7 Gr SS Ch. 8, Les 2 Political Parties Today Flashcards
(18 cards)
Each party has a ____ ____, who’s job is to raise money for presidential elections, to organize national conventions, and to help its party win as many offices as possible.
National committee
_____ is known as a special meeting where delegates are chosen through presidential primary elections
A caucus
At the ____ ____, delegates choose the party’s candidates for president and Vice President
National Convention
Each city or county is divided into an election district called a ______. This is a geographic area that has a specific number of voters.
Precinct
Sometimes, a local party organization grows very powerful. Year after year, Its candidates win every election. Such a strong organization is known as a ____ ____.
Political Machine
Why are political machines considered harmful?
- Over time, they tend to ignore people’s needs
2. Some officials tend to become corrupt
In a ____ ____, voters choose a candidate to represent a party in a general election.
Direct primary
What is the difference between a closed and open primary?
- closed: only members of that party can vote. If you are not registered in one of the two major parties, you cannot vote.
- open: any registered voter can vote.
Another word for getting the most votes is _____.
Plurality
Political parties have 5 major functions. What are they?
- Support candidates. 2. Communicate with citizens
- Run the government. 4. Link different parts of the government
- Act as a watchdog over government
Explain how political parties support candidates.
- raise money for campaign appearances, buy ads, pay workers
- encourage and register people to vote
How do political parties communicate with citizens?
Speeches, printed materials, ads, and listen to citizens’ desires
How can political parties act as a watchdog?
The party who loses the election watches the party in power to make sure they do not break any laws or abuse power.
What is a precinct captain? What are the 3 jobs of this captain?
This is the person appointed in each precinct by the party leader.
- to build the party at the local level
- Organize volunteers
- Help Get voters to the polls
How do political parties affect the legislative branch?
- make sure lawmakers support the party’s positions on bills being discussed
How do political parties affect the executive branch?
- people like the president have the power to appoint people to high level jobs.
- They can pick people who share their views.
How do political parties help to link levels of government?
If leaders share common views, they can work together to solve problems
It helps those in the same party to join forces to address problems of both city and states
The winning candidate in some states must win by getting more than 50 percent of the vote. This means they must have the _____ of the votes.
Majority
