| A | B |
|---|
| Political Party | A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office |
| Political Spectrum | The range of political views |
| Partisanship | Government action based on firm allegiance to a political party |
| Single Member Districts | Electoral district from which one person is chosen by voters for each elected office |
| Plurality | The number of votes that the leading candidate obtains over the next highest candidate |
| Bipartisan | Supported by two parties |
| Consensus | Broad agreement on public questions |
| Coalition | A temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form a working majority to control a government |
| Incumbent | The current officeholder |
| Faction | A conflicting group |
| Spoils System | The practice of giving officers and other favors of government to political supporters and friends |
| Electorate | All of the people entitled to vote in a given election |
| Sectionalism | A narrow-minded concern for the interests of one section of a country |
| Ideological Parties | Parties based on a particular set of beliefs |
| Single Issue Parties | Parties that concentrate on only one public policy matter |
| Economic Protest Parties | Parties rooted in poor economic times that are dissatisfied with current conditions and demand better times |
| Splinter Parties | Parties that have split away from one of the major parties |
| Ward | A unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members |
| Precinct | A voting district |
