United States Election Glossary pt 4

Part of knowing how to participate in a United States election is to have a thorough understanding of the language and lingo. This is part four of the United States election glossary, including the more prevalent terms that you need to know.

Delegate – This is someone who has been chosen in order to represent a specific local political party during a political convention.

Democrat – This is someone that belongs to the Democratic party.

Democratic Party – This is one of the two major United States political parties. The symbol for this political party is a donkey. The first ever Democratic president of the United States was a man called Andrew Jackson.

Democracy – This is a type of government where the people are responsible for holding the power, either through voting on measures directly, or voting on representatives that will choose measures for them.

Election – This is the process by which people vote either to decide on an issue or to choose a leader.

Electoral College – This is a group of people responsible for formally electing the president of the United States. This Electoral College is made up of delegates from each of the fifty states and three from the District of Columbia. The number of the delegates for each states is the same as the sum of the representatives and the senators added together. The electors assemble in the state capital and place their votes based on the plurality of the votes that are placed in the state or the area that they are responsible for representing. The candidate must receive more than half of the votes from the Electoral College in order to become president.

United States Election Glossary pt 3

Part of knowing how to participate in a United States election is to have a thorough understanding of the language and lingo. This is part three of the United States election glossary, including the more prevalent terms that you need to know.

Congress – This is a shortened way to refer to the United States Congress, which is responsible for making the laws for the country. The United States Congress is divided into two different sections, the House of Representatives and the Senate. There are 2 senators from each state, making 100 total, and there are currently 435 representatives. Representatives in the House of Representatives are assigned based on population of the states, and each state has a minimum of one representative.

Congressional District – This is an area in a state from which a House of Representatives member is elected. There are currently 435 different congressional districts in the United States, and each one of these districts has approximately 570,000 people in it. The positions in the House of Representatives generally are reapportioned each ten years. Some areas will lose representatives and other areas will gain some depending on their populations during that year.

Conservative – These are people that would like to uphold the current conditions and that tend to oppose any big changes. Conservatives are typically referred to as being “right wing.”

Convention – This is an official meeting where the delegates belonging to a specific party gather to choose candidates and determine what the party platform will be.

Debate – This is a public, formal political discussion that involves at least two candidates that are running for a specific office. In such an event, the candidates will both state and defend the positions of their party on certain major issues. These debates are typically held over radio, television, online or in public places.

United States Election Glossary pt 2

Part of knowing how to participate in a United States election is to have a thorough understanding of the language and lingo. This is part two of the United States election glossary, including the more prevalent terms that you need to know.

Butterfly Ballot – This is a paper ballot where the actual voting portion is done in the central fold between two pages, such as in a pamphlet-style ballot. Imagine that when open, the two pages are the wings of a butterfly, and the voting itself is done in the area where you would normally find the body of the butterfly.

Campaign – This is a series of different political actions such as public appearances, advertisements and debates that a candidate will use in order to help him or herself get elected into office.

Candidate – This is a person who is running for a position in an office.

Caucus -This is an informal meeting where candidates, representatives and potential voters can gather in order to talk about issues and the preferred candidate, and then everyone can decide which candidate they are interested in supporting and which delegates they want to send to the convention for the political party. Not every United States state will hold a caucus in this manner, however.

Census – This is an official count for how many people are in a specific region. The survey is held by the government on a periodic basis.

Chad – This is a tiny piece of paper that is punched out of a ballot when using a punch-mechanism mechanical voting machine.

Closed Primary – This is a type of primary election where only registered voters that have registered for a specific political party are capable of actually voting. For example, in a Republican primary election, only registered republicans are going to be allowed to vote, since this particular primary would be designed to choose a republican candidate that is eventually going to run for an office in a general election.

United States Election Glossary pt 1

Part of knowing how to participate in a United States election is to have a thorough understanding of the language and lingo. This is part one of the United States election glossary, including the more prevalent terms that you need to know.

Absentee Ballot – This is a paper ballot that you can mail if you are not going to be able to vote in your home precinct on the Election Day, or if you choose not to place your ballot at your home precinct. You must mail this absentee ballot before the Election Day in order for it to be counted on the Election Day.

Ballot – This is a piece of paper that lists all of the candidates that are running for an office. You use the ballot to cast your votes for those candidates.

Ballot Box – This is the box where the votes are placed at each polling location.

Ballot Initiative – This is also known as a ballot measure, a proposition or a referendum. It is a piece of legislation or law that is being proposed, that people will be allowed to vote on.

Bill of Rights – This Bill of Rights is comprised of the initial 10 amendments made to the United States Constitution. The amendments were ratified back on December 15 of 1791. The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to make sure that all individuals would be entitled to basic civil rights, allowing them to avoid the tyranny that comes with a central government that is overly powerful.

Bipartisan – This means that it is supported by people from both of the major political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats.

Bicameral – This means that it consists of two different legislative branches, such as the United States Congress, which includes both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Blanket Primary – This is a primary election where all of the names for the candidates from all of the parties are included on a single ballot.