Chapter 8 Vocabulary Words | POLS 1101 - American Government, Quizzes of Local Government Studies

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TERM 1 absentee ballot DEFINITION 1 a voting ballot submitted by mail before an electionvoters use these if they will be unable to go to the polls on election day TERM 2 attack ads DEFINITION 2 campaign advertising that criticizes a candidate's opponent- typically by making potentially damaging claims about their opponent's background or history- rather than focusing on positive reasons to vote for the candidate TERM 3 campaign platform DEFINITION 3 a candidate's description of his or her issue positions and the kinds of policies he or she will seek to enact while in office TERM 4 challenger DEFINITION 4 a politician running for an office that he or she does not hold at the time of the electionchallengers run against incumbents or in open-seat elections TERM 5 closed primary DEFINITION 5 a primary election in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote TERM 6 coattails DEFINITION 6 the idea that a popular president can generate additional support for candidates affiliated with his partythese are weak or nonexistent in most American elections TERM 7 delegates DEFINITION 7 individuals who attend their party's national convention and vote to select their party's nominee for the presidencythey are elected in a series of primaries and caucuses that occur winter and spring of an election year TERM 8 election cycle DEFINITION 8 the 2 year period between general elections TERM 9 electoral college DEFINITION 9 the body that votes to select America's president and vice president based on the popular vote in each stateeach candidate nominates a slate of electors who are selected to attend the meeting of the college is their candidate wins the most voted in a state or district TERM 10 electoral vote DEFINITION 10 votes cast by members of the electoral collegeafter a presidential candidate wind the popular vote in a given state, that candidate's slate of electors cast electoral voted for the candidate on behalf of that state TERM 21 nationalized election DEFINITION 21 an atypical congressional election in which the reelection rate is relatively low for one party's House and Senate incumbents and national level issues exert more influence than usual on House and Senate races TERM 22 nomination DEFINITION 22 the selection of a particular candidate to run for office in a general election as a representative of his or her political party TERM 23 normal election DEFINITION 23 a typical congressional election in which the reelection rate if high, and the influences on House and Senate contests are largely local TERM 24 open primary DEFINITION 24 a primary election in which any registered voter can participate in the contest, regardless of party affiliation TERM 25 open seat DEFINITION 25 an elected position for which there is no incumbent TERM 26 opposition research DEFINITION 26 attempts by a candidate's campaign or other groups of supporters to uncover embarrassing or politically damaging information about the candidate's opponent TERM 27 paradox of voting DEFINITION 27 the question of why citizens vote even though their individual votes stand little chance of changing the election outcome TERM 28 party ratio DEFINITION 28 the proportions of seats in the House and Senate that are controlled by each major party TERM 29 permanent campaign DEFINITION 29 the actions officeholders take throughout the election cycle to build support for their reelection TERM 30 plurality voting DEFINITION 30 a voting system in which the candidate who receives the most votes within a geographic area wind the election, regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority of the votes TERM 31 political business cycle DEFINITION 31 attempts by elected officials to manipulate the economy before elections by increasing economic growth and reducing unemployment and inflation, with the goal of improving evaluations of their performance in office TERM 32 popular vote DEFINITION 32 the votes cast by citizens in an election TERM 33 primary DEFINITION 33 a ballot vote in which citizens select a party's nominee for the general election TERM 34 proportional allocation DEFINITION 34 during the presidential primaries, the practice of determining the number of convention delegates allotted to each candidate based on the percentage of popular vote cast for each candidateall democratic primaries and caucuses use this system, as do some states' republican primaries and caucuses TERM 35 push polling DEFINITION 35 a type of survey in which the questions are presented in a biased way in an attempt to influence he respondent TERM 46 swing states DEFINITION 46 in a presidential race, highly competitive states in which both major party candidates stand a good change of winning the state's electoral votes TERM 47 turnout DEFINITION 47 the percentage of the voting age population who cast a ballot in a given election TERM 48 undervote DEFINITION 48 casting a ballot that is either incomplete or cannot be counted TERM 49 voting cues DEFINITION 49 pieces of information about a candidate that are readily available, easy to interpret, and lead a citizen to decide to vote for a particular candidate TERM 50 wholesale politics DEFINITION 50 a mode of campaigning that involves indirect contact with citizens, such as running campaign ads TERM 51 winner-take-all DEFINITION 51 during the presidential primaries, the practice of assigning all of a given state's delegate to the candidate who receives the most popular votessome states republican primaries and caucuses use this sytem