Study Sheet #1 – Public Opinion, Elections, Political Parties
INSTRUCTIONS – If you fully understand the following list of terms you will have
mastered the content necessary to do well on the exam.
26th Amendment (what it said, what it did/did not accomplish, effects of)
1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago (what took place, impact of)
Advertising in Campaigns (noteworthy ads of years past)
Agenda-Setting function of News Media
Approval Rating
Australian Ballot
Base Voters (who they are for which party)
Battleground States (aka "Swing States")
Bellwether
Bounce
Butterfly Ballot
Buckley v. Valeo case (1976)
Bundling
Caucuses
Census
Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)
Coattails
Conventions (changing role of, what takes place at, why important)
Critical Elections (which years were)
“De-Alignment”
Debates (highlights of those viewed in class)
Efficacy
Electoral College (how it works, importance of two-party system, why controversial,
effect on campaign strategy)
Entitlements / Entitlement Programs
Exit Polls
Focus Group
Gender Gap
Gerrymandering
Hard Money vs. Soft Money
“Horse Race” (media coverage of)
Illusion of Saliency
Independent Expenditures
Iowa and New Hampshire (role in presidential nominating process, why praised, why
criticized)
"Linkage Institutions"
Mandate (electoral, not fiscal/financial)
McCain-Feingold Law
McCutcheon V. Federal Election Commission
“Motor Voter” Law
Nominating Process (how parties select presidential candidates, changes in process
over past forty years and since inception)
Party ID (what it is / as predictor of voting behavior)
Political Participation (most common form(s) of)
Political Parties (origins of, structure of, eras of party dominance)
Political Socialization
Polls (what they are, how used, factors affecting accuracy of)
Primaries (open vs. closed)
Prospective vs. Retrospective Voting
Public Financing (which types of campaigns receive it and from what sources, which do
not)
Public Opinion (definition)
Push Poll
Rally Around the President Effect
Realignment (definition of)
Reapportionment
Redistricting
Registered vs. Likely Voters
Sampling
Spin
Straight Ticket vs. Split-Ticket Voting (trends over past several decades)
Superdelegates
"Superpacs"
Swing Voters
Third Parties and Independent Candidates (why they emerge, why they usually fail,
what traditionally happens to them, names of some candidates)
Tracking Poll
Trust and Confidence in Government (Polling Trends in Last 30-40 Years)
Turnout (what it means, typical percentages, how United States compares with other
nations, groups with high/low turnout and implications, historical and current obstacles
to)
Vice-Presidential Selection (criteria frequently used by presidential nominees in
choosing running-mates)