gov't chap 9 notes/vocab

Public opinion- aggregation of views shared by a segment of society on issues of interest or concern to people

Public policy- choice government makes and actions it takes in response to a specific issue or problem

Political socialization- process by which people acquire political beliefs

Mass media- any means of communication that provides info to a large audience, including magazines, radio, tv news, and news on the web

Propaganda- info designed to shape public opinion

Poll- a survey of people scientifically selected to provide opinions about something

Sample- the group of people who take part in a poll

Bias- errors introduced by polling methods that lead to one outcome over others

Sampling error- a poll's margin of error or uncertainty level

Objectivity- freedom from bias and outside factors that may influence the results of a poll

Exit poll- a survey of randomly selected fraction of voters after they have voted

Political action committee (PAC)- an organization created to raise and contribute money legally to the campaigns of political candidates

Trade association- a business group that represents certain industries or parts of industries

Labor unions- organizations of workers who do the same job or work in related industries

Endorse- to publicly declare support for a particular candidate in an election

Lobbying- contacting a public official to persuade the official to support the group's interests

Grass roots- lowest level of organization or society

Political parties- an organized group that seeks to win elections in order to influence the activities of government

Political spectrum- difference in political views held by the different political parties

Nomination process- process of naming candidates for elective office

Electorate- body of people entitled to vote

One-party system- a system of government in which a single political party controls government

Two-party system- a system of govt in which two political parties compete for control of the government

Multiparty system- a system of government in which several political parties compete for control of the government

Third party- any political party in a two-party system besides the two major ones

Independent candidate- a candidate who is not associated with any political party

Precinct- the smallest unit of area for administering elections and local voting

Ward- a voting district made up of several precincts

Hard money- money donated to an individual campaign

Soft money- money given to a political party rather than to a specific candidate

Write-in candidates- political candidates who announce that they are running for an office and ask voters to write in their names on the ballot

Caucus- a meeting of party members who select the candidates to run for election

Direct primary- a primary or first election in which the party's candidate for office is chosen directly by voters

Closed primary- primary election in which only voters registered as party members can vote in selecting that party's candidates

Open primary- primary election in which primary voter may vote in either party's primary election

Plurality- when a candidate in an election has more votes has any other candidates

Absentee ballot- ballot submitted on or before election day by a voter who cannot be present on election day