Gov

Winner take all method

"All or nothing" except Nebraska and Maine, each state gets as many electoral votes as the sum of its representation in the US house and senate

Federal election campaign act (1974)

1. Created the fed election commission, 2. Requires disclosures of contributors, 3. Limits contributions, 4. Created pres election campaign fund, 5. Provides partial public financing primaries, 6. Provides $85 million grants for general election

3 elements of voter decisions

1. Party identification- some people always vote along party lines, 2. Candidates image- some focus on the integrity and reliability of a candidate, 3. Policy voting- some vote based on specific policies they agrees with

No one gets 270?

435 members of the house of reps settle the tie

Fed election commission

6 member committee they enforced laws

Electoral College

A body of people representing the states who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vp

Swing states

A state that could reasonably be won by Dems or Reps

Straight ticket voting

A voter chooses candidates from the same political party

Independent

A voter who votes for candidates on issues rather than a political ideology

Historically the norm, same states such as Iowa use the __________ as an alternative to the primary election

Caucus

Primary election

An election where the state votes for a candidate

Safe seat

An electoral district in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party or the incumbent rep personally or a combo of both

Baker v. Carr

Bakers complaint, was that Tennessee had not redistricted since 1901 census: ruling- 6 to 2ruling redistricting was justiciable, this altered politics, representation and increased political power of urban areas

political socialization

the process through which individuals acquire their particular orientation

Initiative petition

Citizens draft a proposed law and must get signatures

In a state w/ a _______ _________ a citizen could vote only for candidates of his or her own party

Closed primary

Census

Constitution requires the US population to be calculated every 10 years

Soft money

Contributions made to the party rather than the candidate for generic ads, up til 2002 they had no limits

Why people don't vote

Cost, voting requires time, energy and for people to get informed, they also believe their vote doesn't matter to the election

Hard money

Directly giving money to a candidates, max $2500

Gender gap

Discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes between both and women

Public opinion

Distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues

political ideologies

Divided based on their economic and social beliefs

straw polls

Early non binding elections

General elections

Everyone in the electorate has the opportunity to vote, the winner becomes the president

In order to maximize their influence in the pres nominating system many states are ______ _____________ their pres primary elections

Front loading

In 2000, George w. Bush did not get the most votes, but he won the election because he did win the ________ _________

General election

A congressional ______________ has a huge advantage over challengers because they are already in office

Incumbents

527 groups

Independent groups that are not directly seeking election of a specific candidate and have no contributions restrictions

Contribution limitations

Individuals can only give $2500 to a candidate

Political Action Committees

Interest groups, corps, and unions can't give $ directly so they create a PAC, that registers and reports the FEC

Conservative beliefs

Maintain peace through strength, keep taxes low, "right to life"

Caucus

Meeting of state party leaders that debate candidates and select delegates to the national convention

In the 1990's contributes tried to evade fed regulations by donating _________ to political parties

Money

Who is most likely to vote

More education, older, Caucasian, female, married, Union member

Super Tuesday

Multiple states hold primaries at once

Super PAC

No limitations on who contributes or how much they give, cannot directly work in conjunction w/ the candidates the support

Super delegates

Party leaders that automatically get a delegate slot in the convention, and give back some power to the party elite

Citizens w/ low levels of education are unlikely to have a strong sense of _______ __________

Political efficacy

Reapportionment

Process of relocating seats to the US house of reps, based on the census data

Frontloading

Recent tendency of states to hold primaries early to catch media attention

Historical qualifications for suffrage

Religion, property, race, sex, income, literacy, minimum age of 21

Motor Voter Act of 1993

Requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for their drivers license

Demography

Scientific study of human population changes

Direct mail

Sending info and requests for donations to people who have supported similar views or candidates

closed primary election

Serves to encourage party unity and prevent members of other parties voting weak candidates

Loopholes

Soft money, 527 groups, political action committee

Liberal beliefs

Spend less on foreign policy, tax the rich, "freedom of choice"

Amendments 15, 19, 23, 24, and 26 all involve ___________

Suffrage

________ ____________ are designed to give political party leaders more influence and power in choosing the party's nominee at the national convention

Super delegates

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Supreme courts decided that limits on Corp and union spending to influence elections were unconstitutional

Presidential candidates tend to avoid campaigning in states that are fairly well sewn up, and instead campaign heavily in ________ ________

Swing states

random sampling

Technique employed by survey researches in which everyone has an equal probability of being selected for the sample

Internal efficacy

The belief that you can understand politics and effectively participate

External efficacy

The belief that your participation and vote will make a difference

party platform

The formal statements specifying the political party's goals and policies for the next 4 years

Referendum

The legislature refers a piece of legislation to the people to either approve or reject it by vote

Sample error

The level of confidence of the results of a public opinion poll

Incumbent

The representative that is already in office

incumbent advantage

They have experience, don't have to go through primary elections, if the economy is strong people don't want change

National convention

To unify and excite party members, introduce party leaders, condemn the other party's nominee, establish a clear party platform, give the pres and voy nominees an opportunity to speak to the nation

Problems with the primary system

Too much emphasis on early states

Suffrage for voting qualifications

US citizen, 18, resident of state which you vote, registered to vote

Open Primary Election

Voters are not required to declare party affiliation

Balancing the ticket

When a political candidate chooses a running mate, usually of the same party

Split ticket voting

When a voter in an election votes for candidates from different political parties

Semi-closed primary election

Which previously unaffiliated voters may participate in the partisan party of their choice