Politics Vocabulary Concept Card

Politics Vocabulary 1. Political Party – A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office. 2. Partisanship – Government action based on firm allegiance to a political party. 3. Plurality – In an election, winning more votes than the other candidates, but not a majority. 4. Bipartisan – Supported by two parties. 5. Consensus – General agreement among various groups on fundamental matters; broad agreement on public questions. 6. Incumbent – The current officeholder. 7. Electorate – All of the people entitled to vote in a given election. 8. Split-ticket voting – Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election. 9. Straight – ticket voting – The practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election. 10. General Election – The regularly scheduled election at which voters make a final selection of officeholders. 11. Caucus – As a nominating device, a group of people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election. 12. Direct Primary – An election held within a party to pick that party’s candidates for the general election. 13. Closed Primary – A party nominating election in which only declared party members can vote. 14. Open Primary – A party nominating election in which any qualified voter can take part 15. Coattail Effect – The effect of a strong candidate running for an office at the top of a ballot helping to attract voters to other candidates on the party’s ticket. 16. Political Action Committee (PAC) – The political extension of special interest groups which have a major stake in pubic policy. They raise money for interest groups and lobby the government. 17. Soft Money – Money given to State and local party organizations for voting-related activities. 18. Hard Money – Campaign money that is subject to regulations by the FEC. 19. Mass Media – Those means of communication that reach large audiences, especially television, radio, printed publications, and the internet. 20. Interest Group – Private organization whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. 21. Random Sample – A certain number of randomly selected people who live in a certain number of randomly selected places. 22. Sound Bite – Short, sharply focused reports that can be aired in 30 or 45 seconds. 23. Lobbying – Activities by which group pressures are brought to bear on legislators, the legislative process, and all aspects of the public-policy-making process. 24. Propaganda – A technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors to create a particular belief, regardless of its validity. 25. Grass Roots – Of or from the people, the average voters.

Politics Vocabulary Concept Card Assignment Mr. Smith- Rm. A105 American Government Objective: Students will create concept cards for 8 words from the Politics unit to illustrate their knowledge of the meanings of these words. Directions:  Read all of the words and their definitions to become familiar with the terms in the politics unit.  Pick 8 words that you either feel very comfortable with the definitions of or that you want to more thoroughly understand the definitions of to include in your concept cards.  Divide both sides of your paper into 4 sections, 1 section for each word.  For each word you choose, you must include 3 of the 4 options: o the word’s definition from the book, o a picture to illustrate its meaning (with color), o the word used in a sentence o a synonym for that word or a word that can be associated with it.