Election Vocabulary

the right to vote

• Register

• Sufferage

• Election

• Drafe

to officially sign up to vote

• Sufferage

• Register

• Nomminate

• Election

all counties and cities are divided into geographical voting districts

• Nominate

• Register

• Polling place

• Precincts

a paper ballot that lists the names of the candidates. A voter marks his ballot in private.

• Polling place

• Secret ballot

• Initiative

• Recall

this happens first. It allows voters to choose which candidates will run in the general election for each party (only 1 from each political party).

• General election

• Secret ballot

• Initiative

• Primary election

where voters choose their leaders from the winners of the primaries

• General election

• Primary election

• Referendum

• Electoral college

the votes cast directly by the people to choose the electors

• Secret ballot

• General election

• Initiative

• Popular vote

– a group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and VP. If no candidate receives at least 270 votes, the House of Representatives choose from the top 3 candidates.

• Popular vote

• Electoral college

• Initiative

• unpopular vote

a procedure by which citizens can propose new laws or state constitutional amendments

• Referendum

• Initiative

• Recall

• Representatives

a procedure by which citizens vote on state or local laws

• Political spectrum

• Initiative

• Recall

• Referendum