Political Parties
Which political party formed in the 1850s and opposed slavery in the North? Who was the first President to run for this party?
Republican Party; Abraham Lincoln
A ________ is an election in which voters choose candidates to represent each party in a general election.
Direct Primary
What is an absentee ballot? Give an example of when absentee ballots are permitted to be used.
A ballot for citizens who cannot get to the polls on Election Day; People who know they will be out of town that day, those who are too sick to get to the polls, and military personnel serving away from home, etc.
What is canvassing?
When candidates or campaign workers travel through neighborhoods asking for votes or taking public opinion polls.
A more accurate way to measure public opinion is to request individuals answer questions in a ______.
survey or poll
Democracies typically have ______ systems, but the US is the only democracy to have a ______ system.
multiparty; two-party
What is a closed primary?
A primary in which only the declared members of a party are allowed to vote for that party’s nominees
A _______ is a way for citizens to approve or reject a state or local law.
referendum
What are PACs (Political Action Committees)?
Organizations set up by interest groups especially to collect money to support favored candidates.
_______ is a term that refers to the ideas and attitudes that most people hold about a particular issue or person.
Public opinion
What are ideological parties? Give an example.
Ideological parties are those that support a particular philosophy or political doctrine; Examples: Socialist Labor Party, Communist Party, Libertarian Party, etc.
What is an open primary?
A primary in which voters do not need to declare their party preference in order to vote for the party's nominees.
The ________ requires states to let people register when they renew their driver's’ licenses.
National Voter Registration Act
_______ refers to unlimited amounts of money for general purposes, not designated to particular candidates.
Soft money
_______ work at influencing public opinion by trying to persuade people—including public officials—toward their point of view.
Interest groups
A _____ is a geographic area that contains a specific number of voters. Several of these make up a larger election unit called a _____. Party members in each of these typically elect a volunteer to represent them at the local party’s next level of organization—the _____.
precinct; ward; county committee
What is a political machine?
A local party organization that becomes so powerful that, year after year, its candidates sweep almost every election. Typically political machines are corrupt.
Under the United States political system, every election is a two-part process. What is the first and the second part?
1. Primary Elections
2. General Elections
_______ refers to the amount of money that individuals or groups can donate directly to a candidate or a political party.
Hard money
In the United States, the First Amendment means that the media is free from _______, or government censorship of material before it is published
prior restraint
The first two political parties were the ______ party led by Alexander Hamilton & the ______ party led by Thomas Jefferson. When Hamilton's party weakened, Jefferson's party was the only one to exist. By 1828, this party split into two: the ______ party championed by Andrew Jackson & the common people and the ______ party, made up of people who opposed Jackson.
Federalist; Democratic-Republicans; Democratic; Whig
A ______ refers to when the candidate with the mots number of votes wins the election, whereas a ______ refers to when the candidate who has more than 50% of the votes wins the election.
plurality; majority
______ elections are held when none of the candidates for a particular office wins a majority of the vote in the general election. ______ elections are held when citizens want to vote to remove a public official from office.
Runoff; Recall
The _______ is an independent agency of the executive branch which administers all federal election laws and monitors campaign spending.
Federal Election Commission
Public opinion is often described in terms of three features. What are these three features and what do they mean?
1. Direction: Refers to whether public opinion on any given topic is positive or negative.
2. Intensity: Refers to the strength of an opinion on a given issue.
3. Stability: Refers to how firmly people hold to their views.