unit 5 Flashcards
rational choice voting
informed voter who makes decisions based on perceived best interests
retrospective voting
based on incumbent candidate or party track record
prospective voting
based on prediction of candidate performance
party-line voting
voting for someone based on their political party
winner-takes-all system
makes it nearly impossible for third parties to get elected. party of the losing candidate gets no representation in govt, no matter how many votes they got.
caucuses
local party members meet and vote publicly on the candidate they will support
primaries
voters cast ballots–> choose party’s candidate
closed primary
only voters registered to that party may participate
open primary
voters of all backgrounds can participate
incumbent advantage
necessary for candidate. advantage that the incumbent (individ currently holding office) candidate has over the challenger candidate
national party conventions (dnc/rnc)
where the final candidate for the dem/republic accept the party nomination
electoral college
a group selected by the states to elect the president and the vice president, in which each state’s number of electors is equal to number of senators and reps in congress
general election
determines which candidates will occupy the offices that are up for election
bipartisan campaign reform act
- effort to ban soft money
- limited independent expenditures
- raised individual contribution amounts
- reduce attack ads w a stand by your ad approval message provision
Pac
an organization that collects political donations from its members and uses the funds to influence an election
