American Government CHAPTER 5 VOCABULARY POLITICAL PARTIES Political

American Government CHAPTER 5 VOCABULARY: POLITICAL PARTIES

Political Parties Political Party – a group of persons who seek to control government thru winning elections and holding public office Partisanship – firm allegiance to a political party that is the basis for government actions Minor Party – a political party without wide support Two-Party System – when 2 political parties dominate politics Single-Member Districts – contests in which only one candidate is elected to each office on the ballot

Political Parties Plurality – the largest number of votes cast for an office for a particular candidate Bipartisan – when the two major parties find common ground and work together Consensus – general agreement among various groups Coalition – a temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form a working majority and so to control the government Incumbent – current office holder Factions – conflicting groups

Political Parties Electorate – the people eligible to vote Ideological Parties – those based on a specific set of beliefs Single-Issue Parties – concentrate on only one public policy matter Splinter Parties – those that have split away from one of the major parties Precinct – the smallest unit of election administration Split-Ticket Voting – voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election