Transcript
Politics Vocabulary 1. Political Party \u2013 A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office. 2. Partisanship \u2013 Government action based on firm allegiance to a political party. 3. Plurality \u2013 In an election, winning more votes than the other candidates, but not a majority. 4. Bipartisan \u2013 Supported by two parties. 5. Consensus \u2013 General agreement among various groups on fundamental matters; broad agreement on public questions. 6. Incumbent \u2013 The current officeholder. 7. Electorate \u2013 All of the people entitled to vote in a given election. 8. Split-ticket voting \u2013 Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election. 9. Straight \u2013 ticket voting \u2013 The practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election. 10. General Election \u2013 The regularly scheduled election at which voters make a final selection of officeholders. 11. Caucus \u2013 As a nominating device, a group of people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election. 12. Direct Primary \u2013 An election held within a party to pick that party\u2019s candidates for the general election. 13. Closed Primary \u2013 A party nominating election in which only declared party members can vote. 14. Open Primary \u2013 A party nominating election in which any qualified voter can take part 15. Coattail Effect \u2013 The effect of a strong candidate running for an office at the top of a ballot helping to attract voters to other candidates on the party\u2019s ticket. 16. Political Action Committee (PAC) \u2013 The political extension of special interest groups which have a major stake in pubic policy. They raise money for interest groups and lobby the government. 17. Soft Money \u2013 Money given to State and local party organizations for voting-related activities. 18. Hard Money \u2013 Campaign money that is subject to regulations by the FEC. 19. Mass Media \u2013 Those means of communication that reach large audiences, especially television, radio, printed publications, and the internet. 20. Interest Group \u2013 Private organization whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. 21. Random Sample \u2013 A certain number of randomly selected people who live in a certain number of randomly selected places. 22. Sound Bite \u2013 Short, sharply focused reports that can be aired in 30 or 45 seconds. 23. Lobbying \u2013 Activities by which group pressures are brought to bear on legislators, the legislative process, and all aspects of the public-policy-making process. 24. Propaganda \u2013 A technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors to create a particular belief, regardless of its validity. 25. Grass Roots \u2013 Of or from the people, the average voters.Politics Vocabulary Concept Card Assignment Mr. Smith- Rm. A105 American Government Objective: Students will create concept cards for 8 words from the Politics unit to illustrate their knowledge of the meanings of these words. Directions: \ue000Read all of the words and their definitions to become familiar with the terms in the politics unit. \ue000Pick 8 words that you either feel very comfortable with the definitions of or that you want to more thoroughly understand the definitions of to include in your concept cards. \ue000Divide both sides of your paper into 4 sections, 1 section for each word. \ue000For each word you choose, you must include 3 of the 4 options: o the word\u2019s definition from the book, o a picture to illustrate its meaning (with color), o the word used in a sentence o a synonym for that word or a word that can be associated with it.
