| A | B |
|---|
| Primary | a pre-election vote that determines a political party's candidate for an upcoming election |
| Platform | a political party's specific position or formal stand on major issues |
| Electoral college | the indirect way we elect our president; process of securing popular votes in November for the electoral vote in December |
| National conventions | party celebrations where presidential and vice presidential candidates are "officially" nominated |
| Campaign | the plan of action each candidate uses to win an election |
| Article 2 | section of the U.S. Constitution which outlines the requirements and roles of the president as chief executive |
| Democracy | a political system with free and frequent elections along with civil liberties |
| Democratic Party | the more liberal of the two major parties |
| Republican Party | the more conservative of the two major parties |
| Two party system | a political system which allows for multiple political parties yet attempts to maintain stability by encouraging winners from the two major parties |
| Absentee Ballot | a vote cast by a person unable to get to a polling place on election day |
| Constituent | a person whom an elected official represents |
| GOP | nickname for Republican Party, meaning Grand Old Party |
| Gerrymandering | drawing oddly shaped districts that enable one political party to control elections |
| Incumbent | a current officeholder |
| Majority Party | the party that holds more than half the seats in a legislative body |
| Off-year elections | elections held in years when there is no presidential election |
| Plurality | when a candidate receives more votes than opposing candidates, but still falls short of a majority |
| PAC | (Political Action Committee): a special interest group that contributes money to candidates |
| Special Interests | (also called Lobbies);people or organizations that try to influence a candidate's stand on issues that pertain to their interests |
| Runoff Election | an election held when an earlier election has not resulted in a clear winner or majority. Usually pits the earlier election's top two vote-getters |
| Ticket | the candidates chosen by a political party to represent the party in an upcoming election |
| Liberal | a political viewpoint that favors government involvement in changing social and economic conditions |
| Conservative | a political viewpoint that favors the established order or traditions; favors a laissez-faire attitude toward social and economic conditions |
| Moderate | a middle-of-the-road point of view;able to see and agree with both sides of an issue |
