AP Gov Ch. 12 Flashcards

5234789680	Candidate-Centered politics	politics that focuses on the candidates, their particular issues, and character rather than party affiliation.	0
5234789681	Critical Election	an election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues and personalities.	1
5234790469	Dealignment	a general decline in party identification and loyalty in the electorate.	2
5234790470	National Convention	party meeting held in the presidential election year for the purpose of nominating a presidential and vice presidential ticket and adopting a platform.	3
5234791388	National party platform	a statement of the general and specific philosophy and policy goals of a political party, usually promulgated at the national convention.	4
5234791389	Party identification	a citizens personal affinity for a political party, usually expressed by a tendency to vote for the candidates of that party.	5
5234792427	party realignment	dramatic shifts in partisan preferences that drastically alter the political landscape.	6
5234793618	political (party) machine	a party organization that recruits voter loyalty with tangible incentives and is characterized by a high degree of control over member activity.	7
5234793619	political party	an organized effort by office holders, candidates, activists, and voters to pursue their common interests by gaining and exercising power through the electoral process.	8
5234794189	proportional representation	a voting system that apportions legislative seats according to the percentage of the vote won by a particular political party.	9
5234794933	secular realignment	the gradual rearrangement of party coalitions, based more on demographic shifts than on shocks to the political system.	10
5234796932	superdelegates	delegate to the Democratic Party's national convention that is reserved for a party official and whose vote at the convention is unpledged to a candidate.	11
5234796933	think tank	institutional collection of policy-orientated researchers and academics who are sources of policy ideas.	12
5234800158	winner-take-all system	an electoral system in which the party that receives at least one more vote than any other party wins the election.	13