AP GoPo - Unit 3 Key Terms - Political Process

Front

Ads that focus on specific issues as opposed to the candidates themselves.

Back

Issue Ads

Front

political theory that states that countries that use plurality voting (most votes wins), like the US, will ultimately be dominated by two political parties (leaving any 3rd parties to be doormats).

Back

Duverger's law

Front

These are election years that come between the 4 year Presidential election cycle, OR you can look at it as election years that do not involve a Presidential election (ex: 2014, 2018, 2022).

Back

midterm elections

Front

This is when a country has more than two major political parties.

Back

multi-party system

Front

By definition, this is a meeting of party members. Some states use this format to nominate candidates for office (as opposed to using a primary election). Congress uses this format to choose its leaders for the House and Senate (ex. Speaker of the House)

Back

caucus

Front

This is an expression used to describe one person (candidate) riding the popularity of another person to gain favor with voters.

Back

coattail effect

Front

This is the lifelong process of developing your own political ideology. This includes all things in life that have influenced your ideology (family, friends, education, experiences, religion, media, etc.)

Back

political socialization

Front

This is when PACs/Super Pacs combine like minded individual’s money together to be donates to a candidate or campaign.

Back

bundling

Front

These are elections that most states use to NOMINATE candidates to run for office. It is used to trim the list of democratic and republican nominees to one final candidate for each party. Some states use the caucus format instead of these nominating elections.

Back

primary elections

Front

The group of 538 people who officially choose the President and Vice President of the United States.

Back

The Electoral College