| A | B |
|---|
| Advocacy | Active support of a cause and the art of persuading others to support the same cause. |
| Lobbying | Way to influence the lawmaking process by convincing lawmakers to vote as you want them to. |
| Lobbyist | Someone who works to convince a lawmaker to vote for or against a particular issue. |
| Grassroots | Originating from common or ordinary people. |
| Initiative | Procedure that enables a specified number of voters to propose a law by petition. |
| Referendum | Occurs when a legislative act is referred to voters for final approval or rejection. |
| Recall | Allows voters to remove elected officials from office. |
| National Voter Registration Act | Requires states to make registration forms available at motor vehicle departments, state offices, welfare offices, and agencies that serve the disabled. |
| DemocracyNet | Candidates address a wide range of topics by speaking directly to the voting public without any outside editing. |
| Federal Election Commission | Provides information about national elections, including past statistical data, and provides online access to the National Mail Voter Registration Form. |
| Fifteenth Amendment | Gave African Americans the right to vote. |
| Nineteenth Amendment | Gave women the right to vote. |
| Voting Rights Act 1965 | Removed all barriers to vote, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and character exams. |
| Twenty-Sixth Amendment | Gave 18-year-olds the right to vote. |
| Campaign Finance Reform | Effort to improve methods of financing political campaigns to ensure public's right to know, combat corruption and undue influence, enable equitable competition among candidates, and promote citizen participation in the political process. |
| McCain-Feingold Law | Designed to ban unlimited contributions to national political parties, prohibit certain types of broadcast political ads, and outlaw the solicitation of campaign contributions on federal property. |
| Controversy | Conflict in the public arena |
| Negotiation | Process by which people involved in a dispute discuss their problem and try to reach a solution acceptable to all. |
| Settlement | Agreement. |
| Arbitration | Both parties to a dispute agree to have one or more persons listen to their arguments and make a decision for them. |
| Mediation | Takes place when a third person helps the disputing parties talk about their problem and settle their differences, without imposing a decision on the parties. |
| Ombudspersons | People who have the power to investigate complaints and then help the parties reach some agreement. |
