POLITICAL DICTIONARY – CHAPTER 5

Prepared by Damaris Toma

1.      Political Party - an organized group of people with common values and goals, who try to get their candidates elected to office. The Democrats and the Republicans are the two major political parties in the USA today. SIG-Political parties really unite a group of people and give them a better idea of who to choose for office based on the beliefs that the political party supports.

2.      Major Parties – In America the two major parties are the Democratic and the Republican Parties. SIG- these two parties both with different beliefs on certain issues are a way of Americans to take side with one group and follow government based on their political party.

3.      Partisanship – Government action based on a firm alliance to a political party. SIG-Each party can act differently based on their own ideas when it comes to certain issues and it is their individuality that really sets them apart from the other parties.

4.      Party in Power – the party in power is the party that controls the executive branch of office. SIG-With a party in power government is run based on the decision to put that certain party in power and hopefully there is a majority of people who requests are answered by those in gov’t.

5.      Minor party – one of the parties without wide support. SIG- the minor party can be the party either with the minority or the party who’s current leader were not “on task” in government and that is the reason that they are not currently holding office or holding the presidency.

6.      Two-party system - A system in which only two political parties have a real chance of acquiring control of the government. SIG- The two party system is a system in which only the two major political powers ever really hold office. This gives stability and reassurance that the people in charge actually know what they are doing and they will be able to help a majority rather than only the minority.

7.     Single member district – electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office. SIG- With this the Electoral College is made, and the president is chosen, but he is chosen ultimately based on the people’s decision, those that elected the members for the Electoral College.

8.     Plurality – largest number of votes cast for the office. SIG- the person that ultimately wins the most votes wins and it is a better system than a majority vote which has set rules in order for a person to take office with a certain number of votes.

9.      Bipartisan - A term used to refer to an effort endorsed by both political parties or a group composed of members of both political parties. SIG- to discourage non-major party candidates the two major parties find common ground and work together.

10.  Pluralistic Society – a society consisting of several distinct cultures and groups. SIG- It is a culture like this that can really shape a country and involve different people to work together.

11.  Consensus – a general agreement among various groups. SIG- this is where a pluralistic society comes into place, because with a consensus the different groups of people can find common ground.

12.  Multiparty – a system in which several major and many lesser parties exist, seriously compete, and actually win public office. SIG- a system that gives an equal chance to win for public office.

13.  Coalition – a temporary alliance of several groups that come together to form a working majority and so to control the government. SIG- through a coalition, certain disagreements can be resolved to better the people.

14.  One-party system – a political system in which only one party exists or really is a no party system. SIG- this can’t be too good for a country in the end, because with only political party.

15. Incumbent - The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. The term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 Russian presidential election, Vladimir Putin was the incumbent, because he was the current president. SIG – better said it is the person who technically has the most power or most influence.

16.  Faction – a political group of individual united in their opposition of the current government. Factions are generally applied to a minority, but they can also be applied to a majority. SIG- conflicts or disagreements that arise from certain issues, but factions can also be a good thing because they can spark change for the better.

17. Electorate - the body of enfranchised citizens; those qualified to vote. SIG- those people that are in fact eligible to vote have the opportunity to make their voice be heard by voting and contributing even further to government.

18.  Sectionalism - a political philosophy, prominent in the United States in the decades before the Civil War that favored the needs and outlook of one's section of the country over the needs and outlook of the country as a whole. SIG- Government can be devoted to one section or particular region and better contribute to its needs.

19.  Ideological parties – parties based on a particular set of beliefs. SIG- this narrows down a party’s interest and it really gets the party involved in social, economic or a political matter of a group.

20.  Single-issue parties – they concentrate on only one public policy matter. SIG- these are parties that mainly only focus on one issue and work for that one issue only.

21.  Economic protest parties – parties that have been rooted in periods of economic discontent. SIG- this is a group that has not had any clear-cut ideological base.

22.  Splinter parties – parties that have split away from one of the major parties. SIG- Most of the more important minor parties are these parties, which were once part of the major political party.

23.  Ward – a unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members. SIG- a local party structure that elects office holders.

24.  Precinct – the smallest unit of election administration. SIG- the voters in each precinct report to one polling place.

25.  Split-ticket voting – voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election. SIG- The pattern of voting in which the individual voter in a given election casts a ballot for one or more candidates of each major party.