Unit 3 - Part 2

Question 1

McGovern Fraser Commission

Answer 1

Created by the Democratic Party; Brought significant changes that ensured minorities, women, and younger voters representation at future conventions

Question 2

Midterm Elections

Answer 2

Federal elections that take place halfway through a president’s term.

Question 3

National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter)

Answer 3

Required states to offer citizens a chance to register at state-run agencies such as the department of motor vehicles.

Question 4

19th Amendment

Answer 4

Guaranteed women the right to vote.

Question 5

Open Primary

Answer 5

election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and in which voters may choose candidates from any one party. Encourages split ticket voting

Question 6

Party Identification

Answer 6

a sense of affiliation that a person has with a particular political party

Question 7

Party Platform

Answer 7

a list of positions and programs that the party adopts at the national convention. Each position is called a plank.

Question 8

Patronage

Answer 8

appointing loyal party members to government positions.

Question 9

Plurality

Answer 9

more votes than anyone else, but less than half, e.g., Clinton won a plurality (43%) of popular votes in 1992, but not a majority.

Question 10

Plurality Elections

Answer 10

won by the person with the most votes, regardless if he/she has a majority.

Question 11

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Answer 11

an interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaigns.

Question 12

Political Efficacy

Answer 12

capacity to understand and influence political events

Question 13

Prospective Voting

Answer 13

Vote for candidates based on what they could do for the future of the country

Question 14

Rational Choice Voting

Answer 14

Takes place when a voter has examined an issue or candidate, evaluated campaign promises or platform points, and consciously decided to vote in a way that seems to most benefit the voter.

Question 15

Realigning “Critical” Election

Answer 15

an election in which there is a long term change in party alignment, g., 1932.

Question 16

Retrospective Voting

Answer 16

Look backward to consider candidates’ track records.

Question 17

17th Amendment

Answer 17

Senators are elected by state legislatures.

Question 18

Single Member District System

Answer 18

system in which the people elect one representative per district. With a winner-take-all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weakens minor parties.

Question 19

16th Amendment

Answer 19

Gave Congress the power to tax people’s incomes

Question 20

Soft Money

Answer 20

campaign contributions that are not donated directly to candidates, but are instead donated to parties.

Question 21

Sound Bite

Answer 21

a short, pithy comment that is likely to attract media attention, e.g., Ronald Reagan saying, “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose your job, and recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his job.”

Question 22

Spin Control

Answer 22

placing a certain slant on a story to deflect negative public attention against a candidate or office holder.

Question 23

Split Ticket Voting

Answer 23

casting votes for candidates of one’s own party and for candidates of opposing parties, e.g., voting for a Republican presidential candidate and a Democratic congressional candidate

Question 24

Straight Ticket Voting

Answer 24

casting votes only for candidates of one’s party

Question 25

Suffrage

Answer 25

Right to vote

Question 26

Super-delegate

Answer 26

a delegate to the Democratic national convention who is there by virtue of holding an office.

Question 27

Super PAC

Answer 27

Independent expenditure-only committee

Question 28

Super Tuesday

Answer 28

a Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held.

Question 29

Swing State

Answer 29

a state that does not consistently vote either Democratic or Republican in presidential elections.

Question 30

Think Tanks

Answer 30

Research institutions, often with specific ideological goals.

Question 31

23rd Amendment

Answer 31

Gave Washington D.C. three electoral votes

Question 32

24th Amendment

Answer 32

Prohibits Congress and the states from requiring a poll tax in order to vote.

Question 33

26th Amendment

Answer 33

Lowered the voting age to 18.

Question 34

Voting Rights Act 1965

Answer 34

Outlawed literacy tests and racial discrimination in elections

Question 35

Watchdog

Answer 35

Investigative reporters look for corruption, scandal, or inefficiency.

Question 36

White Primary

Answer 36

Popular method for southern states to keep African Americans from voting; only white voters were allowed to vote.

Question 37

Winner Take All

Answer 37

Candidate who wins most of the popular votes in a given state will receive all of that state’s electoral votes.