Franchise/suffrage

Right to vote

Rational-choice voting

assumes that political actors will make decisions based on their own benefit, carefully weighing all choices

Retrospective voting

occurs when the voter looks at the candidate’s past actions and the past economic climate and makes a decision only using these factors.

Prospective voting

Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected

Party-line voting

process in which voters select candidates by their party affiliation

Demographics

the study of a population based on factors such as age, race and sex

General election

Elections in which voters elect officeholders

Midterm elections

the congressional elections that occur in the even-numbered years between presidential election years, in the middle of the president’s term

Linkage institutions

Groups that connect citizens to the government and facilitate turning popular concerns into issues on the government’s policy agenda.

Critical election

An electoral “earthquake” where new issues and new coalitions emerge, beginning a new party era.

Realignment

the shifting of groups in a coalition, usually before a critical election. Groups leave one party and support the other party.

Winner-take-all system

all electoral votes for a state are given to the candidate who wins the most votes in that state

Party coalition

When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature.

Bipartisan

Legislation or policy that has the support of both major political parties.

Open primary

an election in which any registered voter may vote in any party’s primary or caucus

Closed primary

an election in which only voters registered with a party may vote for that party’s candidates

Party caucus

a form of candidate nomination that occurs in a town-hall style format rather than a day-long election; usually reserved for presidential elections

Incumbency advantage

the advantage held by officeholders that allows them to often win reelection

Political Action Committee (PAC)

organizations created to raise money for political campaigns and spend money to influence policy and politics

Super PAC

officially known as Independent Expenditure-Only Committees; organizations that can fundraise and spend as they please to support or attack a candidate but not contribute directly to a candidate or strategize with a candidate’s campaign

Independent expenditure

Spending by political action committees, corporations, or labor unions that is done to help a party or candidate but is done independently of them

Horse race journalism

Journalism that focuses on -who is winning or ahead in the polls rather than on candidates' policy agenda or debates.

Proportional representation

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded in proportion to the percentage of votes garnered by a party in an election. This system is common in Europe and benefits minor political parties, who may win a small number of legislative seats even if a mainstream party wins most seats.

Electoral College

the constitutionally created group of individuals, chosen by the states, with the responsibility of formally selecting the next U.S. president

Legitimacy

The people’s belief that the government has the right to rule