The electoral system vocab Flashcards
Ballot
A system or occasion of secret voting.
Caucus → caucuses
A meeting of party members in private homes or public gatherings to discuss the election campaign of their political party.
Delegates
Local party members who are chosen to represent their states at their party conventions and who cast their vote in favor of a candidate.
Electors
The members of the Electoral College.
General election
The election held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, when American citizens vote to elect the President and the Vice-President of the USA. 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 them in the Electoral College.
Mandate
The authority of the candidate that wins an election to carry out a policy or course of action based on the manifesto presented to the electorate.
Primaries/primary elections (open primaries vs closed primaries)
A first step in the process of electing the President of the USA Primaries are run by each party at state and local level,
Swear someone in
admit someone to a position or office by directing them to take a formal oath. The swearing in ceremony / to be sworn into office as President and Vice-President of the USA.
Swing State
A large state with a significant number of electors, which alternates between support for Democrats and Republicans and where the outcome of the election is difficult to predict.
A “winner-take-all” electoral system
An electoral system whereby the candidate who gets the majority of votes in a state obtains the entire number of Electoral College votes of that state.
