The election of the President Flashcards
entrench
enfoncer / enraciner
caveat
l’avertissement
shift
changement
to rule
statuer
binding
contraignant
ballot
A system or occasion of secret voting; also the piece of paper used to record a
person’s vote
brockered convention
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
Buckley v. Valeo 1976
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.
Caucus
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
Chiafalo v. Washington 2020
The Supreme Court decision that ruled that states can
sanction and replace faithless electors
Citizens United v. FEC 2010
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
Closed primary
A type of primary election in which only party members can vote in
their party’s primary
contingent election
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
Dark money
Funds raised in order to influence elections by non-profits that are not
required to disclose the identity of their donors
delegates
Party members who are chosen to represent their states at their party
conventions and who cast their vote in favor of a candidate
Electoral College
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
electors
the members of the Electoral College
faithless electors
Electors who break their pledge to vote for their party’s
presidential and/or vice-presidential nominee
general election
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
Independent expenditures
Funds spent to support or oppose a candidate for
elected office that are made without coordination with a candidate
Indirect electoral system
A electoral system in which voters do not vote for
candidates directly, but for people who then choose the winning candidate
McGovern-Fraser Commission
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
National Convention
The convention held by each of the major parties to select their
presidential nominee
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
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
Open primary
A type of primary in which any voter can vote in either party’s primary
Party block voting
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
President-elect
The term used to refer to someone who has been elected president but
not yet been sworn into office
Primaries / primary elections
The process by which parties select their presidential
nominees. Primaries are staggered elections run at the state level
Proportional representation
An electoral system in which seats are awarded in
proportion to votes cast
Ray v. Blair 1952
The Supreme Court decision that ruled that parties could require their
elector candidates to pledge to support their party’s nominee for President
Semi-closed primary
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
Slate of electors
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
Speechnow.org v. FEC 2010
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
Superdelegates
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
Super PACs
An organization that only makes independent expenditures in support or
opposition of political candidates
Swear someone in
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
Swing state
A state where the Republicans and Democrats have similar levels of
support, and the outcome of the general election can be hard to predict.
Term
The period of time for which a politician is elected
Ticket
The presidential and vice-presidential candidate for each party, who run as a
team
Winner-take-all system
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”
