Unit 3 ITBW: Political Parties & Elections

527 groups

a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.

coalition

an alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states.

Open Primary

an election in which voters are not required to declare party affiliation.

Closed Primary

an election limited to registered party members, who must declare their party affiliation in order to vote.

proportional representation primaries

an electoral system designed to represent in a legislative body each political group or party in proportion to its actual voting strength in the electorate.

party polarization

an individual's stance on a given issue, policy, or person is more likely to be strictly defined by their identification with a particular political party

incumbent

an official currently holding office

super delegates

an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for whom they want to vote

office bloc (Massachusetts) ballot

candidates are listed alphabetically, with or without their party designations, in columns under the office for which they were nominated

lobbying

seek to influence (a politician or public official) on an issue.

franking privilege

sending mail without payment of postage.

adversarial press

supports conflicting one-sided positions held by individuals, groups or entire societies, as inputs into the conflict resolution situation, typically with rewards for prevailing in the outcome.

winner-takes-all system

the candidate who wins the most votes wins all the delegates at stake

platform

the declared policy of a political party or group.

party-column (Indiana) ballot

the names of candidates are placed in separate columns according to their party affiliations with the party name and sometimes emblem at the top of each column

plurality

the number of votes cast for a candidate who receives more than any other but does not receive an absolute majority.

patronage

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

party realignment

the switching of voter preference from one party to another

prospective voting

theory of democratic elections in which voters decide the theory of democratic elections in which voters decide what the government will do in the near future by choosing a certain political party with distinct stances on issues.

front loading

to focus efforts, costs or expenses at the beginning of a campaign or election

interest groups

An organized group that tries to influence the government to adopt certain policies or measures.

Citizens United v FEC (2010)

By a 5-to-4 vote along ideological lines, the majority held that under the First Amendment corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited.

Buckley v Valeo (1976)

First, it held that restrictions on individual contributions to political campaigns and candidates did not violate the First Amendment since the limitations of the FECA enhance the "integrity of our system of representative democracy" by guarding against unscrupulous practices. Second, the Court found that governmental restriction of independent expenditures in campaigns, the limitation on expenditures by candidates from their own personal or family resources, and the limitation on total campaign expenditures did violate the First Amendment. Since these practices do not necessarily enhance the potential for corruption that individual contributions to candidates do, the Court found that restricting them did not serve a government interest great enough to warrant a curtailment on free speech and association.

Wesberry v Sanders (1963)

The Court held that Georgia's apportionment scheme grossly discriminated against voters in the Fifth Congressional District. Because a single congressman had to represent two to three times as many people as were represented by congressmen in other districts, the Georgia statute contracted the value of some votes and expanded the value of others. The Court recognized that "no right is more precious" than that of having a voice in elections and held that "[t]o say that a vote is worth more in one district than in another would not only run counter to our fundamental ideas of democratic government, it would cast aside the principle of a House of Representatives elected 'by the People. . .'"

Shaw v Reno (1993)

The Court held that although North Carolina's reapportionment plan was racially neutral on its face, the resulting district shape was bizarre enough to suggest that it constituted an effort to separate voters into different districts based on race. The unusual district, while perhaps created by noble intentions, seemed to exceed what was reasonably necessary to avoid racial imbalances. After concluding that the residents' claim did give rise to an equal protection challenge, the Court remanded - adding that in the absence of contradictory evidence, the District Court would have to decide whether or not some compelling governmental interest justified North Carolina's plan.

scorekeeper

The role the press plays by keeping track of and helping make political reputations, note who is being mentioned as a presidential candidate, and help decide who is winning and losing in Washington politics.

coattails

The tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election.

constituency

a body of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body

hard money

a contribution made directly to a candidate

soft money

a contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations.

national convention

a convention of a major political party, especially one that nominates a candidate for the presidency.

Super Tuesday

a day on which several US states hold primary elections.

PACs

a group formed (as by an industry or an issue-oriented organization) to raise and contribute money to the campaigns of candidates likely to advance the group's interests.

Ideological parties

a group of individuals who share a set of ideas about politics and economy.

Caucuses

a meeting of the members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates or decide policy.

libel

a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person's reputation, exposes a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injures a person in his/her business or profession.

Third Parties

a person or group besides the two primarily parties.

gatekeeper

a person or thing that controls access to something.

fairness doctrine

a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was — in the Commission's view — honest, equitable, and balanced.

valence issue

a political issue about which voters will usually share a common preference. Ex. Prosperity

single-issue parties

a political party that campaigns on only one issue

sound bite

a short extract from a recorded interview, chosen for its pungency or appropriateness.

steering committee

decides on the priorities or order of business of an organization and manages the general course of its operations.

position issue

divides the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policy positions to attract voters.

single-member districts

electoral district that returns one officeholder to a body with multiple members such as a legislature. This is also sometimes called single-winner voting or winner takes all

Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA)

includes several provisions designed to end the use of nonfederal, or "soft money" (money raised outside the limits and prohibitions of federal campaign finance law) for activity affecting federal elections.

trial balloon

information sent out to the media in order to observe the reaction of an audience.

framing

involves social construction of a social phenomenon - by mass media sources, political or social movements, political leaders, or other actors and organizations.

critical election

is a term from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system.

media bias

journalists and news producers within the mass media show this in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.

watchdog

maintain surveillance over (a person, activity, or situation).

factional parties

may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs.

runoff election

means an initial vote did not result in a winner because it was tied or too close to call.

political machine

political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses (usually campaign workers), who receive rewards for their efforts.

malapportionment

poorly apportioned, especially divided, organized, or structured in a manner that prevents large sections of a population from having equitable representation in a legislative body

sophomore surge

refers to an increase in votes that congressional candidates (candidates for the House of Representatives) usually receive when running for their first re-election.

campaign finance laws

regulate the manner and extent to which political parties and candidates receive monetary contributions from individuals and corporations.

retrospective voting

voting made after taking into consideration factors like the performance of a political party, an officeholder, and/or the administration. It presumes that people are more concerned with policy outcomes than policy instruments.

safe districts

voting region in which the clear majority of voters are members of, or overwhelmingly favor a single political party.

split ticket voting

when a voter in an election votes for candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single election.

dealignment

where a voter group abandons a party to become independent or nonvoting.

marginal districts

where candidates elected to the house of reps win in close elections, typically by less than 55 percent of the vote.