Unit Five TEST REVIEW
Key
1. Electoral College This group officially elects the president of the United States
2. Two Party System The US has this type of party system.
3. Coalitions Political parties within multi party systems must form these to win
Elections – this create strength among the parties
4. One Party System A single political party dominates a government.
5. Watchdog The party out of office acts as one of these. They ensure that the
party in office is doing its job.
6. Splinter Parties Parties that break off from a major party
7. Ideological Parties Parties that exist and focus around a certain set of beliefs
8. Federalists First political party that favored the ratification of the US Const.
9. Anti-Federalists First political party that was against ratification of the US Const.
10. Democrats Political party that is socially liberal
11. Republicans Political party that is socially conservative
12. Radicals Those that fall to the extreme left of the political spectrum
13. Reactionaries Those that fall to the extreme right of the political spectrum
14. Universal Requirements to vote 18 Years old, Resident and Citizen
15. precinct Smallest political division for the purpose of organizing voters
16. Apathy Lack of motivation to vote
17 Exit Poll A survey taken as you leave the polling place
18. 26th Amendment, right to vote for those 18 years old and older
19. 23rd Amendment, DC given 3 electoral votes
20. 24th Amendment, eliminated poll tax
21. 15th Amendment, right to vote cannot be denied because of race
22. 19th Amendment, give women the right to vote.
23. Suffrage/ Franchise This term means right to vote
24. Primary Election This type of election is held in most states to determine each
party’s candidates for presidency.
25. Closed Primary A primary in which only declared party members can vote
26. . Open Primary A primary in which any registered voter can vote
27. Non-Partisan Election Election in which candidates are not affiliated with a political
party.
28. PAC These groups are organized to support particular candidates and give money to those
candidates in hopes that legislation will be passed in their favor.
29. Grassroots Political parties begin at this level, from the community level
30. Platform This is written at each party’s National Convention and is a formal
statement of the party’s principles and objectives.
31. Planks Individual components of the platform.
32. Majority Winning by one more than half
33. Plurality Winning by the most votes.
34. Gerrymandering Drawing district lines to benefit one group or political party
35. Card Stacking Prop. Tech. in which only one side of the issue is presented
36. Glittering Generalities Prop. Tech. – info sounds good but is meaningless
37. Symbols Prop. Tech. – American flag, donkey, elephant
38. Just Plain Folks Prop. Tech. – appearing to be like the average person
39. Bandwagon Prop. Tech. – urges people to follow the crowd
40. Name Calling Prop. Tech. – attacks the opponent
41. Endorsement/ Testimonial Prop. Tech. – uses the endorsement of someone well known.
42. Propaganda A technique of persuasion that is used to influence behavior.
43. Interest Group Groups that share interests and hope to shape public policy
44. Lobbyists Interest groups send these people to speak to legislators on their behalf.
45. 538 Total number of electoral votes
46. Senators + Representatives How do you find the number of electors each state has?
47. 270 Number of electoral votes needed to become president
48. 15 Number of electoral votes NC has
49. California What state has the most electoral votes?
50. Senate Who elects the VP if there is no majority in the Electoral College?
51. House of Representatives Who elects the President if there is no majority in the
Elec. Col.?
52. Federalists This political party favored a strong federal government
53. Anti-Federalists This political party favored a strong state government.
54. Responsibility Citizens should vote, therefore voting is a ____________.
55. Republican Party Protestants, White males and Businessmen tend to favor this
political party.
56. Democratic Party
Minorities, poor individuals and young people tend to favor this
political party.
57. Electorate Eligible voters
58. Soft Money Money given to political parties that goes unregulated by the govt.
59. NAACP Interest group that focuses on the interests of African Americans
60. AARP Interest group that focuses on the interests of the elderly
61. Referendum The legislature sends issues to be voted on by the electorate
62. Initiative The people begin a petition to have an issue placed on the ballot
63. Recall The people hold an election to vote the governor out of office
64. Ballot fatigue The phenomenon in which fewer votes are cast for offices further down the ballot
65. Straight Ticket when one votes for all the candidates in a particular party
66. Split Ticket when one votes for candidates from different political parties
67. Libel a falsely written statement that defames a person
68. Slander a false verbal statement that defames a person
69. Incumbent one who holds office prior to an election
70. Disenfranchise to deny or limit someone’s voting rights