Politics

• Natural-born American citizen
• At least 35 years old
• Residency qualification of 14 years
• Can only hold office twice (after 1951)

• Political experience
• Major party endorsement
• Personal characteristics
• Ability to raise large sums of money
• Effective organisation
• Oratorical skills and being telegenic
• Sound and relevant policies

The period between declaring an intention to run and the first contests of the primary season

A state based election to choose a party's candidate for the presidency

A state based series of meetings for the selection of a party's candidate for the presidency

A Tuesday in early February when a number of states coincide their presidential primaries in order to try to gain influence for their region in the selection of major party presidential candidates

Where states schedule their primaries or caucuses early (before the end of March)

Where any registered voter can vote in either party's primary

Where only registered Democrats can vote in the Democrat primaries or vice versa

• Increased participation
• Increased choice of candidates
• Process opened up to outsiders
• Power or party bosses abolished
• A gruelling race for a gruelling job

• Can lead to widespread voter apathy
• Voters are unrepresentative
• Process is too long
• Process is too expensive
• Process is too dominated by the media
• Can develop into bitter personal battles
• Lack of 'peer' review

• A balanced ticket
• Potential in government
• Party unity

• Choosing the party's presidential candidate
• Choosing the vice-presidential candidate
• Deciding the party platform

• Promoting party unity
• Enthusing the party faithful
• Enthusing the ordinary voters

• Only time national parties meet
• Opportunity to promote party unity
• Opportunity to enthuse party members and activists
• Introduce new new vice-presidential candidate
• Many voters don't tune into the campaign until the conventions
• A significant number of voters make their decision during the conventions
• Can lead to significant post- convention 'bounce' in polls
• Presidential nominee's acceptance speech is key moment in campaign

• Presidential candidate now decided during primaries
• No second ballot at either convention since 1952
• Vice-presidential candidate now announced before the convention convenes
• Party platform agreed by the platform committee before the convention
• Television coverage much reduced
• Both 2012 conventions only lasted 3 days instead of 4

• Preserves the voice of the small-population states
• Winner is likely to receive more than 50% of the popular vote because it promotes a two horse race

• Small populated states over-represented
• Winner-takes-all system can distort the result
• Possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote but win in the Electoral College
• Unfair to national third parties
• 'Rogue' or 'faithless' electors
• Potential problems regarding system to be used if Electoral College is deadlocked

A mechanism by which citizens of a state can place proposed laws - and in some states, constitutional amendments - on the state ballot.

Proposals that qualify go straight on the ballot

• Help increase voter turnout
• Increase citizen interest in state policy issues
• Increase responsiveness and accountability
• Provide a way of enacting reforms on controversial reforms

• Lack of flexibility of the legislative process
• Vulnerable to manipulation by interest groups

A proposition submitted to the state legislature who decide what further action should be taken

• Same sex marriage, 2012. Maryland, Maine and Washington State all voted to approve
• Use of marijuana, 2012. Colorado and Washington state legalised recreational use 

A vote on something the state legislature proposes.

Citizens of a state can demand a referendum if not happy with a law that has been passed (used in 24 states)

A procedure which enables voters in a state to remove an elected official from office before their term has expired. Can be seen as a direct form of impeachment

The Republican governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, was challenged but beat his Democrat opponent 53% to 46% in 2012

Where power is distributed amongst a number of groups representing widely different interests within society, not just the electorate or governing elite

Where power rests with a small group who gain power through wealth, family status or intellectual superiority

A group that seeks to represent other organisations and groups

A group that seeks to represent individual Americans rather than organisations or groups

• Participation
• Representation
• Agenda building
• Programme monitoring
• Public education

• Material benefits
• Solidarity benefits
• Purposive benefits

• Electioneering and endorsement
• Lobbying
• Publicity
• Organising grassroots activities

An impenetrable relationship between pressure groups, congressional committees and federal agencies in a given policy area for the mutual benefit of these three parties

The practice by which former members of congress (or the executive branch) take up well-paid jobs with Washington-based lobbying firms and then use their expertise and contacts to lobby the institution of which they were once a member

• National Association of Realtors
•  The National Rifle Association (NRA)
• The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
• The National Farmers Union (NFU)
• The American Bar Association (ABA)

• Provide legislators and bureaucrats with useful information
• Act as a sounding board during policy formulation
• Provide order, priorities, and aggregations to political debate
• Broaden opportunities for participation both during and between elections
• Can increase levels of accountability on legilators and elected executive branch members
• Increase opportunities for representing minority interests
• Enhance freedom of speech and freedom of association - two basic democratic rights

• Revolving-door syndrome
• Iron triangle relationships
• Inequality between groups leading to unfair reprsentation of some views
• Concentration on 'special interest' at the expense of the 'public interest'
• Over-influence of money, Some methods used by some groups

Pressure groups that collect money from their members and then give it to candidates and political parties that support their interests

An attempt to exert influence on the policy-making, legislative or judicial process by individuals or organised groups

A form of pressure group activity that most often favours the use of non-violent or violent physical protest over the more traditional forms of lobbying such as e-mailing and petitions

Fundraising committees which are permitted to receive unlimited contributions and make unlimited expenditure aimed at either electing or defeating candidates in federal elections. They are forbidden from making any direct contributions to federal candidates or parties

• Invisible primary
• Primaries and caucuses
• Choosing of the vice-presidential candidate
• National Party Conventions
• General election campaigns
• Election day 
• The Electoral College