Government Chapter 7

two-party system

A political system in which only two parties have a reasonable chance of winning.

open primary

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

incumbent

a candidate running for re-election to a position that he or she already holds

proportional representation

a multiple-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote

caucus (political)

a normally closed meeting of citizens to select candidates, elect officers, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters.

majority party

a party that holds the majority of legislative seats in the House or Senate

closed primary

a primary election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates, but only of the party in which they are enrolled for a period of time prior to primary day.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns

ballot initiative

a proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote

Which of the following factors is not currently an obstacle to voting in the United States?

literacy tests

527 committees (super PACs)

non-profit independent groups that receive and disburse funds to influence the nomination, election, or defeat of candidates; named after section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, which defines and provides tax-exempt status for nonprofit advocacy groups.

political parties

organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices

third parties

parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties

501(c)4s (dark money)

politically active nonprofits; under federal law, these nonprofits can spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns and not disclose their donors as long as their activities are not coordinated with the candidate campaigns and political activities are not their primary purpose.

Micro-targeting

when political campaigns tailor messages to individuals in small homogenous groups based on their group interest to support a candidate or policy issue.

recall

Procedure that permits voters to remove public officials from office before the next election

If a state has 10 members in the U.S. House of Representatives, how many votes in the electoral college does that state have?

The number of votes cannot be determined from this information. (must have # of senators too)

Which party was formed in the 1830s in opposition to Andrew Jackson's presidency?

Whig Party

The main difference between a 527 committee and a 501 (c) (4) is that...

a 501(c)(4) is not legally required to disclose where it gets its money, while a 527 is legally required to do so.

general election

a regularly scheduled election involving most districts in the nation or state, in which voters select officeholders; in the United States, general elections for national office and most state and local offices are held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November in even-numbered years (every four years for presidential elections)

An open primary is a primary election in which

all registered voters are allowed to choose on the day of the primary which party's primary they will participate in.

party identification

an individual voter's psychological ties to one party or another

The so-called New Deal coalition was severely strained...

during the 1960s by conflicts over civil rights and the Vietnam War.

primary elections

elections within a political party to select the party's candidate for the general election

The periodic episodes in American history in which an "old" dominant political party is replaced by a "new" dominant political party are called...

electoral realignments

In a ___________ electoral system, political parties are awarded legislative seats in rough approximation to the percentage of popular votes that each party wins.

proportional representation

Public funding of presidential campaigns was...

rejected by all four major party candidates in 2012 and 2016

A political party is different from an interest group in that a political party...

seeks to control the government by nominating candidates and electing its members to office.

socioeconomic status

status in society based on income, education, and occupational prestige

divided government

the condition in American government wherein the presidency is controlled by one party while the opposing party controls one or both houses of congress.

electoral college

the electors from each state who meet after the popular election to cast ballots for president and vice president

minority party

the party that holds a minority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate

turnout

the percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote

electoral realignment

the point in history when a new party supplants the ruling party, becoming in turn the dominant political force; in the United States, this has tended to occur roughly every 30 years

referendum

the practice of referring a proposed law passed by a legislature to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection

mobilization

the process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity

nomination

the process by which political parties select their candidates for election to public office

In Buckley V Valeo, the Supreme Court ruled that...

the right of individuals to spend their own money to campaign is constitutionally protected.

suffrage

the right to vote