AP®︎ U.S. Government & Politics: Topic 5.8 Flashcards

Informal pre-primary competition in which prospective candidates build viability through fundraising, endorsements, staffing, polling, and media attention

Reelection benefits of holding office, including name recognition, media attention, the presidency’s prestige, established campaign networks, and a record of accomplishments

State election in which voters express a preference among candidates for a party’s nomination, determining or influencing the allocation of convention delegates

Primary in which participation is restricted to voters registered with the party holding the election

Primary in which voters may participate without previously registering as members of the party holding the election

Meeting in which party members discuss candidates and participate in selecting candidates, choosing delegates, or deciding party policy

Person selected to represent a state or other party unit and vote at the party’s national convention

Party meeting at which delegates formally nominate the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, promote the platform, and unite the party for the general election

Statement of a political party’s principles, policy goals, and positions, adopted or publicized at its national convention but not legally binding

Election between party nominees and qualifying independent candidates in which voters legally choose pledged slates of presidential electors

Constitutional system that formally elects the president and vice president; each state receives electors equal to its representatives plus senators, the District of Columbia receives three, and 270 of 538 votes are required when all electors are appointed

Person appointed to cast a state’s formal Electoral College votes for president and vice president

Elector who votes for someone other than the candidates the elector was pledged to support

Total presidential votes cast nationwide, which has no independent constitutional role in determining the winner

Electoral-vote allocation method in which the statewide popular-vote plurality winner receives all of the jurisdiction’s electoral votes

Method used by Maine and Nebraska that awards one elector to each congressional-district winner and two electors to the statewide winner

Outcome in which the candidate winning the Electoral College loses the national popular vote because electoral votes are awarded state by state

Procedure used when no candidate wins an electoral majority: the House chooses the president from the top three by one vote per state, and the Senate chooses the vice president from the top two

Amendment requiring electors to cast separate votes for president and vice president and establishing contingent-election procedures

Amendment granting the District of Columbia the same number of electors as the least populous state, currently three

Election in which Al Gore won the national popular vote but George W. Bush won the presidency after a 537-vote Florida victory produced a 271–266 electoral majority

State that reliably supports one political party and therefore receives relatively little presidential campaign attention

Competitive state that either major-party presidential candidate has a realistic chance of winning