The forty-fifth President, a Republican, elected in 2016; first president elected without prior political or military experience; an experienced businessman.

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First female major party candidate for president of the United States, a Democrat, who ran against President Donald J. Trump in 2016. Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013; New York senator from 2001 to 2009; former first lady.

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The citizens eligible to vote

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A command, indicated by an electorate's votes, for the elected officials to carry out a party platform or policy agenda

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Election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent the party in the general election

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A primary election in which only a party's registered voters are eligible to cast a ballot

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A primary election in which party members, independents, and sometimes members of the other party are allowed to participate

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Participation in the primary election of a party with which the voter is not affiliated

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A second primary election between the two candidates receiv- ing the greatest number of votes in the first primary

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Election in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices

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An election that allows citizens to propose legislation or state con- stitutional amendments by submitting them to the electorate for popular vote

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An election whereby the state legislature submits proposed leg- islation or state constitutional amendments to the voters for approval

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An election in which voters can remove an incumbent from office prior to the next scheduled election

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Representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president

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Member of the Electoral College

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The reallocation of the number of seats in the House of Representatives after each decennial census

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Already holding an office

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When successful presidential candidates carry into office congressional candidates of the same party in the year of their election

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The first African American president of the United States, a Democrat, who served as the forty-fourth president from 2009-2017. Senator from Illinois from 2005-2008; member of the Illinois Senate from 1997-2004.

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An election that takes place in the middle of a presidential term

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The individual who travels with the candidate and coor- dinates the campaign

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The individual who coordinates the financial business of the campaign

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The person who develops the overall media strat- egy for the candidate

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The individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists on a daily basis

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A private-sector professional who sells to a candidate the technologies, services, and strategies required to get that candidate elected

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A campaign consultant who conducts public opinion surveys

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The process by which a campaign reaches individual voters, either by door-to-door solicitation or by telephone

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A push at the end of a political campaign to encour- age supporters to go to the polls

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Longest serving independent in the United States Congress. Ran against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary; senator from Vermont since 2007; first elected to the House of Representatives in 1991.

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Advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidate's qualifications, family, and issue positions, with no direct reference to the opponent

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Advertising on behalf of a candidate that attacks the opponent's character or platform

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Ad that compares the records and proposals of the candidates, with a bias toward the candidate sponsoring the ad

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Advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched

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Passed in 1971, this is the primary law that regulates political campaign spending and fundraising. The law originally focused on increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns.

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An independent regulatory agency founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States.

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Passed in 2002, this act amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 with several provisions designed to end the use of nonfederal, or "soft money" (money raised outside the limits and prohibitions of federal campaign finance law) for activity affecting federal elections.

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The 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case that enabled corporations and unions have the same political speech rights as individuals under the First Amendment. As part of this ruling, the Supreme Court found that the government may not prohibit corporations or unions from using their general treasury funds to support or denounce political candidates in elections.

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The 2014 Supreme Court ruling declaring Section 441 of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) unconstitutional. Section 441 imposed limits on any individual's total political contributions (to federal candidates, parties, or political action committees) in a two-year period.

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Officially recognized fund-raising organi- zations that represent interest groups and are allowed by federal law to make contributions directly to candidates' campaigns

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Organizations created with the primary purpose of influencing electoral outcomes; the term is typically applied only to freestanding interest groups that do not explicitly advocate for the election of a candidate

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Interest groups whose primary purpose is not electoral politics

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Political action committees established to make independent ex- penditures

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Spending for campaign activity that is not coor- dinated with a candidate's campaign

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Donations from general tax revenues to the campaigns of qual- ifying presidential candidates

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Donations to presidential campaigns whereby every dollar raised from individuals in amounts less than $251 is matched by the federal treasury

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Activism that attempts to influence the political process through commonly accepted forms of persuasion such as voting or letter writing

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Activism that attempts to influence the political process through unusual or extreme measures, such as protests, boycotts, and picketing

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The proportion of the voting-age public that casts a ballot

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A voter's evaluation of a candidate based on past performance on a particular issue

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A voter's evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do about an issue if elected

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The tendency of states to choose an early date on the nomina- tion calendar

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A federal law passed in 2002 that addresses issues of voting systems and voter access that were identified following the 2000 election. It established minimum election administration standards for states and units of local government with responsibility for the administration of federal elections and for other purposes related to the bill.

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