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| 13864836959 | absentee ballot | One that allows a person to vote without going to the polls on Election Day | 0 | |
| 13864836960 | apathy | a lack of feeling, emotion, or interest | 1 | |
| 13864836961 | linkage institutions | The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda. In the United States, linkage institutions include elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. | 2 | |
| 13864836962 | National Voter Registration Act | "Motor voter Act"- required states to allow voters to register when they get their driver's license | 3 | |
| 13864836963 | political efficacy | The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference | 4 | |
| 13864836964 | Preclearance | mandated by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the prior approval by the Justice Department of changes to or new election laws by certain States | 5 | |
| 13864836965 | Prospective voting | voting for a candidate because you favor his or her ideas for handling issues | 6 | |
| 13864836966 | Retrospective voting | voting for a candidate because you like his or her past actions in office | 7 | |
| 13864836967 | Provisional ballots | a vote that is cast but not counted until determination is made that the voter is properly registered | 8 | |
| 13864836968 | Suffrage | the right to vote | 9 | |
| 13864836969 | Voter apathy | The lack of interest among the citizenry in participating in elections. | 10 | |
| 13864836970 | Voter registration | A system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of Election Day. A few states permit Election day registration. | 11 | |
| 13864836971 | Voter turnout | the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election | 12 | |
| 13864836972 | White primary | the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states' primaries through arbitrary use of registration requirements and intimidation | 13 | |
| 13864836973 | Voting age population | citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching the minimum age requirement | 14 | |
| 13864836974 | Voting eligible population | citizens who have reached the minimum age to be eligible to vote, excluding those who are not legally permitted to cast a ballot | 15 | |
| 13864836975 | Voting blocs | a group of voters that are strongly motivated by a specific common concern or group of concerns to the point that such specific concerns tend to dominate their voting patterns, causing them to vote together in elections | 16 | |
| 13864836976 | Conventions | a way in which something is usually done, especially within a particular area or activity. | 17 | |
| 13864836977 | Critical elections | An electoral "earthquake" where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party. Such periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era. | 18 | |
| 13864836978 | Dark ads | type of online advertising visible only to the advert's publisher and the intended target group | 19 | |
| 13864836979 | DNC | Democratic National Committee | 20 | |
| 13864836980 | RNC | Republican National Committee | 21 | |
| 13864836981 | Democratic republicans | Led by Thomas Jefferson, believed people should have political power, favored strong STATE governments, emphasized agriculture, strict interpretation of the Constitution, pro-French, opposed National Bank | 22 | |
| 13864836982 | Divided government | one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress | 23 | |
| 13864836983 | Grand Old Party | known as the GOP, another way of identifying the Republican Party | 24 | |
| 13864836984 | Hard money | Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed. | 25 | |
| 13864836985 | Ideological parties | Parties based on a particular set of beliefs, a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political matters | 26 | |
| 13864836986 | Independent expenditures | Expenses on behalf of a political message that are made by groups that are uncoordinated with any candidate's campaign. | 27 | |
| 13864836987 | Issues ads | A political advertisement funded and produced by an interest groups rather than by an election campaign. | 28 | |
| 13864836988 | McGovern Fraser Commission | A commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation. | 29 | |
| 13864836989 | Minor parties | smaller political parties-have little impact on national elections | 30 | |
| 13864836990 | New Deal Coalition | coalition forged by the Democrats who dominated American politics from the 1930's to the 1960's. its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals. | 31 | |
| 13864836991 | Party chairperson | the chairman of the national committee of the political party who usually acts as the head of the party's permanent organization and has general direction of party strategy especially during election campaigns. | 32 | |
| 13864836992 | Party dealignment | the gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification. | 33 | |
| 13864836993 | Party realignment | The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period. | 34 | |
| 13864836994 | Platform | a series of statements expressing the party's principles, beliefs, and positions on election issues | 35 | |
| 13864836995 | Political action committee | committee formed by a special-interest group to raise money for their favorite political candidates | 36 | |
| 13864836996 | Republican party | Political party that believed in the non-expansion of slavery & consisted of Whigs, N. Democrats, & Free-Soilers in defiance to the Slave Powers | 37 | |
| 13864836997 | Single issue parties | Parties that concentrate on only one public policy matter | 38 | |
| 13864836999 | Soft money | Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities. | 39 | |
| 13864837000 | Swing states | In a presidential race, highly competitive states in which both major party candidates stand a good chance of winning the state's electoral votes. | 40 | |
| 13864837001 | Super Pac | a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates. | 41 | |
| 13864837002 | Winner take all | An almost obsolete system whereby a presidential aspirant who won the preference vote in a primary automatically won all the delegates chosen in the primary | 42 | |
| 13864837003 | Whig Party | An American political party formed in the 1830s to oppose President Andrew Jackson and the Democrats, stood for protective tariffs, national banking, and federal aid for internal improvements | 43 | |
| 13864837004 | Superdelegates | National party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic national party convention. | 44 | |
| 13864837005 | Third parties | electoral contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections. | 45 | |
| 13864837006 | Two party system | An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections. | 46 | |
| 13864837007 | Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act | Banned soft money donations to political parties (loophole from FECA); also imposed restrictions on 527 independent expenditures (issue ads only, not direct advocacy for a candidate). Declared unconstitutional by Citizens United case. Also known as McCain-Feingold Act. | 47 | |
| 13864837008 | Blanket Primary | a primary election in which each voter may vote for candidates from both parties | 48 | |
| 13864837009 | Buckley v Valeo | A case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld federal limits on campaign contributions and ruled that spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech. The court also stated candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns. | 49 | |
| 13864837010 | Caucasus | a region that straddles the Caucasus Mountains and stretches between the Black and Caspian seas | 50 | |
| 13864837011 | Closed primary | A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote | 51 | |
| 13864837012 | Coattail effect | The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president. | 52 | |
| 13864837013 | Federal Election Campaign Act | A law 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. | 53 | |
| 13864837014 | Federal Election Commission | A six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974. The federal Election Commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws. | 54 | |
| 13864837015 | Front loading | The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention. | 55 | |
| 13864837016 | General election | election in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices | 56 | |
| 13864837017 | Hard money | Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed. | 57 | |
| 13864837018 | Incumbent | the current officeholder | 58 | |
| 13864837019 | Incumbent advantage phenomenon | the tendency of incumbents to win reelection; incumbents have advantages in media exposure, fundraising, and staff | 59 | |
| 13864837020 | Initiative | A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment. | 60 | |
| 13864837021 | Invisible primary | The period before any votes are cast when candidates compete to win early support from the elite of the party and to create a positive first impression of their leadership skills. | 61 | |
| 13864837022 | Iowa caucuses | held in January of presidential election year | 62 | |
| 13864837023 | Midterm election | Elections held midway between presidential elections. | 63 | |
| 13864837024 | Open primary | A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place | 64 | |
| 13864837025 | Plurality | Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half. | 65 | |
| 13864837026 | Recall | A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test. | 66 | |
| 13864837027 | Referendum | a legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate | 67 | |
| 13864837028 | Soft money | Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities. | 68 | |
| 13864837029 | Split ticket | voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election | 69 | |
| 13864837030 | Dark money | political money where the donors of the money do not have to be disclosed | 70 | |
| 13864837031 | Direct lobbying | direct interaction with public officials for the purpose of influencing policy decisions | 71 | |
| 13864837032 | Endorsement | A signature or stamp on the back of a check transferring ownership | 72 | |
| 13864837033 | Free rider | a person who receives the benefit of a good but avoids paying for it | 73 | |
| 13864837034 | Grassroots lobbying | indirect lobbying efforts that spring from widespread public concern | 74 | |
| 13864837035 | Issue networks | The loose and informal relationships that exist among a large number of actors who work in broad policy areas | 75 | |
| 13864837036 | Think tanks | a body of experts providing advice and ideas on specific political or economic problems. | 76 | |
| 13864837037 | Affiliates | Local television stations that carry the programming of a national network | 77 | |
| 13864837038 | Associated Press | An organization founded for the telegraphic dissemination of news in 1848 | 78 | |
| 13864837039 | Bandwagon effect | a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as the front-runner | 79 | |
| 13864837040 | Big three networks | The original television broadcast networks: NBC, CBS, and ABC. | 80 | |
| 13864837041 | Broadcast networks | collection of radio or TV stations that airs programs throughout the country during designated program times | 81 | |
| 13864837042 | Cable News Networks | MSNBC, FOX News, CNN | 82 | |
| 13864837043 | Commentary | a series of notes clarifying or explaining something | 83 | |
| 13864837044 | Confirmation bias | a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence | 84 | |
| 13864837045 | Consumer driven media | media whose content is influenced by the actions and needs of consumers | 85 | |
| 13864837046 | C Span | Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, shows activity in congress at all times | 86 | |
| 13864837047 | Freedom on information act | Gives all citizens the right to inspect all records of federal agencies except those containing military, intelligence, or trade secrets; increases accountability of bureaucracy | 87 | |
| 13864837048 | Free press | If a country has a free press, its newspapers, magazines and television and radio stations are able to express any opinions they want, even if these criticize the government and other organisation | 88 | |
| 13864837049 | Gatekeeper | A team member who keeps abreast of current developments and provides the team with relevant information. | 89 | |
| 13864837050 | Horse race journalism | news coverage that focuses on who is ahead rather than on the issues | 90 | |
| 13864837051 | Investigative reporting | Enterprise reporting that reveals new information, often startling; most often these are stories that official sources would rather not have told | 91 | |
| 13864837052 | Mainstream media | Media sources that predate the Internet, such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. | 92 | |
| 13864837053 | Narrowcasting | targeting media programming at specific populations within society | 93 | |
| 13864837054 | News bureaus | an office for gathering or distributing news | 94 | |
| 13864837055 | Political analysis | the attempt to describe (to answer the what questions) and then to explain politics (to answer the why and how questions) | 95 | |
| 13864837056 | Press conference | meetings of public officials with reporters | 96 | |
| 13864837057 | Scorekeeper | The role played by the national media in keeping track of and helping make political reputations. | 97 | |
| 13864837058 | Soundbites | Short video clips of approximately 10 seconds. Typically, they are all that is shown from a politician's speech on the nightly television news. | 98 | |
| 13864837059 | Talk radio | a format featuring conversations and interviews about topics of interest, along with call-ins from listeners | 99 | |
| 13864837060 | Watchdog | The role played by the national media in investigating political personalities and exposing scandals. | 100 |
