| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Civic duty | The belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote. |
| Electoral College | A unique American institution created by the Constitution that provides for the selection of the president by electors chosen by the state parties. Although the electoral college vote usually reflects a popular majority, the winner-take-all rule gives clout to big states. |
| Initiative petition | A process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such referendum. |
| Legitimacy | A characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders. |
| Mandate Theory of Elections | The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politician like the theory better than political scientist do. |
| Motor Voter Act | Passed in 1993, this Act went into effect for the 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for a driver's license. |
| Policy voting | Electoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters' policy preference and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues |
| Political efficacy | The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference |
| Referendum | a state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove legislation or a constitutional amendment proposed by the state legislature |
| Retrospective voting | A theory of voting in which voters essentially ask this simple question "What have you done for me lately?" |
| Suffrage | The legal right to vote extended to African Americans by the fifteenth amendment to women by the nineteenth amendment and to people over the age of 18 by the twenty-sixth amendment |
| Voter registration | A system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of Election Day. A few states permit Election day registration. |
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