Electoral Process Study Guide

1. Political Party- a group of people who share similar political views and work to influence the government in support of those views.

2. Minority Party- Political party that does not have a majority of the elected members.

3. Majority Party- Political party with the most elected members.

4. Candidate- a person running for political office

5. Single-Party System- system with one political party; citizens have little to no say in the government.

6. Two-Party System- 2 political parties hold all the power; least common system used around the world.

7. Multi-Party System- where 3 or more political parties share power.

8. Electoral College- a group of people, from each state, who cast the actual votes for president.

9. Platform- set of statements describing a party’s views on major issues.

10. Campaign- process of gathering public support for a candidate.

11. Nominee- the person a party chooses to run in the national election.

12. Delegates- group of people who attend the national convention and pledge they will vote for the candidate their party supports.

13. declares- candidate announces he or she will run for president

14. Public Policies- the stand the government takes about how issues should be handles.

15. Acceptance Speech- president and vice president make these to bring the parties together to support the nominees.

16. Absolute Majority- more than half the votes.

17. Popular vote- a tally of all the votes cast.

18. Primary Election- elections host a secret ballot and people vote for the candidate they want to represent their party in the national election.

19. Opinion Polls- these show who is leading the race.

20. Caucus System- meetings where party leaders and supporters select candidates through discussions and consensus.

21. Conventions- party meetings where candidates are chosen

22. Endorsements- a way for interest groups and organizations to give an official “thumbs up” to the candidate.

23. Contributors- these people donate money to a candidate’s campaign.

24. Nonpartisan- one that doesn’t support one party over the other.

25. Which 2 parties do we have in the United States 25. Which 2 parties do we have in the United States? Republican and Democrat

26. When is election day this year 26. When is election day this year? First Tuesday after the first Monday in November

27. When does the new president take office 27. When does the new president take office? They will be sworn into office January 20th, 2017