Following the civil war 1920, constitutional amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.

1971 constitutional amendment guaranteeing 18-year-olds the right to vote.

Australian ballot:

Big state strategy: 

Presidential political campaign strategy in which a candidate focuses on winning primaries in large states b/c of their high delegate counts.

Campaign contribution disclosure (campaign strategy):

Plan for a political campaign, usually including a theme, an attempt to define the opponent of the issues, and an effort to coordinate images and messages in news broadcasts and paid advertising.

Closed primaries: 

Primary elections in which voters must declare (or have previously declared) their party affiliation and can cast a ballot only in their own party’s primary election.

Delegates: 

Accredited voting members of a party’s national presidential nominating convention.

Republicans: one of the main parties in American politics; it traces its origins to Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party, acquiring its current name under Andrew Jackson in 1828.

Intense media coverage of a scandal or event that blocks out most other news.

Free use of the U.S. mails granted to members of Congress to promote communication with constituents.

Presidential political campaign strategy in which a candidate focuses on winning early primaries to build momentum.

Those who supported the U.S. Constitution during the ratification process and who later formed a political party in support of John Adam’s presidential candidacy.

Agency charged with enforcing federal election laws and disbursing public presidential campaign funds.

People who do not belong to an organization or pay dues, yet nevertheless benefit from its activities.

Historical events that affect the views of those who lived through them age groups.

Aggregate differences in political opinions of men and women.

Groups given a larger percentage of their vote to the Democratic (blacks, Catholics, Jews, less-educated) or Republican (whites, protestants, better educated voters) candidates than the candidate received from the total electorate.

Attempts to influence government decision making by inspiring constituents to contact their representatives.

Media coverage of electoral campaigns that concentrates on who is ahead and who is behind, and neglects the issues at stake.

Tendency of survey respondents to provide socially acceptable answers to questions.

Congress passed this in 2002 in reaction to the controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election. The act authorizes federal aid to the states to help replace punch cards and lever voting machines and establishes minimum election administration standards throughout the country. Requires states to modernize registration and voting procedures and technologies.

Consistent and integrated system of ideas, values, and beliefs.

Diminishes the influence of the media in determining what we think about. 2 Situation in which individuals are subjected to so many communications that they cannot make sense of them

Are often weak, unstable, ill informed, or nonexistent on specific policy issues.

is the first agent of socialization (grades 3-5) begins to identify themselves as either D or R, schools: Political revolutionaries once believed that the school was the key to molding political values and beliefs. It is not clear whether education itself is a cause of political participation, or whether people who choose a college experience are predisposed to participate in civic affairs, religion: Shapes political attitudes on a variety of issues, including abortion, drugs, the death penalty, homosexuality, and prayer in public schools. Plays a role in political ideology, race: differs sharply across racial lines on 

People who feel strongly about politics and who hold strong opinions about political issues are more likely to vote than people who do not.

an expression of good citizenship, and it reinforces attachment to the nation and to democratic government. Nonvoting suggests alienation from the political system.

Third party that exists to promote an ideology rather than to win elections.

Mutually supportive relationships among interest groups, government agencies, and legislative committees with jurisdiction over a specific policy area.

Interest groups that pursue ideologically based (liberal or conservative) agendas.

Examination of a person’s ability to read and write as a prerequisite to voter registration, outlawed by Voting Rights Act (1965) as discriminatory.

Activities directed at government officials with the hope of influencing their decisions.

Tightly disciplined party organization, headed by a boss, that relies on material rewards—including patronage jobs—too control politics.

Federal mandates that states offer voter registration at driver’s licensing and welfare offices.

Elections in which candidates do not officially indicate their party affiliation; often used for city, county, school board, and judicial elections.

New Deal, Fair Deal, Great Society:

New Democrats: 

During 1980s, Democratic leaders among governors and senators came together in the Democratic Leadership Council to create a “new” Democratic Party closer to the center of the political spectrum. The chair was Bill Clinton. The concern of the council was that the Dem. Party’s traditional support for social justice and social welfare programs was overshadowing its commitment to economic prosperity.

Primary elections in which a voter may cast a ballot in either party’s primary election.

Aggregate of preferences and opinions of individuals on significant issues.

Taxes imposed as a prerequisite to voting; prohibited by the 24^th Amendment.

Statement of principles adopted by a political party at its national convention (specific portions of the platform are known as planks); a platform is not binding on the party’s candidates.

Third party that arises in response to issues of popular concern which have not been addressed by the major parties.

Appointment to public office based on party loyalty.

Organizations that solicit and receive campaign contributions from corporations, unions, trade associations, and ideological and issue-oriented groups, and their members, then distribute these funds to political candidates.

The small group of people who are interested and active in public affairs, who call or write their elected representatives; who join organizations and contribute money to causes and candidates,; who attend meetings, rallies, and demonstrations; and who hold strong opinions on a wide variety of public issues.

Interest groups that claim to represent broad classes of people or the public as a whole.

Theory that democracy can be achieved through competition among multiple organized groups and that individuals can participate in politics through group memberships and elections.

Voting for or against a candidate or party on the basis of past performance in office.

Aggregate differences in political opinions between men and women.

Combination of economic and social conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and defense-minded anti-communists who rallied behind Republican President Ronald Reagan.

System in which competitive parties adopt a platform of principles, recruiting candidates and directing campaigns based on the platform, and holding their elected officials responsible for enacting it.

The movement of individuals from government positions to jobs in the private sector, using the experience, knowledge, and contacts they acquired in government employment.

Issues about which most people have an opinion.

Delegates to the Democratic Party national convention selected b/c of their position in government or that party and not pledged to any candidate.

Third party formed around one particular cause.

Organizations formed to support or oppose government action on a specific issue.

Federal law designed to protect the voting rights of minorities by requiring the Justice Department’s approval of changes in political districts and certain other electoral procedures. The 1965 act, as amended, has eliminated most of the restrictive practices that limited minority political participation.

Number of voters who actually cast ballots in an election, as a percentage of people eligible to register and vote. Typically 40% of the voting-age fails to vote.