POS2041 Final Exam Prep Questions and Answers
(Latest) Solved 100% Correct!!
Party organization
A specific political party's leaders and workers at the national, state, and local levels.
Party in the government
The group of officeholders who belong to a specific political party and were elected as
candidates that party.
Party in the electorate
The group of citizens who identify with a political party and often use that identification as the
main cue when they vote.
Party system
Periods in which the names of the major political parties, their supporters, and the issues dividing
them have remained relatively stable.
Party principle
The idea that a political party exists as an organization distinct from its elected officials or party
leaders.
Spoils system
The practice of rewarding party supporters with benefits like federal government positions.
Realignment
,A change in size or composition of the party coalitions or in the nature of the issues that divide
the parties. This typically occur within an election cycle or two, but they can also occur gradually
over the course of a decade or longer.
National committee
An American political party's principal organization, comprising party representatives from each
state.
Political action committees (PACs)
An interest group or division of an interest group that can raise money to contribute to campaigns
or to spend on ads in support of candidates. The amount a PAC can receive from each of its
donors and the amount it can spend on federal electioneering are strictly limited.
527 organization
A tax-exempt group formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts
and to issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate. Unlike PACs, these are not
subject to contribution limits and spending caps.
Issue ownership
The theory that voters associate certain issues or issue position with certain parties (e.g.,
Democrats and support for government-provided health insurance).
Caucus
A local meeting in which party members select a party's nominee for the general election. For
Democrats.
,Confrence
The organization of Republicans within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate
the party's positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus to assign leadership
positions.
Unified government
A situation in which one party holds a majority of seats in the House and Senate and the
president is a member of that same party.
Divided government
A situation in which the House, Senate, and presidency are not controlled by the same party--for
example, when Democrats hold the majority of House and Senate seats and the president is a
Republican.
Party identification (party ID)
A citizen's loyalty to a specific political party.
Negative partisanship
Party identification that is based less on positive feelings toward one's own party and more on
dislike or hostility toward the opposing party.
Party coalitions
The groups that identify with a political party, usually described in demographic terms such as
Black Democrats or evangelical Republicans.
Nominating convention
, A meeting held by each party every four years at which states' delegates select the party's
presidential and vice-presidential nominees and approve the party platform.
Party platform
A set of objectives outlining the party's issue positions and priorities. Candidates are not required
to support their party's platform.
Duverger's Law
The principle that in a democracy with single-member districts and plurality voting, only two
parties' candidates will have a realistic chance of winning political office, as in the United States.
Single-member districts
An electoral system in which every elected official represents a geographically defined area,
such as a state or congressional district and each area elects one representative.
Plurality voting
A voting system in which the candidate who receives the most votes within a geographic area
wins the election, regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority (50+1) of the votes.
First party system
Federalists and the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans.
The second party system
Democratic party (which originated from the Democratic-Republican party), and the Whigs.
Party Platforms
(Latest) Solved 100% Correct!!
Party organization
A specific political party's leaders and workers at the national, state, and local levels.
Party in the government
The group of officeholders who belong to a specific political party and were elected as
candidates that party.
Party in the electorate
The group of citizens who identify with a political party and often use that identification as the
main cue when they vote.
Party system
Periods in which the names of the major political parties, their supporters, and the issues dividing
them have remained relatively stable.
Party principle
The idea that a political party exists as an organization distinct from its elected officials or party
leaders.
Spoils system
The practice of rewarding party supporters with benefits like federal government positions.
Realignment
,A change in size or composition of the party coalitions or in the nature of the issues that divide
the parties. This typically occur within an election cycle or two, but they can also occur gradually
over the course of a decade or longer.
National committee
An American political party's principal organization, comprising party representatives from each
state.
Political action committees (PACs)
An interest group or division of an interest group that can raise money to contribute to campaigns
or to spend on ads in support of candidates. The amount a PAC can receive from each of its
donors and the amount it can spend on federal electioneering are strictly limited.
527 organization
A tax-exempt group formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts
and to issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate. Unlike PACs, these are not
subject to contribution limits and spending caps.
Issue ownership
The theory that voters associate certain issues or issue position with certain parties (e.g.,
Democrats and support for government-provided health insurance).
Caucus
A local meeting in which party members select a party's nominee for the general election. For
Democrats.
,Confrence
The organization of Republicans within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate
the party's positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus to assign leadership
positions.
Unified government
A situation in which one party holds a majority of seats in the House and Senate and the
president is a member of that same party.
Divided government
A situation in which the House, Senate, and presidency are not controlled by the same party--for
example, when Democrats hold the majority of House and Senate seats and the president is a
Republican.
Party identification (party ID)
A citizen's loyalty to a specific political party.
Negative partisanship
Party identification that is based less on positive feelings toward one's own party and more on
dislike or hostility toward the opposing party.
Party coalitions
The groups that identify with a political party, usually described in demographic terms such as
Black Democrats or evangelical Republicans.
Nominating convention
, A meeting held by each party every four years at which states' delegates select the party's
presidential and vice-presidential nominees and approve the party platform.
Party platform
A set of objectives outlining the party's issue positions and priorities. Candidates are not required
to support their party's platform.
Duverger's Law
The principle that in a democracy with single-member districts and plurality voting, only two
parties' candidates will have a realistic chance of winning political office, as in the United States.
Single-member districts
An electoral system in which every elected official represents a geographically defined area,
such as a state or congressional district and each area elects one representative.
Plurality voting
A voting system in which the candidate who receives the most votes within a geographic area
wins the election, regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority (50+1) of the votes.
First party system
Federalists and the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans.
The second party system
Democratic party (which originated from the Democratic-Republican party), and the Whigs.
Party Platforms
