| A | B |
|---|
| absolute majority | more than half ( one-half of the total plus one more) |
| campaign | a collection of all the efforts a candidate makes to gain support and win an election |
| candidate | person who runs for a government office |
| closed primary | voters of a specific party choose candidates for the general election |
| coalition | parties in multiparty system working together to run the government |
| conventions | a meeting of the political party to choose and show support for their candidate |
| declare | when someone runs for office they make an announcement to the public of their intention to start their campaign |
| delegates | people chosen to attend political conventions because they promise to vote for the candidate the state political party supports |
| distribute | to divide among a group of people; to give a portion out to everyone selected |
| elector | person chosen by each state to select/vote for the president and vice president |
| electoral college | a group selected by the states to elect the president and the vice-president, in which each state's number of electors is equal to the number of its senators and representatives in Congress |
| electoral votes | votes cast by the electors for president and vice-president |
| factor | a cause; an interest |
| general election | allows voters to elect leaders from all political parties |
| grassroots | support for the same platform or candidate, from many different voters, at the local level |
| impact | an effect or result, the outcome |
| incumbent | noun - a politician who is currently holding office who is up for re-election; adj - required or obligatory, a duty or a responsibility |
| independent voters | voters who are not members of a political party |
| influence | to cause change, or have an effect on |
| interest groups | organizations of people with common interests that try to influence government polices and decisions |
| lobby | noun, an interest or pressure group; verb - to put pressure (call, talk, send information to) on an agency or on a government representative to vote for or against a specific issue |
| lobbyist | person paid by a lobby or interest group to represent a group's interests |
| mass media | forms of communication that transmit information to large numbers of people, i.e. tv, newspapers, magazines, radio, facebook, twitter, internet blogs |
| multiparty system | government run by more than two strong political parties |
| nominate | to select a candidate to run for a political office |
| nominee | a person chosen to run for a political office |
| one-party system | government controlled by a single strong political party |
| open primary | voters from any party choose candidates for the general election |
| plank | individual part of a political party's platform |
| platform | a statement of a political party's views on important issues and policies |
| political party | a group of people with similar views on public matters |
| political spectrum | the range of differences in views between political parties |
| poll | survey intended to measure public opinion; word used to describe the location where people go to vote (polls) |
| polling place | location within a precinct where voting takes place |
| popular vote | the tally of all votes cast by all citizens who voted |
| precincts | districts within which all voters vote at the same location |
| primary election | allows voters to choose candidates for a specific political party |
| process | a series of steps by which a task is accomplished |
| propaganda | “ideas that are spread to influence people (positive and negative, truth and lies) |
| public opinion | total of the opinions held concerning a particular issue |
| public policy | a choice that government makes in response to a political issue; a policy is a course of action taken with regard to some problem. It becomes the reason for making a law |
| public-interest groups | organizations that promote the interests of the general public |
| runoff | a special election that occurs to decide a winner when no candidate receives a majority of the votes” |
| secret ballot | a paper ballot listing candidates and marked in private by voters |
| split ticket | voting for candidates of more than one political party on the same ballot |
| straight ticket | voting for candidates who are all of the same party |
| third parties | additional parties in what is normally a two-party system |
| two-party system | government dominated by two main political parties |
| voting booth | a small enclosed area that allows a voter to make their choices in private |
