AP Government Unit 3 Vocabulary
Citizens United v. FEC
Supreme Court ruling stating that corporations and labor unions are entitled to the same First Amendment protections that individuals enjoy, resulting in drastically increased spending through super PACs by corporations and labor organizations.
Grassroots Organizing
Tasks that involve direct contact with voters or potential voters.
Super Tuesday
The Tuesday in early March on which the most primary elections are held, many of them in southern states.
Campaign Strategy
The blueprint for the campiagn, including a budget and fund-raising plan, an advertising strategy, and a staffing plan.
Media Segmentation
The breaking down of the media according to the specific audiences they target.
Absentee Voting
The casting of a ballot in advance by mail in situations where illness, travel, or other circumstances prevent voters from voting in their precincts.
Party System
The categorization of the number and competitiveness of political parties in a polity.
Voter Fatigue
The condition in which voters grow tired of all candidates by the time Election Day arrives, and may thus be less likely to vote.
Issue Network
The fluid web of connections among those concerned about a policy and those who create and administer the policy.
Platform
The formal statement of a party's principles and policy objectives.
Rational Choice Theory
The idea that from an economic perspective it is not rational for people to participate in collective action when they can secure the collective good without participating.
Generational Effect
The impact of an important external event in shaping the views of a generation.
Iron Triangle
The interaction of mutual interests among members of Congress, executive agencies, and organized interests during policy making.
Social Capital
The many ways in which our lives are improved in many ways by social connections.
Gender Gap
The measurable difference in the way women and men vote for candidates and in the way they view political issues.
Convergence
The merging of various forms of media, including newspapers, television stations, radio networks, and blogs, under one corporate roof and one set of business editorial leaders.
Solidary Incentive
The motivation to join an interest group based on the companionship and the satisfaction derived from socializing with others that it offers.
Coattail Effect
The phenomenon by which candidates running for lower-level offices such as city council benefit in an election from the popularity of a top-of-ticket nominee.
Consolidation
The phenomenon of large corporations buying smaller ones so that htere are fewer and fewer companies products available.
Free Rider Program
The phenomenon of someone deriving benefit from others' actions.
Narrowcasting
The practice of aiming media content at specific segments of the public.
Framing
The process by which the media set a context that helps people understand importnat events and matters of shared interest.
Political Socialization
The process by which we develop our political values and opinions.
Public Agenda
The public issues that most demand the attention of government officials.
Public Opinion
The public's expressed views about an issue at a specific point in time.
Telegenic
The quality of looking good on TV.
Fairness Dcotrine
The requirement that stations holding broadcast licenses present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was honest, fair, and balanced.
Dealignment
The situation in which fewer voters support the two major political parties, instead identifying themselves as independent, or splitting their ticket between candidates from more than one party.
Incumbency
The situation of already holding the office that is up for reelection.
Divided Government
The situation that exists when Congress is controlled by one party and the presidency by the other.
Patronage
The system in which a party leader rewarded political supporters with jobs or government contracts in exchange for their support of the party.
Lobby
To communicate directly with policy makers on an interest group's behalf.
Electioneering
Working to influence the election of candidates who support the organization's issues.
Pluralist Theory
A theory that holds that policy making is a competition among diverse interest groups that ensure the representation of individual intersts.
Office-block Ballot
A type of ballot that arranges all the candidates for a particular office under the name of that office.
Open Primary
A type of pirmary in which both parties' ballots are available in the voting booth, and the voters simply select one on which to register their preferences.
Closed Primary
A type of primary in which voting in a party's primary is limited to members of that party.
Independent
A voter who does not belong to any organized political party.
Referendum
An election in which voters in a state can vote for or against a measure proposed by the state legislature.
General Election
An election that determines which candidates win the offices being sought.
Political Action Committee (PAC)
An entity whose specific goal is to raise and spend money to influence the outcome of elections.
Yellow Journalism
An irresponsible, sensationalist approach to news reporting , so named after the yellow ink used in the "Yellow Kid" cartoons in the New York World.
Interest Group
An organization that seeks to achieve goals by influencing government decision making.
Political Machine
Big-city organization that exerts control over many aspects of life and lavishly rewards supporters.
Priming
Bringing certain policies on issues to the public agenda through media coverage.
Muckraking
Criticism and exposes of corruption in government and industry by journalists at the turn of the 20th century.
Salient
In relation to a voting issue-having resonsnce, being significant, causing intense interest.
Party Identifiers
Individuals who identify themselves as a member of one party or the other.
Umbrella Organizations
Interest groups that represent collective groups of industires of corporations.
Public Employ Unions
Labor organizations comprising federal, state, and municipal workers, including police officers and teachers.
Independent Expenditures
Outlays by PACs and others, typically for adversitising for or against a candidate, but uncoordianted with a candidate's campaign.
Super PACs
Political organizations that use contributions from individuals, corporations, and labor unions to spend unlimited sums independent from the campaigns, yet influence the outcomes of elections.
Exit Polls
Polls conducted at polling places on Election Day to project the winner of an election before the polls close.
Tracking Polls
Polls that measure changes in public opinion over the course of days, weeks, or months by repeatedly asking respondents the same questions and measuring changes in their responses.
Elite Theory
A theory that holds that a group of wealthy, educated individuals wields most political power.
Party-Column Ballot
A ballot that organizes the candidates by political party.
Candidate-Centered Campaign
A campaign in which the individual seeking election, rather than an entire party slate, is the focus.
Initiative
A citizen-sponsored proposal that can result in new or amended legislation or a state constitutional amendment.
Runoff Election
A follow-up election that is held when no candidate receives the majority of votes cast in the original election.
Infotainment
A hybrid of the words information and entertainment; news shows that combine entertainment and news.
Caucus
A meeting of party members held to select delegates to the national convention.
Quota Sample
A method by which pollsters structure a sample so that it is representative of the characteristics of the target popoulation.
Retrospective Voting
A method of evaluating candidates in which voters evaluate incumbent candidates and decide whether to support them based on their past performance.
Prospective Voting
A method of evaluating candidates in which voters focus on candidates' positions on issues important to them and vote for the canddidates who best represent their views.
Campaign Consultant
A paid professional who specializes in the overall mangaement of political campaigns or an aspect of campiagns.
Straw Poll
A poll conducted in an unscientific manner, used to predict election outcomes.
Stratified Sampling
A process of random sampling in which the national poulation is divided into fourths and certain areas within these regions are selected as representative of the national population.
Campaign Manager
A professional whose duties comprise a variety of strategic and managerial tasks, from fund-raising to staffing a campaign.
Proposition
A proposed measure placed on the ballot in an initiative election.
Loyal Opposition
A role that the party out of power plays, highlighting its objections to policies and priorities of the government in power.
Random Sampling
A scientific method of selection in which each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
Australian Ballot
A secret ballot prepared by the government, distributed to all eligible voters, and, when balloting is completed, counted by government officials in an unbiased fashion, without corruption or regard to individual preferences.
Recall
A special election in which voters can remove an officeholder before his or her term is over.
Instant Runoff Election
A special runoff election in which the computerized voting machine simulates the elimination of last-place-vote-getters.
Push Polls
A special type of poll that both attempts to skew public opinion about a candidate and provides information to campaigns about candidate strengths and weaknesses.
Purposive Incentive
Motivation to join an interest group based on the belief in the groups' cause from an ideological or a moral standpoint.
Economic Incentive
Motivation to join an interest group because the group works for policies that will provide members with material benefits.
Penny Press
Newspapers that sold for a penny in the 1830s.
Candidate Committees
Organizations that candidates form to support their individual election.
