Vocab
Organizations that may raise money to elect or defeat candidates. Can donate directly to the candidate's campaign.
What are Political Action Committees (PACs)?
An elected official currently holding the office.
What is an incumbent?
In order to legally vote in any election you will have to have done this in your district/county.
What is register to vote?
Super PACs make it possible for these groups to contribute unlimited amounts of money in campaign efforts so long as they aren't coordinated with a campaign.
What are corporations & unions?
These are the two parties that dominate our two-party system.
Who are the Democrats and Republicans?
Interest groups represent a form of faction. A group of people united under a singular or similar cause and may be "adverse to the rights of other citizens". This idea of faction is reflected in this Federalist paper.
What is Fed. 10?
This type of journalism within the media often acts within the watchdog capacity in order to help hold the government accountable.
What is investigative journalism?
Inability to tax, difficulties in passing legislation, inability to enforce laws, no judiciary... these were all issues related to this document.
What are the articles of Confederation?
This term means the right to vote. It's been extended in the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments.
What is suffrage?
Organization that can spend an unlimited amount of money on a campaign as long as it's not coordinated with a campaign.
What is a Super PAC?
Voting for candidates who belong to only one political party for all offices on a ballot.
What is party-line or straight ticket voting?
In recent years, campaigns have moved away from being party centered, to this focus.
What is candidate centered?
While they don't often get tons of support, they will encourage the inclusion of their ideas and priorities into other platforms.
What are third parties?
This is the main tactic used by interest groups to affect policy creation and implementation. It tends to require close relationships with members of the government.
What is lobbying?
This government bureaucratic agency heads controls/directs media within the U.S.
Voting that occurs before the day of an election and without going to the polls.
What is an absentee ballot?
The constitutionally required system for selecting the president of the United States.
What is the Electoral College?
These elections prohibit voters who do not belong to either the Democrat or Republican parties to vote to determine the party's candidate.
What are closed Primaries?
In the General election, candidates find themselves heavily focused on these regions where the contest is usually very close.
What are battleground states?
It is here that the parties determine their candidates for president.
What is the national convention?
Interest groups are involved in this geometric relationship with Congress and government bureaucratic agencies. It helps with the creation of policy.
What are iron triangles?
Many media outlets express this in the way they present their stories. They lean one way or the other within the political spectrum.
What is (partisan) bias?
Fed 70 was focused on justifying the inclusion of this piece of our current constitution.
What is an "energetic" executive?
Voting based on what an individual believes is in their best interest.
What is rational choice voting?
One who acts as a voter's representative at a convention to select a nominee.
What is a delegate?
What is 270?
Candidates will campaign heavily in these states since they have a tendency to flip flop on party support.
What are swing states?
The Democrats are the only party to use this group to help determine their presidential candidate at the national convention. They are not pledged to a candidate and can thus vote for whoever they choose.
What are Superdelegates?
Interest groups have offered this as a solution to the issue of the "free-rider problem".
What are selective benefits (members only benefits)?
Rather than focusing on policy differences this type of coverage focuses on the drama of who is winning.
What is horse-race journalism?
Gideon v Wainwright ruled that all people accused of a crime (felonies) would be afforded the right to an attorney even if they couldn't afford one. The outcome was the incorporation of this amendment to the states.
What is the 6th Amendment?
Its a set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to.
What is a party platform?
It means to be a "Friend of the Court". These are filed by individuals or groups that are not party to a case, but are attempting to persuade the court (SCOTUS) and influence their decision.
What is an amicus curiae brief?
If no candidate reaches the required number of votes in the electoral college, this body will elect the president.
What is the House of Representatives?
The Citizens United case challenged the limits placed on campaign financing established under this piece of legislation.
What is the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA)?
Some states front load, meaning that these happen earlier and earlier in the election season to gain more influence in the nomination process.
What are primaries and caucuses?
This type of lobbying has interest groups encouraging their members to reach out to their elected officials directly to make change.
What is grassroots lobbying?
First Amendment issues were at the center of NYT Co. vs. US. The government was attempting to practice this, halting the publication of a story to prevent the government from looking bad in the public eye.
What is prior restraint?
This document detailed the need for a separation of powers among the branches, and even further, a separation within the legislature to reduce the power held within that branch.
What is Federalist 51?