Back to AI Flashcard MakerPolitical Science /AP Gov Unit #5 Vocab: Parties, Elections, Interest Groups and Media Part 1
AP Gov Unit #5 Vocab: Parties, Elections, Interest Groups and Media Part 1
This deck covers key vocabulary and concepts related to political participation, parties, elections, interest groups, and media. It includes definitions and explanations of important terms and processes in American government.
Political Participation
The different ways in which individuals take action or shape the laws and policies of a government
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Key Terms
Term
Definition
Political Participation
The different ways in which individuals take action or shape the laws and policies of a government
Political Action Committees
an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns
Linkage Institution
channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media
Social Movement
large groups of citizens organizing for political change
Franchise (Suffrage)
the right to vote in political elections
Twenty-Sixth Amendment
allows those eighteen years old and older to vote
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Political Participation | The different ways in which individuals take action or shape the laws and policies of a government |
Political Action Committees | an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns |
Linkage Institution | channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media |
Social Movement | large groups of citizens organizing for political change |
Franchise (Suffrage) | the right to vote in political elections |
Twenty-Sixth Amendment | allows those eighteen years old and older to vote |
Twenty-Fourth Amendment | prohibits congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections |
Poll Tax | tax required to vote |
Voter Turnout | the number of eligible voters who participate in an election as a percentage of the total number of eligible voters |
Demographic Characteristics | measurable characteristics of a population, such as economic status, education, age, race or ethnicity, gender, and partisan attachment |
Socioeconomic Status (SES) | a measure of an individual’s wealth, income, occupation, and educational attainment |
Political Efficacy | a person’s belief that he or she can make effective political change |
Political Mobilization | efforts by political parties to encourage their members to vote |
Registration Requirements | the set of rules that govern who can vote and how, when, and where they can vote |
Absentee Ballots | voting completed and submitted by a voter before the day of an election |
Rational Choice Voting | voting based on what a citizen believes is in his or her best interest |
Retrospective Voting | voting based on an assessment of an incumbent’s past performance |
Prospective Voting | casting a ballot for a candidate who promises to enact policies favored by the voter in the future |
Party-Line Voting | Voting for candidates who belong only to one political party for all of the offices on the ballot |
Electoral College | a constitutionally required process for selecting the president through slates of electors chosen in each state, who are pledged to vote for a nominee in the presidential election. |
Winner-Take-All system | A system of election in which the candidate who wins the plurality of votes within a state receives all of that state’s votes in the Electoral College |
Battleground State | a state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidates in a presidential election |
Swing State | a state where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans |
Get Out The Vote (GOTV) | efforts to mobilize voters |
Super PAC | an organization that may spend an unlimited amount of money on a political campaign, as long as the spending is not coordinated with the campaign |
Political Party | an organized group of party leaders, officeholders, and voters who work together to elect candidates to political office. |
Party Identifcation | an individual’s attachment to a political party |
Straight-Ticket Voting | voting for all of the candidates on the ballot from one political party |
Split-Ticket Voting | voting for candidates from different parties in the same election |
Party Platform | a set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to. |
Recruitment | the process through which political parties identify potential candidates |
Party Coalition | interest groups and like-minded voters who support a political party over time. |
Realignment | when the groups of people who support a political party shift their allegiance to a different political party |