| A | B |
|---|
| Hard money | Money raised and spent to elect candidates to Congress and the White House. |
| Runoff | Primary in which the top two vote-getters in the first direct primary face one another. |
| Subsidy | A grant of money. |
| Absentee Voting | Provisions made for those unable to get to their regular polling places on election day. |
| Closed | Primary nominating election in which only declared party members can vote. |
| Caucus | A group of like-minded people who meet to select candidates to support in the next election. |
| Nomination | Process of candidate selection in the electoral system. |
| Polling place | Where the voters who live in a certain precinct go to vote. |
| Soft money | Money raised for "party-building" activities. |
| Nonpartisan election | Elections in which candidates are not identified by party labels. |
| General election | Regularly scheduled election at which voters make a final selection for office. |
| Open | Primary nominating election in which any qualified voter can take part. |
| Blanket | A voting process in which voters receive a long ballot containing the names of all the contenders, regardless of party, and can vote however they choose. |
| Direct | Election held within a party to pick that party's candidates for the general election. |
| Coattail effect | A strong candidate running for an office at the top of a ballot helps attract voters to other candidates on the party's ticket. |
| Ballot | Device voters use to register a choice in an election. |
| Political Action Committee | Political extension of special-interest groups who have a major stake in public policy. |
| Precinct | Smallest unit of election administration. |
