Elections and Campaigns
The right to vote
Suffrage
A time period when one party wins most national elections
Party era
Voluntary association of people who come together with the goal of getting the policies that they favor enacted
Interest Group
Also known as soft news, this is a type of media that provides a combination of information and entertainment as opposed to investigative journalism
Infotainment
The slanting of political news coverage in support of a particular party or ideology
Partisan Bias
Voting based on an incumbent's past performance
Retrospective voting
Voting for candidates from different political parties in the same election
Split ticket voting
The movement of individuals between government and lobbying positions
Revolving Door
the media’s ability to highlight certain issues and bring them to the attention of the public
Agenda Setting
These committees different from the traditional format, as they may engage in unlimited political spending
SuperPAC
At it's core, the ruling of Citizens United deals with this particular issue
Free speech, money = speech
a set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree too
Party Platform
Coordinated and mutually beneficial activities of the bureaucracy, Congress, and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals
Iron Triangle
Sources of information designed to reach a wide audience, including newspapers, radio, television, and internet outlets
Mass Media
A primary election in which all eligible voters may vote
Open Primary
Channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media
Linkage institutions
An election system for a legislature in which citizens vote for parties, rather than individuals, and parties are represented in the legislature according to the percentage of the votes they receive
Proportional Representation System
Interacting with government officials in order to advance a group's public policy goals
Lobbying
an approach to newsgathering in which reporters dig into stories, often looking for instances of wrongdoing
Investigative journalism
This is the primary expenditure of most campaigns
Television ads
A person's belief that he or she can make effective political change
Political efficacy
A decision by a state to push its primary or caucus to a date as early in the election season as possible to gain more influence in the presidential nomination process
Front loading
This type of interest group focus on one specific area of public policy, often a moral issue about which they are unwilling to compromise
Single Issue
Concentration of ownership in various news media companies
Media consolidation
This group regulates interstate and international communications through cable, radio, television, satellite and wire
Federal Communications Commission (FCC).