Election Vocabulary

Absentee voting  a way for citizens to vote by mail when they can’t get to their polling place  Absentee voters include people in the military, college students living away from home, voters who are ill, and people who will be out of the country on Election Day. Eligible voters use a special form that must be returned before Election Day.

Campaign  a connected series of events leading up to an election  A presidential campaign includes communicating a candidate's ideas to voters, meeting with voters, and debating with opponents.

Candidate  An individual running for an elected position  Barack Obama is the democratic candidate for office  Mitt Romney is the Republican candidate for office

Debate  a discussion or an argument about issues  In many political races, candidates participate in organized debates to allow voters to compare their views.

Electoral College  a group of representatives chosen by voters in each state to elect the U.S. president and vice president  Each state has a certain number of electors. That number is based on the number of senators and representatives in Congress (which is, in turn, based on population). The candidate who wins the popular vote in a state on Election Day usually wins all that state’s electors (Maine and Nebraska have a slightly different system). A candidate must win at least 270 of the total 538 electoral votes to become president or vice president.

G.O.P  the initials for “Grand Old Party,” a nickname for the Republican Party  The nickname originated in the 1870s, when Republicans referred to their party as the “grand old party” or “gallant old party.” Although the name implies that the Republican Party is the oldest, the Democratic Party is at least 26 years older.

Incumbent  A current officeholder  Barack Obama

Landslide  a big majority of votes for one candidate  States in the midwest are typically landslide states for the Republican candidates

National Convention  A series of rally's and events that are held which end in the nomination of a party’s candidate for office  The Republican national convention was held in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Nominee  the appointed candidate by a political party  Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee

Party  Something you have on your birthday

The real Party  A group of politicians and voters sharing similar political ideas (ideology)  The Republican party currently controls the House of Representatives

Platform  a party’s formal statement of its philosophy and goals  The platform is written and adopted at the party’s national convention. It is made up of several planks, or positions on given issues.

Imperialism  The practice of building an empire by founding colonies or conquering other nations.

Isolationaism  Avoiding involvement in the affairs of other countries.

Subsidy  Bonus pay by the government

Spheres of Influence  Areas where foreign nations could control trade and natural resources

Yellow Journalism  The exaggeration of news stories in order to sell newspapers

Dollar Diplomacy  Taft’s foreign policy that where he tried to influence Latin American governments through economic, not military intervention.