US Political Terms, Election Concepts, and Supreme Court Cases
Key Political Terms & Concepts
Clothespin Vote
The vote cast by a person who does not like either candidate, so votes for the less objectionable of the two, putting a clothespin over his or her nose to keep out the unpleasant stench.
Ideological
A set of opinions or beliefs held by a group or an individual.
Prospective Voting
Voting for a candidate based on their proposed ideas for addressing future issues (forward-looking).
Retrospective Voting
Voting for or against an incumbent candidate or party based on their past performance (backward-looking).
Coattails Effect
The tendency of lesser-known or weaker candidates to benefit in an election due to the presence of a more popular candidate on the same ballot.
Divided Public Issue
An issue about which the public is divided and rival candidates or political parties adopt different policy positions.
US Government & Political Process Questions
Presidential Action on Legislation
Question: A bill is passed to the president for action while Congress is still in session. After ten days, the president has still not approved it. What happens to the bill?
Answer: The bill becomes law.
History of the Peacetime Draft
Question: The United States did not institute a peacetime draft until when?
Answer: 1940.
Constitutional Framers and Presidential Election
Question: Which Framer of the Constitution wanted the president to be elected by the people?
Answer: James Madison.
Landmark US Supreme Court Cases: Elections & Finance
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
In 2002, Congress passed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), which established two sets of limits to campaign contributions. Shaun McCutcheon is an Alabama resident who is eligible to vote.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
United States Supreme Court case involving Citizens United, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, and whether the group’s film critical of a political candidate could be defined as an “electioneering communication” under the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act. Decided in 2010, in a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited, because doing so would violate the First Amendment.
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission
Case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 21, 2010, ruled (5–4) that laws that prevented corporations and unions from using their general treasury funds for independent “electioneering communications” (political advertising) violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech. In so doing, the court invalidated Section 203 of the federal Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA)—also known as the McCain-Feingold Act for its sponsors, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Russ Feingold—as well as Section 441(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA), which the BCRA had amended. The court also overturned in whole or in part two previous Supreme Court rulings: Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003).
Buckley v. Valeo
Legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on January 30, 1976, struck down provisions of the 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)—as amended in 1974—that had imposed limits on various types of expenditures by or on behalf of candidates for federal office.
FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc.
A federal lawsuit filed by the group Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL) against the Federal Election Commission (FEC) challenging the federal law prohibiting nonprofits and corporations from airing certain advertisements within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election.