Australian ballot A secret ballot that is prepared, distributed, and counted by government officials at public expense; used by all states in the United States since 1888. campaign strategy The comprehensive plan for winning an election developed by a candidate and his or her advisers. The strategy includes the candidate's position on issues, slogan, advertising plan, press events, personal appearances, and other aspects of the campaign. caucus A meeting held by party leaders to choose political candidates. The caucus system of nominating candidates was eventually replaced by nominating conventions and, later, by direct primaries. closed primary A primary in which only party members can vote to choose that party's candidates.
Credentials Committee A committee of each national political party that evaluates the claims of national party convention delegates to be the legitimate representatives of their states. delegate A person selected to represent the people of one geographic area at a party convention. direct primary An election held within each of the two major parties-democratic and Republicanto choose the party's candidates for the general election. Voters choose the candidates directly, rather than through delegates. elector A member of the electoral college.
electoral college The group of electors who are selected by the voters in each state to elect officially the president and vice president. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of that state's representatives in both chambers of Congress. general election A regularly scheduled election to elect the U.S. president, vice president, and representatives and senators in Congress. General elections are held in evennumbered years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. independent expenditure An expenditure for activities that are independent from (not coordinated with) those of a political candidate or a political party. loophole A legitimate way of evading a certain legal requirement.
nominating convention An official meeting of a political party to choose its candidates. Nominating conventions at the state and local levels also select delegates to represent the citizens of their geographic areas at a higher-level party convention. office-block ballot A ballot that lists together all of the candidates for each office. open primary A primary in which voters can vote for a party's candidates regardless of whether they belong to the party. party-column ballot A ballot (also called the Indiana ballot) that lists all of a party's candidates under the party label. Voters can vote for all of a party's candidates for local, state, and national offices by making a single "X" or pulling a single lever.
political consultant A professional political adviser who, for a fee, works on an area of a candidate's campaign. Political consultants include campaign managers, pollsters, media advisers, and "get out the vote" organizers. poll watcher A representative from one of the political parties who is allowed to monitor a polling place to make sure that the election is run fairly and to avoid fraud. soft money Campaign contributions not regulated by federal law, such as some contributions that are made to political parties instead of to particular candidates. special election An election that is held at the state or local level when the voters must decide an issue before the next general election or when vacancies occur by reason of death or resignation.
winner-take-all system The type of electoral system used in most states, in which all of the state's electoral votes go to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in that state.