Gov test 12/15

HARD MONEY

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.

NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING

The act of attacking an opposing candidate's platform, past political performance, or personal characteristics.

COATTAIL EFFECT

The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders

MAIL IN BALLOTS

voting ballots sent through mail

SPLIT-TICKET VOTING

voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election

PRECINCT

A voting district

TWO PARTY SYSTEM

An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections.

Republican Party

Antislavery political party that formed in the 1850's.

MEDIA BIAS

Bias or slant in the selection of which news to report and how the news is reported.

INDEPENDENTS

a term used to describe people who have no party affiliation

SUPER PACS

a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.

ACCESS

admittance

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE ADS

ads funded by same or opposing party

POLITICAL TV AD

ads on tv - positive or negative

CYNICISM

an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness

PRIMARY ELECTION

an election held to choose candidates for office

MANDATE

an official order or commission to do something.

501C4

an organization must not be organized for profit and must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare

CONTINUOUS NEWS CYCLE

constant news

FAKE NEWS

content, articles, videos that present made up or false information

527s

created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.

FALSE EQUIVALENCE

describing a situation of logical and apparent equivalence, when in fact there is none.

NAKED BALLOTS

forgot to use secrecy envelope

PUBLIC FUNDING ($3 CONTRIBUTION)

fund major political parties

CONSENSUS

general agreement

MAJOR PARTIES

in American politics, the Republican and the Democratic parties

CITIZENS UNITED V. FEC

A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering (Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow)

PUBLIC POLICY

A choice that government makes in response to a political issue. A policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem.

POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES (PACS)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

ELECTORAL COLLEGE

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

CAUCUS

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

PARTY PLATFORM - PLANK

A party platform is a set of principles, goals, and strategies designed to address pressing political issues. Each party's platform is broken down into "planks," or declarations that speak to each specific issue.

CONSERVATIVE

A person who believes government power, particularly in the economy, should be limited in order to maximize individual freedom.

DIRECT PRIMARY

A primary where voters directly select the candidates who will run for office

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The federal Election Commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws.

MINOR PARTIES

AKA third parties; typically do not win major elections but often bring more voters into the electorate; often spoil elections for a major party; may bring issues that the major parties will adopt

ELECTORATE

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election

TRANSPARENCY

Allows you to see through the background

GENERAL ELECTION

An election held to choose which candidate will hold office

WINNER-TAKE-ALL ELECTIONS

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies.

SOFT MONEY

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

PARTISAN

Devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause

REVOLVING DOOR

Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern.

INTEREST GROUPS

Groups of people who work together for similar interests or goals

LOBBYING REFORM

Lobby reform bill was signed into law by Pres. George W. Bush and it changed lobby rules by: Establishing new means of lobbying disclosure including certifying that lobbyists did not provide direct gifts or travel to legislators; Increasing the fine for failure to comply with lobbying laws; Requiring the disclosure of any campaign donation made to a legislator, federal candidate for office, or PAC; Prohibiting former senators from lobbying for two years after they leave the Senate and prohibiting a legislator's spouse or immediate family member from lobbying their relative's staff; Banning all gifts and trip offers to legislators and their staffs

CDA Section 230

No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.

OPEN/CLOSED PRIMARY

Open-Primary elections for anyone, dont need to be registered Closed-Closed Primary only registered party members

PARTY IDENTIFICATION

a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

HYPER-PARTISANSHIP

a commitment to party so strong it can transcend other commitments

POLITICAL PARTY

a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office

DEMOCRAT

a person who believes in the political or social equality of all people

REGISTRATION

a procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting

PUBLIC OPINION POLL

a survey in which individuals are asked to answer questions about a particular issue or person

IDEOLOGY

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

CONFIRMATION BIAS

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

PUBLIC AGENDA

issues considered most significant by government officials

NETWORK NEWS/RAW NEWS

live news with no cutting

MODERATE

not extreme

BLUE/RED MIRAGE

one candidate appears to be winning but then lose

LIBERAL

open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.

SPLINTER PARTIES

parties that have split away from one of the major parties

LOBBYISTS

people who represent interest groups

CANVASSING

persuasion of voters in a political campaign

DARK MONEY

political money where the donors of the money do not have to be disclosed

STRAIGHT-TICKET VOTING

practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election

POLITICAL SPECTRUM

range of political views

POST-TRUTH

relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief

POLL TAXES

required citizens of a state to pay a special tax in order to vote

SOUNDBITES

short video clips of approximately 10 seconds

QUID PRO QUO

something given in exchange or return for something else

DEMOGRAPHICS

statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it.

RANDOM SAMPLE (POLLING)

taking a poll of a random group

QUOTA SAMPLE (POLLING)

taking a poll of a selected group

GRIDLOCK

the inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government

POLLING PLACE

the location where voting is carried out

NOMINATION

the official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party

VOTER TURNOUT

the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

FRANCHISE

the right to vote

SUFFRAGE

the right to vote