AP Gov Vocab - Interest Groups, Political Parties and Campaigns
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Created by:
bradg50 on May 13, 2012
Subjects:
AP U.S. Government and Politics
Description:
Key terms and legislation for interest groups, political parties, and campaigns
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55 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Amicus curiae brief | "friend of the court" brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision |
| Dealignment argument | contention that parties are less meaningful to voters, who have abandoned the parties in greater numbers to become independents |
| Divided government | government in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls the Congress |
| Elite theory | theory that upper class elites exercise great influence over public policy |
| Factions | term used by Madison to denote what we now call interest groups |
| Free rider problem | the problem faced by interest groups when citizens can reap the benefits of interest group action without actually joining, participating in, or contributing money to such groups |
| Interest Group | An organized group that tries to influence public policy |
| Iron triangle | an informal association of federal agency, congressional committee, and interest group that is said to have heavy influence over policy making |
| Litigation | the act or process of carrying out a lawsuit |
| Lobbying | attempting to influence policy makers |
| Nonpartisan elections | elections in which candidates are not identified by party membership on the ballot |
| Office column ballot | ballot in which candidates are arranged by office rather than party. Encourages split ticket voting. |
| Party column ballot | ballot in which candidates are arranged by party rather than office. Encourages straight ticket voting. |
| Pluralism | theory that policy making is the result of interest group competition |
| Political Party | group of officeholders, candidates, activists, and voters that pursue common interests by gaining power in elections and exercising power through the legislative process |
| Political Action Committee (PAC) | an interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaigns |
| Patronage | appointing loyal party members to government positions |
| Revolving door | the cycle in which a person alternately works for the public sector and private sector, thus blurring the individual's sense of loyalty |
| 527 political committees | non-profit, unregulated interest groups that focus on specific causes or policy positions and attempt to influence voters |
| Australian ballot | secret ballot printed at the expense of the state |
| Balancing the ticket | occurs when a presidential nominee chooses a vice presidential running mate who has different qualities in order to attract more votes for the ticket |
| Blanket primary | elections to choose candidates that is open to independents, and that allows voters to choose candidates from all the parties |
| Caucus | local party meeting |
| Closed primary | party election to choose candidates that is closed to independents. Voters may not cross party lines. |
| Coattail effect | the influence of a popular presidential candidate on the election of congressional candidates of the same party |
| Direct election | election of an official directly by the people rather than by an intermediary group such as the Electoral College |
| Direct primary | election in which the people choose candidates for office |
| Electoral College | Representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president |
| FECA (Federal Election Campaign Act) | established disclosure requirements, partial public funding of presidential candidates who met certain criteria and established the FEC (Federal Election Commission) to enforce the nation's election laws |
| Fixed terms | terms of office that have a definite length of time, e.g., two years for a member of the House |
| Front loading | scheduling presidential primary elections early (e.g., February or March) in an election year. |
| General election | election in which the officeholders are chosen. Contrast with a primary election, in which only the candidates are chosen. |
| Gerrymandering | redrawing district lines to favor one party at the expense of the other |
| Hard money | campaign contributions donated directly to candidates |
| Incumbent | an officeholder who is seeking reelection |
| Independent | one is not registered with a political party. Independent leaners tend to vote for candidates of one particular party, whereas pure independents have no consistent pattern of party voting |
| Open Primary | election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and in which voters may choose candidates from any one party |
| Party platform | a list of positions and programs that the party adopts at the national convention. Each position is called a plank. |
| Plurality | more votes than anyone else, but less than half, e.g., Clinton won a plurality (43%) of popular votes in 1992, but not a majority. Plurality elections such as those for Congress are won by the person with the most votes, regardless if he/she has a majority |
| Realigning ("critical") election | an election in which there is a long term change in party alignment, e.g., 1932 |
| Reapportionment | reallocation of House seats to the states on the basis of changes in state populations, as determined by the census |
| Redistricting | redrawing of congressional district boundaries by the party in power of the state legislature |
| Safe seat | an office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party |
| Single member district system | System in which the people elect one representative per district with a winner-take-all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weakens minor parties |
| Soft Money | Campaign contributions that are not directly donated to candidates, but are instead donated to parties |
| Split Ticket voting | Casting votes for candidates of one's own party and for opposing parties |
| Straight Ticket voting | casting votes only for candidates of one party |
| Suffrage | the right to vote |
| Superdelegate | A delegate to the DNC who is there by virtue of holding an office |
| Super Tuesday | A Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held |
| Swing State | A state that does not consistently vote either Democratic or Republican in presidential elections |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | Suspended literacy tests; Empowered federal officials to register voters; Empowered federal officials to ensure that citizens could vote; Empowered federal officials to count ballots; Prohibited states from changing voting procedures without federal permission. |
| Federal Election Campaign Acts, 1971-1974 | Created FEC; Required disclosure of contributions and expenditures; provided limitations on contributions and presidential election expenditures; provided subsidies for presidential candidates |
| National Voter Registration Bill (Motor Voter Act) 1993 | Requires states to allow people to register to vote when applying for a driver's license or completing license renewal forms |
| McCain- Feingold Bill (Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002) | Raised hard money limits to $2000; Banned soft money contributions to national political parties |
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