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 .