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| Demography | the statistical study of human population especially with reference to size and density, distribution, and vital statistics |
| Political socialization agents | the places where people become associated with information involving politics |
| Political culture | overall societal view of politics and the items/philosophies that the American people and politicians should pursue |
| Exit polls | polls taken while people are leaving the booth |
| Majoritarian politics | in a representative democracy, leaders/office holders will follow the preferences of the citizens very closely based on the majority opinion of those represented |
| Political ideology | The overall feeling of a person politically; whether they are conservative or liberal |
| Political party | a group of people with a generally accepted goal(s) that create a platform to communicate their main objectives |
| Critical elections | elections in which political alignments shift dramatically |
| McGovern-Fraser Commission | due to the 1968 Democratic National Convention, changes were made. This commission established a set of procedures and guidelines for selecting delegates. It required the procedures to be open, which decreased the power of party leaders. This caused many states to shift to primaries instead of caucuses |
| Coalition | a temporary alliance of distinct parties, persons, or states for joint action |
| Superdelegates | only exists in the Democratic party. These are major party leaders such as former presidents who receive a vote to themselves during the primaries |
| Winner-take-all system | the winner of the most electoral votes in a presidential elections wins the entire state (this applies to most states) |
| Party identification | which party people support and identify themselves with |
| Independent | a person who does not associate with a particular party and tends to vote for individuals rather than only on party affiliation |
| Patronage | rewarding people with jobs or power in exchange for monetary or voting support |
| National convention | the meeting for the Republicans and Democrats where they decide who will represent them in the presidential election |
| Caucus | a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction used to select candidates |
| Party-in-the-electorate | a term political scientists use to refer to the members of a political party who usually vote for candidates from that party |
| Single-member district | , an area is divided into a number of geographically defined voting districts represented by a single local official |
| Interest group | a group of persons having a common identifying interest that often provides a basis for action |
| PACs | a popular term for a political committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates that do not support the views of an interest group |
| Iron Triangle | the relationship between Congress, the bureaucracy, and interest groups. |
| Functions of interest groups | raise money to help elect or defeat candidates, use the media to get important information out, and do research/acquire information on their main interests to promote their ideas |
| Amicus curiae | is a legal Latin phrase that means friend of the court |
| Census | a periodic governmental enumeration of the population (most recent was in 2010) |
| Public opinion | the feelings of the general public about a specific issue, event, or person |
| Polling | asking individuals about a candidate or issue; a very flawed method of acquiring information |
| Civil disobedience | it is resistance to the government through non-violent means, usually by refusing to pay taxes |
| Political spectrum | ranges from liberal to conservative and has every place in between. Most people fall in the middle, including most politicians who act neither liberally or conservatively |
| Forms of political participation | some examples include voting, donating, volunteering, campaigning, and running for office. Voting is the most common form of participation |
| Party realignment | when a party shifts to meet the demands of a current election |
| Party dealignment | refers to the weakening ties between the two major political parties and their voters |
| Delegates | representatives at the convention |
| Proportional representation | the idea that the number of electorates or any representation is based on population of the state |
| Ticket-splitting | instead of voting for only one party, a person is picking specific individuals to vote for |
| Party machines | an antiquated system where political parties made all decisions and individuals had no say |
| Responsible party model | the model states that 1) parties must have clear policy platforms and offer distinct choices to the voters, 2) voters must be aware of the differences between the parties and vote based on party platforms, 3) once elected, members of each party must actively work to enact their party’s platform, and 4) voters must be able to hold parties accountable |
| Party-in-government | all of the elected and appointed officials who identify with a party |
| Party organization | there are national, state, and local parties that, while interrelated, often have different agendas |
| Multi-party system | system where there are multiple parties that compete for power |
| Primaries | type of election that decides who will be running for each party for president; open means anyone can vote and closed means that you have to be registered with the party |
| Lobbying | to promote (as a project) or secure the passage of a piece of legislation by influencing public officials |
