AP Gov Chapter 6-9 Vocab

new deal coalition

A coalition forged by the Democrats. Its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.

political culture

An overall set of values widely shared within a society

527 groups

Independent groups that seek to influence the political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly seek the election of particular candidates.

soft money

Political contributions earmarked for party building expenses at the grassroots level or for generic party advertising.

sampling error

The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll.

melting pot

The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation.

invisible primary

The period between when a candidate announces their bid for public office and when the actual primaries take place.

front loading

The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention

Citizens United v FEC (2010)

a U.S. constitutional law case dealing with the regulation of campaign spending by organizations.

federal elections campaign act

a United States federal law designed to increase disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns.

McConnell v FEC

a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of most of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, often referred to as the McCain-Feingold Act.

political ideology

a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose

Mcgovern-fraser commission

a commission formed at the 1968 democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation.

protest

a form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through a dramatic and unconventional

referendum

a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision.

ideological party

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

reform party

a moderate, centrist and populist party that sits in the center of the political spectrum. It has moderate fiscal and economic platforms mixed with strong calls for ethics and electoral reform based on populist beliefs.

electors

a person who has the right to vote in an election

national republican congressional committee

a political committee devoted to maintaining and increasing the 232-member Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

national party convention

a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

whigs

a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of England

regional primary

a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region

national primary

a proposed system for conducting the United States presidential primaries and caucuses, in which all of the primaries and caucuses would occur on the same day (not currently the case).

sample

a relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole.

gender gap

a term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support democratic candidates.

dealignment

a trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons its previous partisan affiliation, without developing a new one to replace it.

political machine

a type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements to win votes and to govern

Blanket Primary

a type of primary election that occurs before the general election to choose candidates to run in the general election.

Closed Primary

a type of primary election used to chose candidates who will run in the general election

political participation

all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies by the pursue.

coalition

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

primary election

an election that narrows the field of candidates before an election for office.

winner-take-all

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

Federal election commission

an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States.

Iowa caucuses

are an electoral event in which residents of the U.S. state of Iowa meet in precinct caucuses in all of Iowa's 69 precincts and elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions.

motor voter act

automatically registers to vote all eligible voters when they obtain or renew their driver's licenses at the Department of Motor Vehicles, instead of requiring them to fill out a form.

matching money

contributions of up to $250 are matched from the presidential election campaign fund to candidates for the presidential nomination who qualify and agree to meet various conditions.

presidential primaries

elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate.

open primary

elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on election day whether they want to participate in the democratic or republican contests.

political action committees

funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms

twenty third amendment

gives residents of Washington DC the right to vote for representatives in the Electoral College

hard money

is a specific type of asset-based loan financing through which a borrower receives funds secured by real property.

H. ross perot

is an American businessman best known for being an independent presidential candidate in 1992 and the Reform party presidential candidate in 1996.

general election

is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen.

grand old party

is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

electoral college

is the institution that elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years.

democratic congressional campaign committee

is the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the House.

democratic senatorial campaign committee

is the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the Senate.

legitimacy

is the popular acceptance of an authority, usually a governing law or a régime.

divided government

is the term used in the USA to refer to the situation in which one party controls the presidency while the other party controls Congress.

democrat-republicans

is used especially by modern political scientists for the first "Republican Party"

demography

is used especially by modern political scientists for the first "Republican Party"

know-nothings

members strongly opposed immigrants and followers of the Catholic Church.

incumbent

necessary for (someone) as a duty or responsibility

Bipartisan

of or involving the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other's policies.

white primary

primary elections in the Southern states of the United States of America in which only white voters were permitted to participate.

midterm elections

refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives in the middle of the term of the executive or of another set of members.

war chest

reserve of funds used for fighting in war

suffrage

right to vote

sound bites

short video clips of approximately 10 seconds.

popular sovereignty

sovereignty of the people is the principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people

mandate theory of elections

suggests that the winner has a mandate to carry out promised policies

critical election

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

national republican senatorial committee

the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body.

Civil Disobedience

the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power.

political efficacy

the citizens' faith and trust in government and their belief that they can understand and influence political affairs.

plurality

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

selective perception

the phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions.

democratic national committee

the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day-to-day basis.

political socialization

the process through which an individual acquires their particular political orientations.

Civic Duty

the responsibilities of a citizen

coattail effect

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

direct mail

unsolicited advertising sent to prospective customers through the mail.

ticket splitting

voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices.

Buckley v. Valeo

was a landmark case in American campaign finance law

free soil party

was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections.