The two-party system
This party is is generally conservative, associated with the color red, and has an elephant for a mascot
What is the Republican party
The definition of a campaign
The time a candidate is running for a government office
How many electoral votes does it take to win the Presidency
What is 270
You must be this old to vote
What is 18 on or before election day
This amendment gave women the right to vote
What is the 19th
Elections are held in this month
What is November
The person running for a government office is known as the
What is candidate
The definition
Any political party that is not the Democrats or Republicans
This party is is generally liberal, associated with the color blue, and has an donkey for a mascot
What is the Democratic Party
Fundraising has increased so much because
What is it is so expensive to advertise on TV, newspapers and the internet
How many electoral votes does Virginia have
What is 13
Voters must do this in order to be eligible to vote in a state and precint
What is register
This amendment gave free black men the right to vote
What is the 15th
This is the first election that chooses the candidate who will be the nominee in each party
What is a primary
This is the person who chooses a candidate
Who is a voter
Usually revolve around who
What is someone famous or who has a strong personality
When a party accuses a member of wrong doing, like accepting bribes, which function of political parties are they fulfilling
What is monitoring the actions of officeholders
The idependent government agency that monitors campaign donations for fedral candidates is
What is the FEC or Federal Election Commission
The number of electoral votes for each state is determined by this
What is congressional representation (the # of Senators + the number of Representatives)
What factors predict whether a person will be a likely voter
What is age, education level and income
This amendment gave Washington DC, three electoral votes
What is the 23rd amendment (DC 23)
When people cast their vote on election day, the are casting this vote
What is the popular vote
These are volunteers from both political parties who are present on election day to make sure no election laws are broken
Who are poll watchers
They form because...
What is they introduce new ideas or policies the other parties are not addressing
This is a political party's statement of beliefs or ideas made up of individual planks
What is a party platform
Interest groups create these to help fund/finance political campaigns
What are PACs, or Political Action Committees
These people are chosen in each state by their political party and travel to the state capital to cast the electoral vote if their candidate wins the state's popular vote
Who are the electors
Which election do most people vote in
What is presidential election
This amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
What is the 26th Amendment
During close electoral races, candidates will campaign here, where support for both parties is similar, to try to convince voters and win the election
What are swing states
These are groups of people who share similar beliefs and organize to help get candidates elected
What are political parties
Third parties rarely do this
What is win
The most important function of a political party is
What is WIN
The Supreme Court case that allows Super PACs to raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, businesses, and unions as long as it is not given directly to a candidate is
What is Citizens United v FEC
This term means that if a candidate wins 51% or more of the popular vote in a state, they win all of the electoral votes in that state
What is winner-take-all
Lack of interest, failure to register, belief their vote doesn't matter and being busy are all reasons...
What is people fail to vote
What did the 24th Amendment do to help extend voting rights
It ended Poll Tax a monetary barrier that kept blacks and poor people from voting
Why do states with larger populations have an advantage on election day
What is they have more electoral votes
These people work for interest groups and try to influence candidates and elected officials to make decisions and laws that favor their position
Who are lobbyists
A negative effect of third parties is
They usually take votes away from one of the two main parties
What group of people do both parties need to convince in order to win an election
What is the political center or swing voters or independents
A Super PAC is...
A PAC that is allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, businesses, and unions as long as it is not given directly to a candidate
What is the total number of electoral college votes
What is 538
Sending an application through the mail, in person at th eregistrar's office and at the DMV are all ways
What is ways to register to vote
This war helped pass the 26th Amendment, because young men were being drafted to fight but did not yet have the right to vote
What is the Vietnam War
Why are less populated, swing states important in close elections
What is, their few electoral votes can determine who the winner will be
Mass communication that influences elections by identifying candidates, publishing information and different points of view and emphasizing selcted issues
What is the media
This usually happens to third parties...
What is their ideas are absorbed into one of the other two main parties