| Question | Answer |
| blanket primaries | The blanket primary is a system used for selecting political party candidates in a primary election in the USA. In a blanket primary voters may pick one candidate for each office without regard to party lines; for instance, a voter might select a Democrat |
| campaign reform act of 1974 | Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. |
| caucuses | A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement. |
| coat tail effect | The tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election. For example, the party of a victorious presidential candidate will often win many seats in Congress as well; these congressmen are vo |
| closed primaries | A closed primary is a type of direct primary limited to registered party members who have declared their party affiliation, in order to vote in the election. The closed primary serves to encourage party unity and prevent members of other parties from infi |
| critical realigning election | Realigning election or political realignment are terms from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system. Usually it means the coming to power of a new coalition, replacing an old dominant coalition of the o |
| dealignment | Dealignment is a term used by political scientists, in contrast to realignment, to describe a trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons its previous partisan affiliation, without developing a new one to replace it. Many scholars |
| frontloading | The phenomenon of states moving their primary or caucus dates forward to try to increase their influence in the nominating process is not new, but it did reach extraordinary levels in 2000. On March 7, 2000 eleven states held their primary elections and |
| general election | A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local electio |
| open primaries | In the United States of America, an open primary is a primary election in which voters do not need to be a member of a particular political party in order to vote in that party's primary. In particular, a registered voter of one party can vote in the prim |
| plurality | the excess of votes received by the leading candidate, in an election in which there are three or more candidates, over those received by the next candidate |
| presidential debates | During presidential elections in the United States, it has become customary for the main candidates (almost always the candidates of the two main parties, currently the Democratic Party and the Republican Party) to engage in a debate. The topics discussed |
| single-member districts | The single member plurality election is the most common and best-known electoral system currently in use in America. It is used to elect the U.S. House Representatives, as well as many state and local legislatures. Under single member plurality systems, a |
| soft money | is funds spent by organizations (such as 527 groups) that are not contributed directly to candidate campaigns, and which do not "expressly advocate" the election or defeat of a candidate. There is no limit to how much soft money can be donated because it |
| winner-take-all-system | “Winner-take-all” is a term used to describe single member district and at large election systems that award seats to the highest vote getters without ensuring fair representation for minority groups. In the United States, these are typically single-membe |