Political Parties
What are the two main political parties in the US CURRENTLY?
Democrats and Republicans
What word means the right to vote?
Suffrage or franchise
The oldest form of nomination in which a person running for office simply states it is called...
Self-Announcement
Devices that attempt to measure public opinion by asking people questions are called...
Polls
List one example of an issue that there is an interest group for.
Abortion; gun control; homelessness; environment; education; criminal justice reform; etc.
What were the FIRST two political parties in the US?
Federalists and Anti-federalists
The potential voting population is called...
Electorate
Voting districts / the smallest geographic units for the conduct of elections are called...
Precincts
A representative slice of the whole population that is being studied is called...
Sample
What do interest groups seek to influence?
Public Policy / laws
Parties that have broken off from one of the major parties are called...
Splinter parties
Voting for all of a party's candidates in any given election is called...
Straight-ticket-voting
Ballot that lists all of the candidates names in an election and is marked in secret is called...
Australian Ballot
List at least 2 ways people acquire political opinions.
- family; education; media; peer groups; opinion leaders; historic events
People that are hired to influence politicians are called...
Lobbyists
Strong support for a party and its political stands is called...
Partisanship
Name at least one way certain groups (African Americans) were prevented from voting.
Literacy tests
Poll tax
A party nominating election in which ANY qualified voter can take part is called...
Open primary
Snappy reports from political candidates that can be aired in 30 to 45 seconds are called...
Sound Bites
What are at least 2 criticisms of interest groups?
- influence out of proportion to their size
- interests aren't in the best interest of all Americans
- Difficult to tell the size of a group
Ideological parties
Name at least 2 accepted reasons for absentee voting (not voting in person)
- Ill
- Away for business or school
- Armed forces
A private meeting where a group of like-minded people meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election is called...
Caucus
What is the term for political ads that attack opponents/ are negative in nature?
What is the term for political ads that show favorable qualities of a candidate/ are positive in nature?
Fear / Cheer ads
What are at least 2 functions of interest groups?
Stimulate interest in an issue; represent members based on attitudes rather than geography; provide info that helps shape public policy; act as vehicles for political participation; help check and balance public agencies and officials