What are 527s?Organizations that are independent of any party or candidate, and thus not regulated by the FEC as they advocate publicly for or against specific candidates, parties, or policies.
What is an Australian ballot?A type of ballot that lists all candidates running for each office and allows voters to cast their votes secretly and for specific individual candidates.
What is a closed primary?A primary election in which only voters registered with the party can vote.
What is the convergence theory?A theory that says that if there are two candidates competing in an election, and voters are arrayed along a line ideologically, the candidates' policy positions will become more moderate as they converge on the middle - median voter.


What is divergence theory?A theory that says that voters on the extreme ends of the ideological spectrum, as opposed to moderate voters, have strong influence over electoral outcomes, and will influence candidates to campaign in favor or more extreme policies.
What is the Federal Election Commission (FEC)?The federal agency that regulates campaign donations to and spending by candidates for Congress and the presidency.
What is hard money?Campaign funds that are given directly to candidates or parties to support a particular candidate, and thus subject to FEC regulations.
What is an initiative?An election held to vote directly on a ballot proposition that was proposed by a group of individuals.


What is an open primary?A primary election in which anyone can vote, regardless of party affiliation.
What is plurality rule?A method for determining an election's winner in which that candidate who receives the most votes wins.
What is a political action committee (PAC)?A type of organization regulated by the Federal Election Commission that raises money from donors to support the election campaign of federal political candidates.
What is a referendum?An election in which citizens vote directly on whether to overturn a bill or a constitutional amendment that has been passed by the legislature.


What is a single-member district?An electoral district in which a single person is elected to a given office.
What is soft money?Campaign funds that are given to parties or other organizations to support voters mobilization or voter education activities, and thus typically not subject to FEC regulations.
What is a caucus?A meeting of party members designed to select candidates and propose policies.
Define coattail effect.The influence of a popular candidate on the electoral success of other candidates on the same party ticket. The effect is increased by the partycolumn ballot, which encourages straight-ticket voting.


What is an elector?A member of the electoral college, which selects the president and vice president. Each state
What is an office-block, or Massachusetts, ballot?A form of general-election ballot in which candidates for elective office are grouped together under the title of each office. It emphasizes voting for the office and the individual candidate, rather than for the party.
What is a party-column, or Indiana, ballot?A form of general-election ballot in which all of a party
What is the rational ignorance effect?An effect produced when people purposely and rationally decide not to become informed on an issue because they believe that their vote on the issue is not likely to be a deciding one; a lack of incentive to seek the necessary information to cast an intelligent vote.


What is voter registration?The process by which citizens enroll themselves with the government to gain permission to vote in an election.
What is voter turnout?The percentage of citizens taking part in the election process; the number of eligible voters who actually ''turn out'' on election day to cast their ballots.
What is a ''beauty contest'' (in politics)?A presidential primary in which contending candidates compete for popular votes but the results do not control the selection of delegates to the national convention.
What is a battleground state?A state likely to be so closely fought that the campaigns devote exceptional effort to winning the popular and electoral vote there.


Who is a communications director?A professional specialist who plans the communications strategy and advertising campaign for the candidate.
What are the corrupt practices acts?A series of acts passed by Congress in an attempt to limit and regulate the size and sources of contributions and expenditures in political campaigns.
What is a credentials committee?A committee used by political parties at their national conventions to determine which delegates may participate. The committee inspects the claim of each prospective delegate to be seated as a legitimate representative of his or her state.
Who is a finance chairperson?The campaign professional who directs fundraising, campaign spending, and compliance with campaign finance laws and reporting requirements.


What is a focus group?A small group of individuals who are led in discussion by a professional consultant in order to gather opinions on and responses to candidates and issues.
What is front-loading?The practice of moving presidential primary elections to the early part of the campaign to maximize the impact of these primaries on the nomination.
Who is a front-runner?The presidential candidate who appears to be ahead at a given time in the primary season.
What is Get Out the Vote (GOTV)?This phrase describes the multiple efforts expended by campaigns to get voters out to the polls on election day.


What is the Hatch Act?An act passed in 1939 that restricted the political activities of government employees. It also prohibited a political group from spending more than $3 million in any campaign and limited individual contributions to a campaign committee to $5,000.
What are independent expenditures?Nonregulated contributions from PACs, organizations, and individuals. The funds may be spent on advertising or other campaign activities, so long as those expenditures are not coordinated with those of a candidate.
What is issue advocacy advertising?Advertising paid for by interest groups that support or oppose a candidate or a candidate
Who is a political consultant?A paid professional hired to devise a campaign strategy and manage a campaign.


Who is a pollster?The person or firm who conducts public opinion polls for the campaign.
What is a presidential primary?A statewide primary election of delegates to a political party
Who is a press secretary?The individual who interacts directly with the journalists covering the campaign.
What is spin (in politics)?An interpretation of campaign events or election results that is favorable to the candidate


Who are spin doctors?Political campaign advisers who try to convince journalists of the truth of a particular interpretation of events.
What is a Super PAC?A political committee that can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations to spend supporting a candidate as long as its efforts are not coordinated with the candidate
Who is a superdelegate?A party leader or elected official who is given the right to vote at the party
What is a tracking poll?A poll taken for the candidate on a nearly daily basis as election day approaches.


What is a candidate?a politician who is running for public office
What is coordinated campaign spending?spending by the Democratic and Republican Party committees on behalf of individual congressional candidates
What is issue voting?an individual's propensity to select candidates or parties based on the extent to which the individual agrees with one candidate more than others on specific issues
What is a campaign message?answer to voter's question; why should I vote for this candidate over the others


Define mobilization.act of assembling and putting into readiness for war or other emergency: ''mobilization of the troops''
What is negative campaigning?The act of attacking an opposing candidate's platform, past political performance, or personal characteristics.
What are open seats?a seat that does not have an incumbent due to redistricting or retirement; very rare
What is party identification?An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.


What is a party label?A label carrying the party's ''brand name,'' incorporating the policy positions and past performance voters attribute to it.
What is performance voting?Basing votes for a candidate or party on how successfully the candidate or party performed while in office.
Who are single-issue voters?People who base their votes on candidates' or parties' positions on one particular issue of public policy, regardless of the candidates' or parties' positions on other issues.