ch 13 Flashcards
(25 cards)
Political participation
the different ways in which individuals take action to shape the laws and policies of a government.
Political Action Committee (PACs)
an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns.
Linkage institutions
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.
Suffrage
the right to vote in political elections.
26th Amendment
allows those eighteen years old and older to vote.
24th Amendment
prohibits Congress and the states from imposing poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal elections.
Poll tax
a method used to depress voter turnout among the poor
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 vote.
Absentee ballot
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 elections 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 states
a state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate 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.
