| A | B |
|---|
| political party | group that seeks to control govt by winning elections and holding public office |
| major parties | Republican and Democrat |
| partisanship | strong support for party and its policy stands |
| party in power | in control of the executive branch of gov |
| minor party | one of many pol. parties without wide voter support |
| two party system | dominates American politics - Rep and Dem have reasonable chance of winning elections |
| single member district | contests in which only one candidate is elected to each office on a ballot |
| plurality | the largest number of votes cast for an office |
| bipartisan | two major parties find common ground and work together |
| pluralistic society | several distinct cultures and groups |
| consensus | a general agreement among various groups |
| multi party | system in which several major and many lesser parties exist and compete for public office |
| coalition | temporary alliance of several groups who come together to control gov |
| one party system | really a "no party" system - only one party allowed |
| incumbent | current office holder |
| faction | conflicting groups |
| electorate | people eligible to vote |
| sectionalism | emphasizing the devotion to the interests of a particular region |
| ideological parties | party based on a particular set of beliefs |
| single issue party | focus only on one public policy issue/ matter |
| economic protest party | rooted in period of economic discontent - demand better times |
| splinter parties | split away from major parties |
| ward | a unit into which cities are often divided for election of city council members |
| precinct | smallest unit of election administration |
| split ticket voting | voting for candidates of different parties for different offices during same election |
