American gov exam 2

This Amendment granted women the right to vote, furthering equality in the United States

19th

Voter turnout hit its highest levels since 1973 in this recent presidential election year, when voters were full of hope and change

2008

This amendment to the U.S. Constitution lowered the voting age to 18 from 21

26th

The media executives, news editors and prominent reporters who direct the flow of news. Then tend to be more conservative than the average American

gatekeepers

When a citizen contributes money to a candidate's campaign, he or she is engaging in

influencing behavior

A mix of information and diversion oriented to celebrities or known personalities, not linked to the days events, and usually unrelated to public affairs or policy. Often called "soft news

infotainment

An event that is so noteworthy that the media must cover it. Candidates often try to create these events in their campaigns

media event

the name for the federal law, passed in 1993, that allowed people to register to vote when they renewed their license or car registration, and mandated that all government offices that serve the public must display voter registration forms

motor voter law

The fact that polls show most people are uninformed and apathetic about public policies supports this model of democracy

pluralist model of democracy

The system by which legislative seats are awarded to a party in proportion to the vote the party wins in an election, in the U.S. this system is used in some local elections.

proportional representation

This statistical technique is used to select respondents for a poll. It can accurately measure the public's attitudes on issues, usually with only about 1000 respondents.

sampling

The political socialization done by this agent, like holding mock elections, is considered by some to be indoctrination

schools

The idea that people choose their stance on political and social issues based on what benefits them personally

self-interest principle

The term for one of the two fundamental principles that characterize early learning. As it relates to politics, it means that the things you learn first about politics, affect how you learn and interpret politics for the rest of your life

structuring principle

The term given to the finding from opinion polls that people who get the majority of their political information solely from TV are less informed

television hypothesis

The term for leaders who follow the news very closely in specific policy areas, and pass their knowledge on to the majority of Americans who do not.

attentive policy elites

Relatively routine political behavior that uses institutional channels (like voting, or contacting your elected representative via email) and is acceptable to the dominant culture

conventional political participation

When a leader assembles crowds to confront businesses and local governments to demand a hearing, he or she is engaging in

direct action

a legal action brought by a person or group on behalf of a number of people in similar circumstances is also known as

class action suit

the standard socioeconomic model of participation chiefly refers to

education, income, and occupation

The name given to an electoral college delegate who votes for someone other than who won the popular vote in that state. There were 7 of them in 2016, but none influenced the outcome. And, sadly, none voted for Tom Brady...

faithless elector

This is the term for a member of the electoral college who votes for someone other than the presidential candidate that won the popular vote in that state

faithless elector

The practice by states to move their presidential primaries and caucuses up to earlier in the calendar year to gain more attention from candidates.

front-loading

the text defines suffrage and franchise as the right to

vote

the percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in a given election is called

voter turnout

The term for reporting news and running commercials geared toward a target audience based on demographic characteristics

•market driven journalism

This movement is an attempt to get rid of the Electoral college WITHOUT amending the Constitution, it is an agreement among some states (twelve so far) to pledge their state's electoral college vote to the winner of the national popular vote. So far, it has been enacted by 12 states equaling 172 electoral college votes

-What is the national popular vote interstate compact? •NOTE: because it is an interstate compact, it does not require approval by any body of the federal government

Term for elections conducted in a single-member district that awards victory to the candidate with the most votes. This makes it difficult for third parties to survive and win representation.

-winner-take-all election system OR -First-past-the-post election system

This Amendment to the Constitution (one of the so-called Civil War Amendments) prohibits states from denying the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

15th

Georgia has this many electoral college votes, they give them all to the winner of a plurality of the popular vote in the state

16

This polling organization has very accurately predicted the percentage of the vote the incumbent has won in most elections since 1948, although they stopped predicting presidential races after the 2012 election

Gallup Organization

These two states allow for proportional allocation of their electoral college votes, rather than giving ALL of them to the winner of the popular vote in that state

Maine and Nebraska

Media concentration

The fact that the vast majority of media outlets are owned by a small number of corporations

A legal action brought by a person or group on behalf of a number of people in similar circumstances

class action suit

An election that produces a sharp change in the existing pattern of party loyalties among groups of voters, the most recent two being in 1932 with the election of Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and in 1980 with the election of Republican Ronald Reagan.

critical election

Unconventional participation that involves assembling crowds of protesters to confront businesses and government to demand a hearing is called this

direct action

A lessening of the importance of party loyalties in voting decisions. Many scholars say we are in a period of this right now since more people are registering to vote as Independent rather than Democrat or Republican

electoral dealignment

The name given to the partisans (a committed member of a political party) you see making the rounds of news talk shows supporting or opposing particular politicians or policies

foot soldiers

The term for the fact that women have voted for the Democratic candidate more than men in all presidential elections since 1980. It is calculated by: (% of women voting for winning candidate) - (% of men voting for winning candidate).

gender gap

A national election held by law on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year

general election

The term describing when a President goes "over the heads of Congress" and appeals directly to the people (through the media and public speeches) for support for a policy

going public

Media coverage of an election that focuses on who is in the lead rather than the issues

horserace journalism

The name for the person who currently holds a political office and is running for re-election

incumbent

characteristics frequently associated with nonvoters are

low education, low income, and being relatively young

This is the name for the movement to do an "end run" around the Constitution by having states sign this binding agreement that will tie their state's electoral college votes to the winner of the popular vote nationally in a presidential election

national popular vote interstate compact

according to the text, if the criterion is ______, America has the best and most democratic government in the world

number of elections help

The name for the written statement of what issues and principles a political party stands for, and what the party will do in office if their candidate is elected. In the U.S., the Democratic and Republican parties write them every four years

party platform

The term for the complex process by which people acquire their political values.

political socialization

a primary election (or direct primary) is a

preliminary election to choose party candidates

The term for the principle of early learning that dictates that what you learn first about politics is learned best, that is, it sticks with you throughout your life

primacy principle

A preliminary election conducted within a political party to select candidates who will run for public office in a general election

primary election

A philosophy of political reform based on the goodness and wisdom of the individual citizen as opposed to special interests and political institutions. It brought such things as the initiative, referendum, and recall.

progressivism

The theory that failure to follow politics makes sense because the costs of voting far outweigh the benefits in terms of its impact on the election outcome

rational ignorance

This terms refers to a person's position in society based on a combination of education, occupational status, and income. This variable alone can explain why many people vote, the higher this is, the more likely the person is to vote.

socioeconomic status

A form of retrospective voting, when a person's vote is based on how the country as a whole is doing rather than one's own personal circumstances

sociotropic response

the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott is an example of a

successful unconventional political participation

serving as an election judge in a nonpartisan election or organizing a holiday parade are example of

supportive behavior

In nearly every other democratic country outside of the United States, the burden of registration is placed on

the government

Each state has a number of electoral college votes equal to THIS

total number of its representatives in the House of Representatives PLUS its number of members of the US Senate

This model or theory is based on decades of research that shows that many children learn party identification in the same way learn their religious identification, from their parents

transmission model of partisanship

The process in which a few policy elites gather information and then inform their more numerous followers, mobilizing them to apply pressure to the government

two-step flow of communication

Journalism that scrutinizes government actions, and actions by businesses and publicizes their perceived misconduct

watchdog journalism