A Glossary of Political Terms for Engaged Citizens

Public Opinion and Policy

Public Opinion: The collection of views shared by a segment of society on an issue of interest.

Public Policy: The choices the government makes and the actions it takes in response to a particular issue or problem.

Political Socialization and the Media

Political Socialization: The process by which people develop political beliefs.

Mass Media: Means of communication that provide information to a large audience.

Polling and Bias

Sampling Error: The margin of error that indicates a poll's accuracy, given as a percentage above and below the poll's results.

Bias: Refers to errors introduced by polling methods that lead to one outcome over others.

Objectivity: Freedom from bias and outside factors, such as timing, that may influence results.

Political Influence and Action

Political Action Committees and Lobbying

Political Action Committee (PAC): Organization created to raise and contribute money legally to the campaigns of political candidates.

Trade Association: Represents the interests of a specific industry.

Endorse: Publicly declare support for a candidate or issue.

Lobbying: Contacting a public official to persuade them to support a group's interests.

Grassroots: The name given to the lowest level of an organization or society, often used to describe movements driven by the general public.

Political Parties and Elections

Party Systems and the Political Spectrum

Political Party: Organization that tries to elect its members to public office so that its views can become public policy.

Political Spectrum: The continuum of general political beliefs.

Nomination Process: The process of naming candidates for elective office, a key function of political parties.

Third Party: Any political party in a two-party system besides the two major ones.

Electoral Units and Processes

Precinct: The smallest unit for administering elections and local voting.

Ward: A voting district made up of several precincts.

Caucus: A meeting of party members who select the candidates to run for election.

Direct Primary: An election where the party's candidate for office is chosen directly by voters.

Closed Primary: Only voters registered as party members can vote in selecting that party's candidates.

Open Primary: Any registered voter may vote in either party's primary election, but only in one of them.

Additional Terms

Write-in Candidate, One-Party System, Two-Party System, Multiparty System, Independent Candidate, Hard Money, Soft Money, Absentee Ballot, Poll, Plurality, Labor Unions, Propaganda, Sample, Exit Poll, Interest Group, Electorate