SHOW ME THE MONEY
This agency enforces federal limits on PAC and individual donations to candidates.
▶ What is the Federal Election Commission (FEC)?
These rules — placing the burden of signing up on individual voters — are the leading institutional reason for low U.S. turnout.
▶ What are registration requirements?
The 1930s shift of African American, urban, and Southern white voters into the Democratic coalition is best described as this.
▶ What is a party realignment?
The League of Women Voters — advocating broad civic interests rather than a profession — is classified as this type of group.
▶ What is a public interest group?
Sources of information — newspapers, radio, TV, and internet — designed to reach a wide audience.
▶ What is mass media?
This traditional organization may donate limited amounts directly to candidates’ campaigns.
▶ What is a PAC (political action committee)?
This measure — combining wealth, income, occupation, and education — is the most reliable predictor of whether someone will vote.
▶ What is socioeconomic status (SES)?
A period in which one political party wins most national elections over an extended stretch of time.
▶ What is a party era?
Meeting with EPA officials to shape a proposed air-quality rule is this specific kind of lobbying.
▶ What is executive (bureaucratic) lobbying?
Sustained media coverage that makes voters more likely to see an issue as important — this is the media’s role.
▶ What is agenda setting?
Born from the Citizens United precedent, these groups may accept unlimited donations for independent political ads.
▶ What is a super PAC?
Casting a ballot based on a candidate’s PROPOSED future policies.
▶ What is prospective voting?
The set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to at the national convention.
▶ What is the party platform?
This theory holds that wealthy corporate donors systematically distort democratic outcomes.
▶ What is elite theory?
The rise of social media enabled this phenomenon, in which ordinary individuals produce and share news.
▶ What is citizen journalism?
Contributions given directly to a candidate’s campaign that are subject to federal limits.
▶ What is hard money?
A primary in which ALL eligible voters may participate regardless of party registration.
▶ What is an open primary?
This electoral rule — plurality wins in single-member districts — is the most significant structural obstacle to third-party success.
▶ What is the winner-take-all (first-past-the-post) system?
Unlike the more rigid iron triangle, this involves a wider, more fluid web of interest groups, policymakers, and policy advocates.
▶ What is an issue network?
The Associated Press is the classic example of this type of organization, which gathers news and sells stories to other outlets.
▶ What is a wire service?
The 2010 Supreme Court case that extended First Amendment protection to corporate and union independent campaign expenditures.
▶ What is Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission?
In the modern era, this event’s main job is to officially confirm the nominee, adopt the party platform, and rally supporters.
▶ What is the national convention?
This Democratic convention delegate — usually a party leader or activist — is NOT bound by the state’s primary results.
▶ What is a superdelegate?
Interest groups use these exclusive member-only advantages to overcome the free rider problem.
▶ What are selective benefits?
New media contributes to polarization most directly by letting users do this.
▶ What is self-select information sources (filter out opposing viewpoints)?