Search results for: “electoral realignments”

  • Electoral Realignments

    Election: Electoral RealignmentsIntroduction to Electoral RealignmentsThe outcomes of elections often have important consequences for governmental programs and policies. In the United States, elections have had their greatest impact during times of "critical realignment"-…

  • Electoral Systems

    Election: Electoral Systems Introduction to Electoral Systems The manner in which governments organize elections and determine winners also affects participation rates. Majority systems require that a victorious candidate receive more than 50 percent of the vote. Under a plurality system, […]

  • Political Parties

    Introduction to Political PartiesPolitical Parties, organizations that mobilize voters on behalf of a common set of interests, concerns, and goals. In many nations, parties play a crucial role in the democratic process. They formulate political and policy agendas, select candidates, conduct…

  • Political Parties

    Introduction to Political PartiesPolitical Parties, organizations that mobilize voters on behalf of a common set of interests, concerns, and goals. In many nations, parties play a crucial role in the democratic process. They formulate political and policy agendas, select candidates, conduct…

  • Electronic Voting

    Introduction to Electronic Voting Electronic Voting, a balloting system that allows votes to be entered and recorded in an electronic form. These balloting systems are also referred to as e-voting or direct-recording electronic systems (DREs). The voter uses a direct entry device to register…

  • Election

    Introduction to Election Election, procedure that allows members of an organization or community to choose representatives who will hold positions of authority within it. The most important elections select the leaders of local, state, and national governments. The chance to decide who will […]

  • Election

    Introduction to Election Election, procedure that allows members of an organization or community to choose representatives who will hold positions of authority within it. The most important elections select the leaders of local, state, and national governments. The chance to decide who will […]

  • Electorate

    Introduction to ElectorateElectorate, term applied to all of the eligible voters in a political democracy. If a substantial majority of the mature citizens of a community are allowed to participate in elections, and if no compulsion or restraint is involved in voting, that community is cons…

  • Voter Registration

    Election: Voter Registration Introduction to Voter Registration In addition to differences in political party strength, these national differences in voter participation result from variations in registration rules and the organization of elections. In Europe, governments automatical…

  • Nomination

    Introduction to Nomination Nomination, in politics, the formal selection and presentation of a candidate for an elective office. Four principal methods of nomination have been used in the U.S.: nomination by political convention, by primary election, by caucus, and by petition. Before 1800 c…

  • Suffrage

    Introduction to SuffrageSuffrage, right or privilege of voting to elect public officials and to adopt or reject legislation. Suffrage is a political institution dating from ancient times. In the city-states of Greece, all freemen (who constituted a minority of the population) were expected …

  • Voice Vote

    Introduction to Voice VoteVoice Vote, vote that is tallied by the vocal responses of its participants. Voice voting is accomplished either by a general count of "ayes" versus "nays" or by asking each participant one by one to announce his or her vote, a procedure that is…

  • Paper Trail for Electronic Voting

    Electronic Voting A 'Paper Trail' for Electronic VotingIntroduction to Paper Trail for Electronic VotingThis lack of an independent proof, or audit trail, for the vote data collected by DREs led numerous computer scientists to consider the requirement that all electronic el…

  • Party Systems

    Political Parties: Party SystemsIntroduction to Party SystemsA political party system consists of all the parties in a particular nation and the laws and customs that govern their behavior. There are three types of party systems: (1) multiparty systems, (2) two-party systems, and (…

  • Political Campaign

    Introduction to Political CampaignPolitical Campaign, organized effort by a political party or candidate for public office to attract the support of voters in an election. Political campaigns play an important role in the education and mobilization of citizens in most democracies.In…