| A | B |
|---|
| party competition | The battle political parties hold for control of the government. |
| political party | a group of people seeking to control the government by winning elective office. |
| linkage institution | Those groups that connect the government to the people. These are commonly considered elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. |
| rational-choice theory | both voters and politicians act in their own best interest carefully weighing the cost and benefits before taking action (voting or taking a position on an issue). |
| party image | the voter's perception of what a political party's positions are. |
| party identification | a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for a political party. |
| ticket splitting | voting for a candidate from one party, and voting for a candidate from a different party for a different office. |
| straight ticket | voting only for candidates from one party no matter the office. |
| party machine | a political party organization which relies on material inducements (patronage) to win votes and govern. |
| patronage | when a job, promotion or contract is given for political reasons rather than for merit. |
| closed primary | elections to select a party's nominees for office in which only registered party members can vote. |
| open primary | elections to select a party's nominees for office in which voters can choose which primary they will vote in (Democratic or republican usually) secretly at the voting booth. |
| national party convention | a meeting of a party's delegates held every four years. This convention writes the party's platform and chooses it presidential and vice presidential candidate. |
| national committee | This group, made up of representatives of the state parties keeps a party, operating between national conventions. |
| national chairperson | This person's job is to run the day to day operations of a political party. |
| coalitions | a group of people who hold a common interest. The major political parties are made up of and compete for the support of these groups. |
| critical election | These are elections where a major change in party alignment occurs. These realignments happen when one or more coalitions change party loyalty. |
| party realignment | When the majority party and minority party change for a long period of time. These usually occur with a critical election. |
| New Deal coalition | a coalition formed supporting the Democratic party. This coalition made up of urban workers, minority groups, Catholics, Jews, the poor, Southerners and intellectuals was the majority party from 1932 until the 1970's. |
| party dealignment | less and less people are identifying themselves with one party or the other. |
| third parties | political parties other than the Democrats or Republican. |
| winner-take-all system | an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the person who comes in with the most votes in an election district. |
| proportional representation | an electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded based on the percentage of votes each party won in an election. |
| coalition government | when two or more parties in a parliamentary system join together to form a majority (ruling) government. |
| responsible-party model | The idea that a political party should hold clear choices that the voters know and that the party works to carry out when they hold a majority. |
| Blue Dog Democrats | fiscally conservative democrats who hold office. They often come from the South or rural districts. |
