AP Gov Ch 9

McGovern-Frazier Commission

A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic Convention in response to demands for reforms by minority group and others who sought better representation.

Visual

A filmed episode showing a candidate doing something newsworthy.

Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974

A law passed to reform campaign finances. Created the Federal Election Commission, provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure of where campaign funds came from, and attempted to limit contributions.

Direct Mail

A method of raising money for a political cause or candidate, in which information and requests for money are sent to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.

Party Platform

A political party's statement of its goal and policies for the next four years.

Blanket Primary

A primary election in which each voter may vote for candidates from both parties.

Open Primary

A primary election in which voters may choose which party to vote for as they enter the polling place.

National Primary

A proposed nationwide primary that would replace the current system of caucuses and presidential primaries.

Regional Primary

A proposed series of primaries held in each geographic region that would replace the current system of caucuses and presidential primaries.

Runoff Primary

A second primary election held when no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the first primary.

Federal Election Commission

A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act. Administers and enforces campaign finance laws.

Caucus

A system for selecting convention delegates used in about a dozen mostly rural states in which voters must show up at a set time and attend an open meeting to express their presidential preference.

Indepentent

A voter describing themselves as neither Republican not Democrat.

Expenditures

Amount of money that is spent on something.

Primary election

An election held to choose candidates for office.

General Elections

An election used to fill an elective office.

Position Issue

An issue about which the public is divided and rival candidates or political parties adopt different policy positions.

Valance Issue

An issue about which the public is united and rival candidates or political parties adopt similar positions, each in hopes their policy will be thought to best represent those widely shared beliefs.

McCain-Feingold Act

Banned soft money contributions.

Matching Funds

Contributions of up to $250 are matched from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to candidates for the presidential nomination who qualify and agree to meet various conditions, such as limiting their overall spending.

Hard Money

Donations made to political candidates, party committees, or groups which, by law, are limited and must be declared.

Gerrymandering

Drawing a district in a bizarre or unusual manner in order to create and electoral advantage.

Presidential Primaries

Elections in which a state's voters go to the polls to express their preference for a party's nominee for president. Most delegate to the National Party Convention are chosen this way.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. A corporation, union, or other interest group can create a PAC and register it with the Federal Election Commission, which will meticulously monitor the PAC's expenditures.

501(c) Groups

Groups that are exempted from reporting their contributions and can receive unlimited contributions. Section 501c of the tax code specifies that such groups cannot spend more than half their funds on political activities.

527 Groups

Independent political groups that are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek the election of particular candidates. Section 527 of the tax code specifies that contributions to such groups must be reported to the IRS.

Presidential Election Campaign Fund

Money for the $3 federal income tax check-off goes into this fund, which is then distributed to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns.

Superdelegates

National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the National Party Convention.

Super PACs

Officially known as "independent expenditure only committees" which can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions, and other groups, as well as individuals, but may not coordinate its activities with campaigns or candidates. They are required to report where they got their money.

Closed primary

Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote.

Blue States

Refers to states where the Democratic candidate carried the electoral vote.

Red States

Refers to states where the Republican candidate carried the electoral vote.

Spots

Short television advertisements used to promote a candidate for government office.

Buckley v. Valeo 1976

Supreme Court decision which nullified the portion of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 which limited the amount of money a candidate could spend on their own campaign.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission 2010

Supreme Court ruling that allowed corporations and unions to spend as much as they wanted promoting their political views, as long as it is done independently, without coordinating their message with any candidate's campaign.

Talking Heads

Televised pictures showing nothing more than individuals speaking.

Campaign Strategy

The master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign

Nomination

The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party.

Incumbent

The person already holding an elective office.

Selective Perception

The phenomenon that people's beliefs often guide what they pay the most attention to and how they interpret events.

Reapportionment

The process by which the congressional districts are redrawn and seats are redistributed among states in the House. Occurs every ten years after a census. States may loose or gain seats, but the total House membership is always 435.

Frontloading

The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.

Malapportionment

The result of having districts unequal in size.

National Party Convention

The supreme power of a party. Meets every four years to select the party's presidential and vice presidential candidates, as well as write the party's platform.

Sophomore Surge

The tendency for newly elected members of Congress to become strong in their districts very quickly.

Soft Money

Unlimited monetary contributions given to the grass-roots level or for generic party advertising for party-building purposes, as opposed to be given to a specific candidate.