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Unit 6
Vocabulary Activity
Term | Definition |
---|---|
civic duty | a belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs |
Civic Responsibility | a sense of duty or obligation to society that some people believe comes along with citizenship. |
Pledge of Allegiance | A promise citizens of the United States make to be true to their flag and all that it stands for |
political party | a group that seeks to elect candidates to public office |
electorate | All of the people entitled to vote in a given election |
third party | a party that challenges the two major parties |
Democratic Party | One of the two major U.S political party;founded in 1828 by Andrew Jackson to support a decentralized government and state's rights |
Republican Party | Political party that believed in the non-expansion of slavery & consisted of Whigs, N. Democrats, & Free-Soilers in defiance to the Slave Powers |
open primary | Primary election in which any voter, regardless of party, may vote. |
closed primary | a primary election in which voting is limited to already registered party members |
Caucus | a private meeting of party leaders to choose candidates for office |
Plurality | the number of votes cast for a candidate who receives more than any other but does not receive an absolute majority. |
hard money | campaign contributions donated directly to candidates |
soft money | Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities. |
Political Action Committee (PAC) | an interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaigns |
Super PACs | political organizations that use contributions from individuals, corporations, and labor unions to spend unlimited sums independent from the campaigns, yet influencing the outcomes of elections |
527s | Organizations that are independent of any party or candidate, and thus are not regulated by the FEC, as they advocate publicly for or against specific candidates, parties, or policies |
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission | A 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures. |
public opinion | how people think or feel about particular things |
public opinion polls | interviews or surveys with samples of citizens that are used to estimate the feelings and beliefs of the entire population |
Buckely v. Valeo (1976) | Struck down the portion of the Federal Campaign Act limiting the amount of money individuals can contribute to their own campaign; Ruled that spending money on one's own campaign is a form of constitutionally protected free speech |
Propaganda | Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause. |
revenue | income |
Initiative | A procedure by which voters can propose a law or a constitutional amendment. |
Referendum | a legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate |
Recall | procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office |
General Assembly | A governing body that makes state laws |
governor | The elected leader of a state's government |
Lieutenant Governor | the executive officer of a state who is next in rank to a governor and who takes the governor's place in case of disability or death. |
Strong Mayor Council | a city govt set up with a mayor and council where the mayor has opportunity to vote and appoint heads of dept's, most common in GA |
Weak-Mayor System | a type of government under which the mayor has limited executive powers |
Council-Manager System | •form of city government •city council hires a city manager to run the city |