| A | B |
|---|
| blanket primary | A variant of the open primary in which the voter receives a ballot that lists the candfidates for nomination of all the parties, enabling the voter tovote for candidates of different parties. |
| closed primary | A type of primary in which the voter must be a registered member of a political party to vote in that party's primary. |
| coattails | The tendency of lesser-known or weaker candidates to profit in an election by the presence of a more popular candidate on the ticket |
| electoral coalition | A base of committed partisans supporting an electoral candidate who also attracts swing voters |
| general election | the second election in a campaign. It determines which party's nominee will win office |
| incumbent | The person currently in office |
| negative ad | Media advertising meant to cast an unfavorable light on an opponent |
| office-bloc ballot | A ballot, sometimes called the Massachusetts ballot, that lists all candidates by office to minimize a straight party ticket vote. |
| open primary | A type of primary in which the voter can decide upon entering the voting booth in which party's primary to participate |
| party-column ballot | A ballot, sometime called the Indiana ballot, that was government-printed and contained a list in columns of all candidates of each party.A voter could simply mark the top on one column to vote for every candidate in that column. I was replaced by the office-bloc ballot. |
| political action committee | A committee, set up by an interest group representing a corporation, labor union, or other interest, to contribute financially to candidates and campaigns. |
| position issue | A compaign issue on which the rival parties or candidates take different positions in order to reach out for electoral support. It tends to divide the electorate. |
| presidential primary | A special kind of primary used to pick delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of the major parties |
| primary election | The first election in a compaign; it determines a party's nominee for an office. |
| prospective voting | Voting on the basis of a person's view of candidates postition on the issues |
| public finance law | A federal law providing funds to candidates seeking the presidency. |
| realigning or critical periods | Period during which a sharp, lasing shift occurs in the popular coalition supporting one or both parties. The issue3s that separate the two parties change, so the kinds of voters supporting each party change. |
| realignment | The situation when a new issue of utmost importance to voters cuts across existing party divisions and replaces old issues that formed the basis of party identification. |
| retrospective voting | Voting on the basis of how things have gone in the recent past. I the voter approve of the current administrations performance, voting for the party in the White House or voting against the party if the voter disapproves. |
| runoff primary | A type of orimary used in some southern states. If no candidate gets a majority of the votes in the first primary vote, the two candidates with the most votes vie in a second primary election |
| split-ticket voting | An election result inwhich a congressional district (or voter) votes for the presidential candidate of one party and the congressional candidate of the other party. |
| spots | Short ads on hefalf of a candidate on television. Such ads may convey a substantial amount of information. |
| straight-ticket voting | Voting for candidates who are all of the same party; for example, voting for the Republican candidates for senator, representative, and president. |
| theme | An element of campaign strategy that is simple, appealing idea that can be repeated over and over again. |
| tone | An element of campaign strategy that involves either a positive or negative approach. |
| valence issue | A campaign issue that is linked in the voters' minds with conditions, goals, or symbols that are almost universally apporved or disapproved by the electorate. |
| visual | A campaign appearance covered in a news broadcast. |
