Unit 3 Chapters 7 & 8

Question 1

Political Party

Answer 1

A group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by suppling them with a label

Question 2

National Convention

Answer 2

A meeting of party delegates elected in state primaries caucuses or conventions that is held every four years.

Question 3

Soft Money

Answer 3

Funds solicited from individuals corporations and unions that are spent on party activities such as voter registration, campaigns, and voter drives

Question 4

Super-Delegates

Answer 4

Party leaders and elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having to run in primaries

Question 5

Winner-Take-All-System

Answer 5

the candidate with the most votes in each state is awarded all of that state’s electoral votes

Question 6

Political Machine

Answer 6

A party organization that recruits its members by dispensing payment

Question 7

Patronage

Answer 7

the power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges.

Question 8

Plurality System

Answer 8

An electoral system, used in almost all elections, in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes, even if he or she does not have a majority of votes.

Question 9

Caucus

Answer 9

an association of members of congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional, ethnic, or economic interest

Question 10

Realignment

Answer 10

displacement of the majority party by the minority party.

Question 11

Spoils system

Answer 11

Another phrase for political patronage, the is the practice of giving the fruits of a parties victory, such as jobs and contracts, to the loyal members of that party

Question 12

Incumbent

Answer 12

The person currently in office

Question 13

Coattails

Answer 13

The tendency of lesser known or weaker candidates to profit in an election by the presence on the ticket of a more popular candidate

Question 14

PAC (Political Action Committee)

Answer 14

A committee Set up by and representing a corporation, labor union, or special interest group that raises and spends campaign contributions on behalf of one or more candidates or causes.

Question 15

Federal Matching funds

Answer 15

the money a presidential candidate is given by federal government to match the money they have raised personally

Question 16

Front-Loaded Campaign

Answer 16

movement of state delegate selection contests to the beginning of the nomination calendar

Question 17

Clothespin Vote

Answer 17

the vote cast by a person who does not like either candidate and so votes for the less objectionable of the two, putting a clothespin over his nose to keep out the unpleasant stench

Question 18

Position Issue

Answer 18

An issue dividing the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policy positions to attract voters

Question 19

Valence Issue

Answer 19

An issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree to which they associate each party or candidate with conditions, goals, or symbols the electorate universally approves or disapproves of.

Question 20

General Election

Answer 20

An election used to fill an elective office

Question 21

Primary Election

Answer 21

An election prior to the general election in which voters select the candidates who will run on each party ticket.

Question 22

Open Primary

Answer 22

A primary election that permits voters to choose on election day the primary in which they wish to vote.

Question 23

Closed Primary

Answer 23

A primary election limited to registered party members. prevents members of other parties from crossing over to influence the nomination of an opposing parties candidate

Question 24

Blanket Primary

Answer 24

A primary election that permits all voters, regardless of party, to choose candidates. Democratic voter, for example, can vote in a blanket primary for both democratic and republican candidates for nomination.

Question 25

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Answer 25

A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws. It consists of six commissioners appointed by president and confirmed by the Senate. Its duties include overseeing disclosure of campaign finance information and public funding of presidential elections, and enforcing contribution limits.

Question 26

Buckley V. Valeo (1976)

Answer 26

a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns.

Question 27

Hard Money

Answer 27

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.

Question 28

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

Answer 28

Banned soft money contributions to national political parties from corporations and unions; independent expenditures by corporations, labor unions, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations are sharply restricted.

Question 29

527s

Answer 29

election focused groups that are not subject to FECA regulations - a 527 is part of the tax code that allows tax exemption for activities that promote democracy - they have become a loophole that is a key to going around FECA rules

Question 30

Prospective Voting

Answer 30

Voting for a candidate because on favors his or her ideas for addressing issues after the election

Question 31

Retrospective Voting

Answer 31

Voting for or against the candidate or party o office because one likes or dislikes how things have gone in the recent past.

Question 32

Split Ticket Voting

Answer 32

Voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election.

Question 33

Super Tuesdays

Answer 33

a day in early March when most southern states hold presidential primaries