Vocab Unit 5

Question 1

15th Amendment

Answer 1

Prohibits the federal government from denying a citizen’s right to vote based on race

Question 2

17th Amendment

Answer 2

Each state will have two senators that are elected by the people of the state

Question 3

19th Amendment

Answer 3

Granted women the right to vote

Question 4

24th Amendment

Answer 4

Prohibits the federal and state governments from requiring citizens to pay any tax to vote in federal elections

Question 5

26th Amendment

Answer 5

Lowered the voting age to 18

Question 6

Prospective Voting

Answer 6

When an individual makes a voting decision based on how they believe candidates will behave in the future

Question 7

Retrospective Voting

Answer 7

When an individual makes a voting decision based on how candidates have acted in the past

Question 8

Rational Choice Voting

Answer 8

When an individual votes based off an analysis of all possible candidates

Question 9

Party-Line Voting

Answer 9

When an individual votes based off of party alone

Question 10

Voter Turnout

Answer 10

The total amount of individuals who voted in a given election

Question 11

Compulsory Voting

Answer 11

The requirement that registered voters must vote in an election

Question 12

Linkage Institution

Answer 12

A structure within a society that connects individuals to the government

Question 13

Political Party

Answer 13

A group of individuals organized to acquire and exercise political power

Question 14

Party Platform

Answer 14

A formal set of goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate

Question 15

Party Convention

Answer 15

Large gatherings organized by political parties to nominate candidates for public office

Question 16

Critical Election

Answer 16

Pivotal moments in American political history when significant shifts occur in the electoral alignment of voters

Question 17

Direct Primary

Answer 17

The selection of party candidates through ballots of qualified voters rather than party nomination conventions

Question 18

Open Primary

Answer 18

A primary election where any registered voter can vote in any party’s primary

Question 19

Closed Primary

Answer 19

Only voters which are registered for the party which is holding the primary can vote

Question 20

Caucus

Answer 20

Meetings of members of a political party or faction to discuss and decide candidate selections for an election

Question 21

General Election

Answer 21

Elections in which voters elect officeholders

Question 22

Mid-Term Election

Answer 22

Elections that are held two years after the general elections to vote for all of the seats in the House and some of the seats in the Senate

Question 23

Incumbency Advantage

Answer 23

The benefits that current officeholders have over challengers in elections

Question 24

Electorate

Answer 24

The citizens eligible to vote

Question 25

Electoral college

Answer 25

A unique system in the US that was created to balance the influence of states in the presidential election

Question 26

Winner-Take-All System

Answer 26

A system where the candidate that had the majority vote in a certain state gives all of the state's votes to that candidate

Question 27

Proportional System

Answer 27

Seats in a legislative body are allocated based on the proportion of votes each political party recieves

Question 28

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Answer 28

Organizations that raise and spend money to elect or defeat political candidates

Question 29

Super PACs

Answer 29

Committees that can receive unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations for the purpose of financing a political campaign

Question 30

Hard Money

Answer 30

Political donations that are regulated by law and can only be used for specific purposes of campaign financing

Question 31

Soft Money

Answer 31

Money raised in unlimited amounts for party building purposes

Question 32

Interest Group

Answer 32

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal

Question 33

Ideological Interest Group

Answer 33

Political organizations that attract members by appealing to their political convictions or principals

Question 34

Free-Rider

Answer 34

An individual who does not join a group representing their interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence

Question 35

Lobbyist

Answer 35

A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches

Question 36

Grassroots Support

Answer 36

A method of mobilizing individuals at the local level to participate in political activism and influence change from the ground up

Question 37

Mass Media

Answer 37

Various means of communication that reach large audiences

Question 38

Sound Bite

Answer 38

A brief, memorable comment that can easily be fit into news broadcasts

Question 39

Horse-race Journalism

Answer 39

The tendency of the media to focus on the candidate that is currently winning the presidential race

Question 40

Gatekeeper

Answer 40

The role of the media in deciding which issues become important to public discourse