the result when a voter stops voting for offices and initiatives at the bottom of a long ballot

• ballot fatigue
• caucus

a form of candidate nomination that occurs in a town-hall style format rather than a day-long election; usually reserved for presidential elections

• caucus
• chronic minority

voters who belong to political parties that tend not to be competitive in national elections because they are too small to become a majority or because of the Electoral College system distribution in their state

• winner-take-all system
• chronic minority

an election in which only voters registered with a party may vote for that party’s candidates

• coattail effect
• closed primary
• top-two primary

the result when a popular presidential candidate helps candidates from his or her party win their own elections

• Electoral College
• coattail effect

party members who are chosen to represent a particular candidate at the party’s state- or national-level nominating convention

• shadow campaign
• delegates

the means by which electoral votes are divided between candidates based on who wins districts and/or the state

• delegates
• district system

an accommodation that allows voting up to two weeks before Election Day

• early voting
• recall

the constitutionally created group of individuals, chosen by the states, with the responsibility of formally selecting the next U.S. president

• Electoral College
• winner-take-all system

the advantage held by officeholders that allows them to often win reelection

• incumbent
• incumbency advantage