limits on
independent expenditures in political campaigns are unconstitutional. Together with
Speechnow.org, it led to the rise of super PACs

Question 12

Closed primary

Answer 12

A type of primary election in which only party members can vote in
their party’s primary

Question 13

contingent election

Answer 13

An election in the House of Representatives (for the President)
or the Senate (for the Vice President) if no candidate receives a majority of the Electoral
College vote

Question 14

Dark money

Answer 14

Funds raised in order to influence elections by non-profits that are not
required to disclose the identity of their donors

Question 15

delegates

Answer 15

Party members who are chosen to represent their states at their party
conventions and who cast their vote in favor of a candidate

Question 16

Electoral College

Answer 16

their vote in favor of a candidate
*Electoral College (n.): The group of electors appointed by the states that is formed every
four years for the sole purpose of electing the President and Vice President

Question 17

electors

Answer 17

the members of the Electoral College

Question 18

faithless electors

Answer 18

Electors who break their pledge to vote for their party’s
presidential and/or vice-presidential nominee

Question 19

general election

Answer 19

The election held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday of November, when Americans vote to elect the President and the Vice President.
Citizens do not vote for the ‘ticket’ directly, but for their state’s preferred candidate, who is
then represented by electors who have pledged to vote for the them in the Electoral College

Question 20

Independent expenditures

Answer 20

Funds spent to support or oppose a candidate for
elected office that are made without coordination with a candidate

Question 21

Indirect electoral system

Answer 21

A electoral system in which voters do not vote for
candidates directly, but for people who then choose the winning candidate

Question 22

McGovern-Fraser Commission

Answer 22

A commission formed in the aftermath of the chaotic
1968 Democratic Convention to investigate the causes of the unrest and suggest remedies. It
recommended the creation of a direct link between primary results and the election of
delegates, and established the modern primary system

Question 23

National Convention

Answer 23

The convention held by each of the major parties to select their
presidential nominee

Question 24

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

Answer 24

A pact between states to try to ensure that
the winner of the electoral college is always the winner of the national popular vote. States
agree to assign their electors to the winner of the national vote, but it will only come into
effect once states representing a majority of the electoral votes have joined

Question 25

Open primary

Answer 25

A type of primary in which any voter can vote in either party’s primary

Question 26

Party block voting

Answer 26

The voting system used in 48 states and Washington, D.C. to
elect electors, in which the winner of the statewide popular vote receives all of that state’s
electors

Question 27

President-elect

Answer 27

The term used to refer to someone who has been elected president but
not yet been sworn into office

Question 28

Primaries / primary elections

Answer 28

The process by which parties select their presidential
nominees. Primaries are staggered elections run at the state level

Question 29

Proportional representation

Answer 29

An electoral system in which seats are awarded in
proportion to votes cast

Question 30

Ray v. Blair 1952

Answer 30

The Supreme Court decision that ruled that parties could require their
elector candidates to pledge to support their party’s nominee for President

Question 31

Semi-closed primary

Answer 31

A type of primary election in which registered party members
can only vote in their party’s primary, but independent voters can choose to vote in
whichever primary they choose

Question 32

Slate of electors

Answer 32

In the U.S. context, a list of elector candidates created by each party
in each state that will be appointed to the Electoral College if they win the state popular vote

Question 33

Speechnow.org v. FEC 2010

Answer 33

A decision of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that
ruled that government cannot limit the size of contributions to groups that only make
independent expenditures. Together with Citizens United, led to the rise of super PACs

Question 34

Superdelegates

Answer 34

Elected leaders or important party officials who have a vote at the
Democratic National Convention in the event of a brokered convention, but are not elected
via the primaries

Question 35

Super PACs

Answer 35

An organization that only makes independent expenditures in support or
opposition of political candidates

Question 36

Swear someone in

Answer 36

to admit someone to a position or office by directing them to take a
formal oath. E.g., the swearing-in ceremony / to be sworn into office as President and Vice
President of the USA

Question 37

Swing state

Answer 37

A state where the Republicans and Democrats have similar levels of
support, and the outcome of the general election can be hard to predict.

Question 38

Term

Answer 38

The period of time for which a politician is elected

Question 39

Ticket

Answer 39

The presidential and vice-presidential candidate for each party, who run as a
team

Question 40

Winner-take-all system

Answer 40

An electoral system whereby the candidate who gets the
majority of votes in a jurisdiction obtains the entirety of that jurisdiction’s representation.
Note that it is not “winners-take-all”