AP U.S. Government and Politics Unit 5 Terms

absentee ballot

• A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering
• A ballot completed and typically mailed in advance of an election by a voter who is unable to be present at the polls.
• The role played by the national media in investigating political personalities and exposing scandals.
• A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote

Andrew Jackson

• Groups of individuals who share a common profession and are often organized for common political purposes related to that profession.
• Advertisements that support or oppose candidates' views without specifically calling for their election or defeat
• Institutions that connect citizens to government. The mass media, interest groups, and political parties are the three main ones.
• Founder of the Democratic Party; President of the "Common Man"

apathy

• A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote
• Money designated for the purpose of conducting a winning campaign
• Stories regarding politics and its leaders
• Lack of interest or concern regarding politics and policymaking

Australian ballot

• Promotes policies based on a set of core political or religious beliefs
• People elected by the voters in a presedential election as members of the electoral college
• A government printed ballot of uniform size and shape to be cast in secret that was adopted by many states around 1890 in order to reduce the voting fraud associated with party printed ballots cast in public.
• Strategy of lobbyists that work closely with a few key members of Congress, meeting them privately to exchange information and favors

Civil Rights Act (1957, 1964)

• The right to vote
• Local voting districts in a county, city, or ward
• 1957 - addressed discrimination in voter registration and established the U.S. Office of Civil Right, an enforcement agency in the Justice Department. 1964 - also addressed voting.
• Divisions of a city for electoral or administrative purposes or as units for organizing political parties

electorate

• All the people in a country or area who are entitled to vote in an election.
• An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins
• The 1961 constitutional amendment permitting residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
• Money designated for the purpose of conducting a winning campaign

Fifteenth Amendment

• Electoral event in which residents of this state meet in precinct caucuses to elect delegates
• The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
• Group of interconnected stations that share programming and a parent company that supplies programming to stations
• A federal legislative agency that audits (investigates) other agencies of the federal government and reports it's findings to Congress (makes sure they are not spending more money than the government has appropriated for them).

franchise

• The right to vote
• Donations to the presidential campaign from the federal government that are determined by the amount of private funds a qualifying candidate raises. No recent presidential candidate has accepted them.
• National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention. Not permitted to vote on the 1st ballot for President starting in 2020.
• Representatives of interest groups who contact lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making

gender gap

• The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference
• Passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission (FEC), provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions.
• Longstanding nickname for the Republican Party; ironically, bestowed early in the party's history, in the 1870's
• Difference in political views between men and women

Grandfather Clause

• An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections.
• Declared some federal limits on campaign contributions in FECA violated First Amendment (ex. maximum spending limit and limits on candidates' spending their own money).
• Allowed people to vote if their father or grandfather had voted before Reconstruction
• The attempt to describe (to answer the what questions) and then to explain politics (to answer the why and how questions)