Module 7: Political Parties, Media, Interest Groups Chapter 5-9

Single-Issue Parties

Parties that concentrate on only one public policy matter

Faction

A competing group

Political Party

A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.

Political Efficacy

A large group of nonvoters who lack feeling of influence of effectiveness in politics. They don't believe their votes can have any impact on what the government does

Medium

A means of communication; it transmits some kind of information. Television, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines.

Straw Vote

A method of polling that seeks to read the public's mind simply by asking the same question of a large number of people. Highly unreliable.

Sectionalism

A narrow-minded concern for, or devotion to, the interests of one section of a country

liberal

A person who believes government power should be maximized in order to be socially progressive and promote social welfare.

conservative

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

Literacy

A person's ability to read or write

Two-Party System

A political system dominated by two major parties.

One-Party System

A political system in which only one party exists

Registration

A procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting

Sample

A representative slice of the total universe.

Pluralistic Society

A society which consists of several distinct cultures and groups

lobbying

A strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of the legislature.

Multiparty system

A system in which several major and many lesser parties exist, seriously compete for, and actually win, public offices

Coalition

A temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form a working majority and so to control a government

Independent

A term used to identify those people who have no party affiliation

Ward

A unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members

Electorate

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election; potential voting population

Random Sample

Also called a probability sample. Each member of the universe and each geographic area within it have a mathematically equal chance of being included. Based on the law off probability.

trade association

An interest group composed of companies in the same business or industry that lobbies for policies that will benefit members of the group.

labor union

An organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members

Opinion Leader

Any person who, for any reason, has an unusually strong influence on the views of others.

Disenfranchised

Denied the right to vote

Public Opinion Poll

Devices that attempt to collect information by asking people questions.

Public Affairs

Events and issues that concern the public at large.

public affairs

Events and issues that concern the public at large.

Consensus

General agreement among various groups on fundamental matters; broad agreement on public questions

propaganda

Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.

Major Party

In American Politics, the Republican and the Democratic Parties.

Mandate

In American politics it refers to the instructions or commands a constituency (body of voters) gives to its elected officials. Command from the electorate, to carry out campaign promises.

Party in power

In American politics, the party that controls the executive branch of the government--i.e., the presidency at the national level, or the governorship at the state level

Quota Sample

Less complicated but less reliable method. Is deliberately constructed to reflect several of the major characteristics of a given universe. (if 51.3 percent of a universe is female, 17.5 percent of it is African American, then the quota sample will be made up of 51.3 percent females and 17.5 percent African Americans)

Preclearance

Mandated by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The process of seeking U.S. Department of Justice approval for all changes related to voting.

Mass Media

Means of communication that reach large, widely dispersed audiences simultaneously. It has a huge effect on the formation of public opinion.

Franchise

Means the same as Suffrage

Minor Party

One of the political parties not widely supported

Ideological Parties

Parties based on a particular set of beliefs, a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political matters

Economic Protest Parties

Parties rooted in poor economic times, lacking a clear ideological base, dissatisfied with current conditions and demanding better times.

Splinter Parties

Parties that have broken away from one of the major parties

single-interest groups

Political action committees that concentrate their efforts exclusively on one issue.

grass roots

Political activity that originates locally, or arises from ground level (strikes, die-ins)

Interest Groups

Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy.

General Election

Regularly scheduled elections at which voters make the final selection of officeholders. but typically, the ballots used in those elections list only one candidate for each office.

Sound Bite

Snappy reports that can be aired in 30 to 45 seconds. Newscasts featuring candidates that are usually short. They are usually staged and carefully orchestrated.

Bipartisan

Supported by two parties

Off-Year Elections

The congressional elections held in the even numbered years between presidential election

Incumbent

The current oficeholder

ballot

The device by which a voter registers a choice in an election. It can take a number of different forms.

Party Identification

The loyalty of people to a particular political party and the single most significant and lasting predictor of how a person will vote

Gender Gap

The measurable differences between the partisan choices of men and women

Poll book

The official lists of qualified voters in each precinct

Gerrymandering

The practice of drawing electoral district lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or party

Straight-Ticket Voting

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

Political Socialization

The process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions (involves all of the experiences and relationships that lead people to see the political world, and to act in it, as they do.)

Purge

The removal of the names of individuals who are no longer eligible to vote

Suffrage

The right to vote

Precinct

The smallest unit of election administration; a voting district

Public Agenda

The societal problems that political leaders and citizens agree need government attention. Media plays a large role in shaping it. It is not correct that the media tell the people what to think; but it is clear that they tell the people what to think about.

runoff primary

The two top vote-getters in the first party primary face one another for the party's nomination, and the winner of that vote becomes the nominee (if no one wins a majority in a race).

Single-Member District Elections

They are contests in which only one candidate is elected to each office on the ballot. They are winner-take-all elections.

Public Opinion

Those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics. A view or position or attitude must be expressed in the open.

Split-Ticket Voting

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

constituency

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

Injunction

a court order that either compels or restrains the performance of some act by a private individual or public official.

subsidy

a grant of money, usually from a government. So far, been most important at the presidential level.

Caucus

a group of like minded people who meet to select the candidates they support in an upcoming election.

Closed Primary

a party's nominating election in which only declared party members can vote.

absentee voting

a process by which people can vote without actually going to their polling places on election day.

platform

a series of statements expressing the party's principles, beliefs, and positions on election issues

Poll Tax

a tax imposed by several states as a qualification for voting

universe

a term used in polling that refers to the whole population that the polls aims to measure

precinct

a voting district. The smallest geographic units for the conduct of elections. State law restricts their size

nonpartisan elections

elections in which candidates are not identified by party labels.

Blanket Primary

every voter received the same ballot- a long one that listed every candidate, regardless of party, for every nomination to be made at the primary ("wide open primary"). Washington adopted the first in 1935.

Aliens

foreign-born residents who have not become citizens, denied right to vote

Soft money

funds given to party organizations for such "party building activities" as candidate recruitment, voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, and similar efforts.

public-interest group

group that seeks to institute certain public policies of benefit to all or most people in this country, whether or not they belong to or support that organization

voter apathy

indifference and inaction on the part of individuals or groups with respect to the political process

Direct Primary

intra-party election. It is held within a party to pick that party's candidates for the general election.

Peer Group

made up of the people with whom one regularly associates, including friends, classmates, neighbors, and co-workers.

hard money

money raised and spent to elect the candidates for Congress and the White House.

Open primary

party's nominating election in which any qualified voter can cast a ballot.

Transients

persons living in the state for only a short time.

political action committees (PAC)

political arms of special- interest and other organizations with a stake in electoral politics.

Plurality

the excess of votes received by the leading candidate over those received by the next candidate

nomination

the naming of those who will seek office and is a critically important step in the election process.

Ballot fatigue

the phenomenon by which voters cast fewer votes for offices listed toward the bottom of the ballot

polling place

the place where voters who live in a precinct actually vote. It is located somewhere in or near each precinct.

Partisanship

the strong support of their party and its policy stands.

weblog (blog)

website postings. Usually devoted to a specific subject, often allowing visitors to post comments

coattail effect

when a strong candidate running for an office at the top of the ballot helps attract voters to other candidates on the party's ticket.