{"id":536,"date":"2016-08-24T00:05:06","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T00:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/americangovernment\/?post_type=chapter&p=536"},"modified":"2016-08-24T00:05:06","modified_gmt":"2016-08-24T00:05:06","slug":"glossary-9","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-amgovernment\/chapter\/glossary-9\/","title":{"raw":"Glossary","rendered":"Glossary"},"content":{"raw":"

What Are Parties and How Did They Form?<\/h2>\r\nparty platform<\/strong> the collection of a party\u2019s positions on issues it considers politically important\r\n\r\npersonal politics<\/strong> a political style that focuses on building direct relationships with voters rather than on promoting specific issues\r\n\r\npolitical machine<\/strong> an organization that secures votes for a party\u2019s candidates or supports the party in other ways, usually in exchange for political favors such as a job in government\r\n\r\npolitical parties<\/strong> organizations made up of groups of people with similar interests that try to directly influence public policy through their members who seek and hold public office\r\n\r\nthird parties<\/strong> political parties formed as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties, also known as minor parties\r\n

The Two-Party System<\/h2>\r\ncritical election<\/strong> an election that represents a sudden, clear, and long-term shift in voter allegiances\r\n\r\nfirst-past-the-post<\/strong> a system in which the winner of an election is the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes cast, also known as plurality voting\r\n\r\nmajoritarian voting<\/strong> a type of election in which the winning candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the votes, even if a run-off election is required\r\n\r\nparty realignment<\/strong> a shifting of party alliances within the electorate\r\n\r\nplurality voting<\/strong> the election rule by which the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of vote share\r\n\r\nproportional representation<\/strong> a party-based election rule in which the number of seats a party receives is a function of the share of votes it receives in an election\r\n\r\ntwo-party system<\/strong> a system in which two major parties win all or almost all elections\r\n

The Shape of Modern Political Parties<\/h2>\r\nmajority party<\/strong> the legislative party with over half the seats in a legislative body, and thus significant power to control the agenda\r\n\r\nminority party<\/strong> the legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body\r\n\r\nparty identifiers<\/strong> individuals who represent themselves in public as being part of a party\r\n\r\nparty-in-government<\/strong> party identifiers who have been elected to office and are responsible for fulfilling the party\u2019s promises\r\n\r\nparty-in-the-electorate<\/strong> members of the voting public who consider themselves part of a political party or who consistently prefer the candidates of one party over the other\r\n\r\nparty organization<\/strong> the formal structure of the political party and the active members responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates\r\n\r\nprecinct<\/strong> the lowest level of party organization, usually organized around neighborhoods\r\n

Divided Government and Partisan Polarization<\/h2>\r\nbipartisanship<\/strong> a process of cooperation through compromise\r\n\r\ndivided government<\/strong> a condition in which one or more houses of the legislature is controlled by the party in opposition to the executive\r\n\r\ngerrymandering<\/strong> the manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a particular candidate\r\n\r\nmoderate<\/strong> an individual who falls in the middle of the ideological spectrum\r\n\r\nparty polarization<\/strong> the shift of party positions from moderate towards ideological extremes\r\n\r\nreapportionment<\/strong> the reallocation of House seats between the states to account for population changes\r\n\r\nredistricting<\/strong> the redrawing of electoral maps\r\n\r\nsafe seat<\/strong> a district drawn so members of a party can be assured of winning by a comfortable margin\r\n\r\nsorting<\/strong> the process in which voters change party allegiances in response to shifts in party position\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"

What Are Parties and How Did They Form?<\/h2>\n

party platform<\/strong> the collection of a party\u2019s positions on issues it considers politically important<\/p>\n

personal politics<\/strong> a political style that focuses on building direct relationships with voters rather than on promoting specific issues<\/p>\n

political machine<\/strong> an organization that secures votes for a party\u2019s candidates or supports the party in other ways, usually in exchange for political favors such as a job in government<\/p>\n

political parties<\/strong> organizations made up of groups of people with similar interests that try to directly influence public policy through their members who seek and hold public office<\/p>\n

third parties<\/strong> political parties formed as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties, also known as minor parties<\/p>\n

The Two-Party System<\/h2>\n

critical election<\/strong> an election that represents a sudden, clear, and long-term shift in voter allegiances<\/p>\n

first-past-the-post<\/strong> a system in which the winner of an election is the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes cast, also known as plurality voting<\/p>\n

majoritarian voting<\/strong> a type of election in which the winning candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the votes, even if a run-off election is required<\/p>\n

party realignment<\/strong> a shifting of party alliances within the electorate<\/p>\n

plurality voting<\/strong> the election rule by which the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of vote share<\/p>\n

proportional representation<\/strong> a party-based election rule in which the number of seats a party receives is a function of the share of votes it receives in an election<\/p>\n

two-party system<\/strong> a system in which two major parties win all or almost all elections<\/p>\n

The Shape of Modern Political Parties<\/h2>\n

majority party<\/strong> the legislative party with over half the seats in a legislative body, and thus significant power to control the agenda<\/p>\n

minority party<\/strong> the legislative party with less than half the seats in a legislative body<\/p>\n

party identifiers<\/strong> individuals who represent themselves in public as being part of a party<\/p>\n

party-in-government<\/strong> party identifiers who have been elected to office and are responsible for fulfilling the party\u2019s promises<\/p>\n

party-in-the-electorate<\/strong> members of the voting public who consider themselves part of a political party or who consistently prefer the candidates of one party over the other<\/p>\n

party organization<\/strong> the formal structure of the political party and the active members responsible for coordinating party behavior and supporting party candidates<\/p>\n

precinct<\/strong> the lowest level of party organization, usually organized around neighborhoods<\/p>\n

Divided Government and Partisan Polarization<\/h2>\n

bipartisanship<\/strong> a process of cooperation through compromise<\/p>\n

divided government<\/strong> a condition in which one or more houses of the legislature is controlled by the party in opposition to the executive<\/p>\n

gerrymandering<\/strong> the manipulation of legislative districts in an attempt to favor a particular candidate<\/p>\n

moderate<\/strong> an individual who falls in the middle of the ideological spectrum<\/p>\n

party polarization<\/strong> the shift of party positions from moderate towards ideological extremes<\/p>\n

reapportionment<\/strong> the reallocation of House seats between the states to account for population changes<\/p>\n

redistricting<\/strong> the redrawing of electoral maps<\/p>\n

safe seat<\/strong> a district drawn so members of a party can be assured of winning by a comfortable margin<\/p>\n

sorting<\/strong> the process in which voters change party allegiances in response to shifts in party position<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div>