| A | B |
|---|
| Closed Primary | primary election in which members of party may vote for the party's candidate |
| Electoral College | group of people who cast official votes that elect the president |
| Electoral Votes | votes cast by the Electoral College for president and vice president |
| Electors | people elected by the voters in a presidentail election as a member of the Electoral College |
| Favorite Son/ Daughter | men or women in a state party, usually govenors or senators, who are nominated for president by that state's delegates on the first ballot at the national nominating convention |
| Independent Voter | citizen who registers to vote without becoming a member of a political party |
| Keynote Speaker | person who gives the opening speech at a national nominating convention |
| Literacy Test | reading and writing test used as a requirment for voting |
| Open Primary | primary election in which voters may vote for the candidate of any party |
| Plank | each part of a political party's platform |
| Poll Watcher | party representative present at a polling place to see that an election is conducted fairly |
| Party Platform | written statement outlining a political party's views on issues and describing the program it proposes |
| Popular Vote | total votes cast by individual voters in a presidential election |
| Presidential Preference Primary | primary election in which voters in a state select the presidential candidates they wish their delegates to support at the party's national nominating convention |
| Register | have one's name placed on the roll of registered voters |
| Runoff Election | election in which voters choose between the two leading candidates in a primary to determine the party's candidate in the general election |
| Secret Ballot | method of voting in which the voter casts a ballot in secret |
| Split Ticket | ballot on which a person has voted for the candidates of more than one political party |
| Straight Ticket | ballot on which a person votes for all the candidates of one political party |
| Voting Machine | machine by which voters record their votes |
| Political Party | organization of citizens who have similar views on issues and who work for the election of party members to office and for the passage of bills |
| Candidate | person who runs for public office |
| Nominate | select candidates to run for public office |
| Caucus | meeting of party leaders to determine party policy on proposed laws or to choose the party's candidate for public office |
| Coalition | agreement between two or more political parties to work together to run the government |
| Democratic Party | one of the two major parties in the United States |
| Multiparty System | political system in which many political parties play a role in goverment |
| National Nominating Convention | meeting held by the major political parties every four years to draw up the party platform and to choose the party candidates for president and vice president |
| One Party System | political system in which government control is held by a single political party, and in which all other parties are banned |
| Precinct Captain | political party leader in a local voting district |
| Precincts | local voting district in a county, city, or ward |
| Polling Place | place where citizens go to vote |
| Republican Party | one of the two major parties in the United States |
| Third Parties | political organization in the United States other than the major parties |
| Two Party System | political system in which two major political parties have almost equal strength |
