U.S. Election Vocabulary

1. Absentee Voting: A way people can vote when they can't get to their polling place. They vote on a special form and mail it in.
   
   
2. Balanced Budget: A balanced budget occurs when total revenues equal total outlays for a fiscal year.
   
   
3. Ballot Box: A receptacle for voters' ballots.
   
   
4. Bias: A leaning in favor of or against something or someone; partiality or prejudice.
   
   
5. Campaign: Competition by rival political candidates and organizations for public office.
   
   
6. Campaign Chest: Money collected and set aside for use in a political campaign.
   
   
7. Candidate: A person running for office in an election.
   
   
8. Caucus: Meetings of party members within a legislative body to select leaders and determine strategy.
   
   
9. Citizen: A native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection.
   
   
10. Closed Primary: A primary in which voters can only vote for candidates in the party they are registered in. Prevents members of other parties from "crossing over" to influence the nomination of an opposing party's candidate.
    
    
11. Congressional Districts (CD): A political subdivision in which the nation is divided for the purposes of elected U.S. Representatives. Each district contains about 570,000 people.
    
    
12. Constituency: All of the voters in a particular district.
    
    
13. Constituent: A person having the right to vote or elect; any of the voters represented by a particular official.
    
    
14. Debate: Face-to-face discussion of candidates' views on issues.
    
    
15. Delegate: An individual who is appointed to represent others.
    
    
16. Democracy: A government by the people, through free and frequent elections.
    
    
17. Early Money: Money given to a campaign before or during the early presidential primaries. This money helps propel a campaign.
    
    
18. Election Day: The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, national elections are held for the President and Vice President in years evenly divisible by four. On even years, voters elect members of the House of Representatives for two-year terms and one-third of the Senate for six-year terms.
    
    
19. Electoral College: A body of electors chosen by the voters in each state to elect the President and Vice President of the U.S. The number of electors in each state is equal to its number of representatives in both houses of the U.S. Congress.
    
    
20. Exit Poll: A poll taken of a small percentage of voters as they leave the polls, used to forecast the outcome of an election or determine the reasons for voting decisions.
    
    
21. Federal: A union of states under a central government distinct from the individual governments of the separate states.
    
    
22. Federal Election Commission (F.E.C.): A commission that oversees federal campaigns, founded in 1974.
    
    
23. Franchise: The constitutional right to vote.
    
    
24. General Elections: A regularly scheduled local, state, or national election in which voters elect officeholders.
    
    
25. Gerrymander: The dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.
    
    
26. G.O.P.: The Republican party, formerly known as the Grand Old Party.
    
    
27. Grassroots: The involvement of common citizens in an issue or campaign.
    
    
28. Gubernatorial Election: The selection of a governor by a state's voters.
    
    
29. Hype: Slang for political ads (e.g. slick short TV commercials).
    
    
30. Incumbent: A person currently in office.
    
    
31. Independent: A voter or candidate who does not belong to a political party.
    
    
32. Initiative: A procedure by which a specified number of voters may propose a statute, constitutional amendment, or ordinance, and compel a popular vote on its adoption.
    
    
33. Issue: A point, matter, or dispute, the decision of which is of special or public importance.
    
    
34. Landslide: An election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes.
    
    
35. Machine: An organized group of persons that conducts or controls the activities of a political party or organization.
    
    
36. Matching Funds: Primary presidential candidates are eligible to receive dollar-for-dollar funds from the federal government that match the amount they have raised through their own efforts. They can receive matching funds only if they agree to limit their spending to $37 million during the primaries.
    
    
37. Media: The means of communication, such as radio, television, newspapers, and magazines, that reaches or influences people widely. Media coverage can be slanted in favor of a particular candidate.
    
    
38. Mudslinging: Negative, often personal, frequently inaccurate, or exaggerated attacks of the opposition.
    
    
39. National Conventions: A meeting held every four years by each of the major political parties to nominate a presidential candidate.
    
    
40. Nominee: The person chosen by a political party to serve as its representative in a general election.
    
    
41. Non-partisan: An idea or person that does not support a specific party, cause, or candidate.
    
    
42. Office-Block Ballot: A ballot on which the candidates are listed alphabetically, with or without their party designations, in columns under the office for which they were nominated. Also called a "Massachusetts" ballot.
    
    
43. Open Primary: A primary in which voters can vote for either party, regardless of which party they are registered in.
    
    
44. Partisan: A supporter of a person, group, party, or cause, especially a person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance.
    
    
45. Party: A group of persons with common political opinions and purposes, organized for gaining political influence and governmental control, and for directing government policy.
    
    
46. Party-Column Ballot: A ballot listing all candidates of a certain party for different offices under the name of that party.
    
    
47. Platform: A public statement of the principles, objectives, and policy of a political party, especially as put forth by the representatives of the party in a convention to nominate candidates for an election.
    
    
48. Political Action Committee (PAC): An organization of 50 or more people that is created to raise money for favored political candidates and is registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). A PAC may be formed by any group, including businesses, labor unions, and special interest bodies, and can donate up to $5,000 per candidate per election.
    
    
49. Poll: A sampling or collection of opinions on a subject. Also, the place where people vote.
    
    
50. Pollster: A person whose occupation is the taking of public-opinion polls.
    
    
51. Precinct: Also called election district. One of a fixed number of districts, each containing one polling place, into which a city, town, etc. is divided for voting purposes.
    
    
52. Presidential Primary: A primary used to pick delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of the major parties.
    
    
53. Primary: A meeting of the voters of a political party in an election district for nominating candidates for office and choosing delegates for a convention.
    
    
54. Runoff Primary: If no candidate gets a majority of the votes, a runoff is held to decide who should win.
    
    
55. Rhetoric: The ability to use language well, through the practice of exaggeration, to influence others.
    
    
56. Running Mate: A presidential candidate will choose another individual to run for vice-president. This person is the candidate's running mate.
    
    
57. Soft Money: Funds raised by political parties directed toward party building and not directed toward supporting federal candidates.
    
    
58. Spin: The presentation of information that is biased to favor the candidates. Advisors to the candidates may engage in 'spin' in their communications to the media.
    
    
59. Split-Ticket Voting: Voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election. For example, voting for a republican for senator and a democrat for president.
    
    
60. Straight-Ticket Voting: Voting for candidates who are all of the same party. For example, voting for republican candidates for senator, representative, and president.
    
    
61. Straw Poll: A nonofficial, nonscientific study of voter preferences in a presidential election.
    
    
62. Stump Speech: A political campaign speech, especially one made on a campaign tour.
    
    
63. War Chest: Money set aside or scheduled for a particular purpose or activity, like a campaign.
    
    
64. Whistle Stop: Campaigning for political office by traveling around the country, originally by train, stopping at small communities to address voters.