Unit 2 – Political Parties Vocabulary Key Words
Political party – organized group that seeks to control the government through the winning of elections and holding of public office
Major parties – a dominant party in a governmental system
Coalition – a union of persons or groups of diverse interests; an alliance of parties for the purpose of forming a government
Minor parties – one of the less widely supported political parties in a governmental system
Two-party system – political system in which the candidates of only two (major) parties have a reasonable chance of winning elections
Single-member district – electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each office on the ballot
Plurality – in an election, at least one more vote than that received by any other candidate
Pluralistic society – one consisting of several distinct cultures and groups
Consensus – general agreement among various groups on fundamental matters
Multiparty – political system in which three or more major parties compete for public offices
Electorate – all of the persons entitled to vote in a given election
Ideological parties – political party based on a particular set of beliefs, a comprehensive view of social, economic and political matters
Single-issue parties – political party that concentrates on a single public policy issue
Economic protest parties – political parties rooted in periods of economic discontent
Splinter parties – political party that has split away (broken away) from one of the major parties
Ward – local unit of party organization; also a district within a city for city council elections
Precinct – the smallest unit of election administration; a local voting district
Split-ticket voting – voting for candidates of more than one party in the same election
Nomination – the process of selecting (naming) candidates for office
General election – regularly scheduled election at which the voters choose public officeholders
Caucus – a meeting of a group of like-minded persons to select the candidates they will support in an election
Direct primary – the most widely used method of making nominations in American politics; an intraparty nominating election at which those who vote choose a party’s candidates to run in the general election
Closed primary – form of the direct primary in which only declared party members may vote
Open primary – form of the direct primary in which any qualified voter may participate without regard to his/her party allegiance
Blanket primary – a nominating election in which voters may switch from one party’s primary to another on an office-to-office basis
Runoff primary – a second primary, involving the two front-runners in the first contest; help where election law requires a majority vote for nomination
Coattail effect – influence that a popular candidate for a top office can have on the voters’ support of other candidates of his/her party on the same ballot
Polling place – particular location where those voters who live in a particular area vote in an election
Ballot – device by which a voter registers a choice in an election
Political Action Committee (PAC) – political arm of a special interest group that seeks to influence elections and public policy decisions