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| 5314158805 | Political Party | ✓ Group of citizens who organize to win elections, operate governments, and determine public policy | 0 | |
| 5314158806 | Plurality Election | ✓ Winning candidate receives more votes than anyone else ✓ Less than half the total | 1 | |
| 5314158807 | Single Member District | ✓ One person is chosen by the voters for each office ✓ Typically leads to legislatures led by 2 political parties | 2 | |
| 5314158808 | Party Era | ✓ Historical period dominated by 1 political party | 3 | |
| 5314158809 | Critical Election | ✓ Election when significant groups of voters change patterns of party loyalty | 4 | |
| 5314158810 | Party Realignment | ✓ Triggered by critical election ✓ Majority is displaced by minority party, thus new party era | 5 | |
| 5314158811 | Divided Government | ✓ One party controls presidency while another controls congress ✓ Typical of US Politics since the '70s | 6 | |
| 5314158812 | Interest Groups | ✓ Organization where members share views on specific interests ✓ Do not elect people into office, influences public policy into their benefit | 7 | |
| 5314158813 | Political Action Committee (PAC) | ✓ Committee formed by business, labor, or other interest groups ✓ Raise money and make contributions to the campaigns/candidates | 8 | |
| 5314158814 | Free Riders | ✓ People who benefit from an interest group w/o making any contribution ✓ Ex. Labor Unions | 9 | |
| 5314158815 | Power Elite Theory | ✓ Small number of very wealthy individuals, powerful corporate interest groups, and large financial institutions dominate policy | 10 | |
| 5314158816 | Pluralist Theory | ✓ Many interest groups compete for power in a large number of policy areas | 11 | |
| 5314158817 | Hyper-pluralist Theory | ✓ Government policy is weakened and often contradicted ✓ This is because there are so many competing interest groups | 12 | |
| 5314158818 | Mass Media | ✓ Means of communication ✓ Newspapers, TV, radio, and the interest that reach large, widely dispersed areas | 13 | |
| 5314158819 | Horse-Race Journalism | ✓ Tendency of media to cover campaigns by emphasizing the standings in polls ✓ Not on where they stand on issues | 14 | |
| 5314158820 | Linkage Institutions | ✓ Institutions that connect citizens to the government | 15 | |
| 5314158821 | Functions of Parties | ✓ Recruiting and nominating candidates for public office, running campaigns ✓ Serving as a linking institution that connects citizens to government | 16 | |
| 5314158823 | Party Organization | ✓ National leaders, state chairpersons, county chairpersons ✓ National, state, and local party organizations are independent | 17 | |
| 5314158824 | One-Party System | ✓ System in which one party exercises total control over the government ✓ Ex. China | 18 | |
| 5314158825 | Two-Party System | ✓ Two major political parties compete for control of public offices ✓ Ex. U.S. | 19 | |
| 5314158826 | Multi-Party System | ✓ Number of political parties compete for office and represent a wide variety of different ideologies ✓ Ex. Germany | 20 | |
| 5314158827 | Core Political Values | ✓ Strong commitment to a group of core values ✓ Belief in freedom, political equality, individualism, and equality under law | 21 | |
| 5314158829 | Single-Member Districts | ✓ Almost all elections are held this way; only one candidate is elected | 22 | |
| 5314158831 | Winner-Take-All | An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins. | 23 | |
| 5314158832 | Legal Barriers to Third Parties | ✓ Names of Democratic and Republican candidates are automatically placed on state ballots ✓ Minor party candidates must persuade registered voters to sign petitions | 24 | |
| 5314158834 | Federalists | ✓ Led by Alexander Hamilton ✓ Supported a strong federal government ✓ Liked a national bank | 25 | |
| 5314158840 | FDR and the New Deal Coalition | ✓ Great Depression marked an end to Republican dominance ✓ Democrats advocated a program of relief, recovery, and reform | 26 | |
| 5314158841 | Southern Strategy | ✓ Republicans designed to break the Democratic Party's long dominance in the South ✓ Party realignment gradually occurred as Southern conservatives transferred their loyalty to the Republican party | 27 | |
| 5314158843 | Divided Government Consequences | ✓ Heightened partisanship and made it difficult for moderates to compromise ✓ Slowed confirmation of the legislative process, thus creating gridlock | 28 | |
| 5314158844 | Changes in Voter Trends in the last 50 Years | ✓ Decline in the percentage of voters who identify as Democratic or Republican ✓ Rise in those as independents ✓ Significant increase in split-ticket voting ✓ Party Dealignment | 29 | |
| 5314158845 | Types of Minor Parties | ✓ Dominated by charismatic leaders ✓ Organized around a single issue ✓ Organized around an ideology | 30 | |
| 5314158846 | Obstacles to Minor Party Candidates | ✓ Winner-take-all makes it difficult for a minor party candidate to win ✓ Single-member districts make it difficult to win seats ✓ Excluded from presidential debates | 31 | |
| 5314158847 | Importance and Impact of Minor Parties | ✓ Express strong views on controversial issues ✓ Push major parties to adopt their ideas ✓ Can play the spoiler role | 32 | |
| 5314158848 | Ways Interest Groups link Citizens to Government | ✓ Express members' preferences to gov't policymakers ✓ Convey government policy information to their members ✓ Raise and spend money to influence policymakers | 33 | |
| 5314158849 | Political Parties v. Interest Groups | ✓ Parties are accountable for voters. Interest groups are private. ✓ Interest groups focus only on specific issues that directly affect their members | 34 | |
| 5314158852 | Public Interest Groups | ✓ Advocate for the public good ✓ They support causes such as consumer rights, alternative energy, and electoral reform | 35 | |
| 5314158853 | Single-Issue Groups | ✓ Focus their efforts on a single issue ✓ National Rifle Association | 36 | |
| 5314158854 | Lobbying Congress | ✓ Testify before congressional committees ✓ Provide members of Congress with information on technical issues ✓ Meet informally with congressional aides | 37 | |
| 5314158855 | Lobbying the Executive Branch | ✓ Interest groups direct particular attention to establishing access to regulatory agencies | 38 | |
| 5314158856 | Lobbying the courts | ✓ Inappropriate for lobbyists to have an informal meeting with a federal judge ✓ Can take their case to courts | 39 | |
| 5314158857 | Amicus Curiae Brief | ✓ Friend of the court brief in a case the group has interest in ✓ Written arguments to support a specific side in the case | 40 | |
| 5314158859 | PACs Role | ✓ Support incumbent members ✓ Contribute to House members who serve on committees that consider legislation affecting the group | 41 | |
| 5314158862 | Agenda Setting | ✓ Consists of issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and the mass media play an important role ✓ Draws public attention to particular issues | 42 | |
| 5314158863 | Candidate-Centered Political Campaigns | ✓ Less focused on issues ✓ Speeches to sound bites ✓ Focuses on day to day activities ✓ Horse-Race Journalism | 43 |
