| A | B |
|---|
| Nomination | The naming of those who will seek office |
| General Elections | Regularly scheduled elections at which voters make the final selection of officeholders |
| Caucus | A group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates the will support in an upcoming election |
| Direct Primary | An intra-party election; held within a party to pick that party's candidates for the general election |
| Closed Primary | A party's nominating election in which only declared party members can vote |
| Open Primary | A party's nominating election in which any qualified voter can cast a ballot |
| Blanket Primary | Lists every candidate, regardless of party; every voter gets the same ballot |
| Runoff Primary | Two top vote-getters in the first party primary face one another for the party's nomination |
| Nonpartisan Elections | Candidates are not identified by party labels |
| Absentee Voting | A process by which voters can vote without actually going to their polling places on election day |
| Coattail Effect | When a strong candidate running for an office at the top of the ballot helps attract voters to the other candidates on the party's ticket |
| Precinct | A voting district |
| Polling Place | The place where voters who live in a precinct actually vote |
| Ballot | The device by which a voter registers a choice in an election |
| Political Action Committee (PACs) | Political arms of special-interest and other organizations with a stake in electoral politics |
| Subsidy | A grant of moeny, usually from government |
| Hard Money | Money raised and spent on elect candidates for Congress and the White House |
| Soft Money | Funds given to party organizations for such "party-building activities" as candidate recruitment |
