POLITICAL PARTICIPATION & VOTING
Taking part in activities that influence government.
What is political participation? (p. 419)
Social factors such as income, education, and occupation that influence political behavior.
What is socioeconomic status (SES)? (p. 426)
A system where the candidate with the most votes wins.
What is winner-take-all? (p. 440)
The process by which parties select candidates for office.
What is nomination? (p. 466)
Organizations that seek to influence public policy.
What are interest groups? (p. 485)
Forms of communication that reach large audiences.
What is mass media? (p. 510)
An organization that raises money to influence elections.
What is a political action committee (PAC)? (p. 419)
A person’s belief that their political participation matters.
What is political efficacy? (p. 427)
A state where election outcomes are highly competitive.
What is a swing state (battleground state)? (p. 441)
An election in which voters select party nominees.
What is a primary election? (p. 467)
Individuals who benefit from a group without contributing to it.
What are free riders? (p. 489)
Media that investigates and exposes wrongdoing.
What is investigative journalism? (p. 510)
The right to vote.
What is suffrage (franchise)? (p. 425)
Efforts to encourage people to vote.
What is political mobilization? (p. 432)
An effort to increase voter turnout during an election.
What is Get Out the Vote (GOTV)? (p. 444)
A meeting of party members to select candidates or decide policies.
What is a caucus? (p. 468)
Direct interaction with government officials to influence policy.
What is lobbying? (p. 491)
When a small number of companies control most media outlets.
What is media consolidation? (p. 515)
The amendment that lowered the voting age to 18.
What is the Twenty-Sixth Amendment? (p. 425)
Voting based on past performance of a candidate or party.
What is retrospective voting? (p. 437)
The system used to elect the president.
What is the Electoral College? (p. 440)
Delegates who are not bound to a candidate at the convention.
What are superdelegates? (p. 469)
A group of people who share a common interest and work together for political change.
What is a social movement? (p. 485)
Coverage of elections that focuses on who is winning rather than issues.
What is horse-race journalism? (p. 521)
The amendment that eliminated poll taxes in federal elections.
What is the Twenty-Fourth Amendment? (p. 425)
Voting based on what a candidate is expected to do in the future.
What is prospective voting? (p. 437)
A political organization that seeks to influence government policy and elections.
What is a political party? (p. 455)
The system in which two major political parties dominate.
What is a two-party system? (p. 474)
Efforts by ordinary citizens to influence government decisions.
What is grassroots lobbying? (p. 494)
News coverage that favors a particular political perspective.
What is partisan bias? (p. 519)