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Definition
| A meeting of state party leaders to determine which candidate delegates will support. |
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Definition
| Targeted mailings to prospective supporters, usually compiled from lists of those who have contributed to candidates and parties in the past. |
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| Federal Election Campaign Act |
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Definition
| 1974 legislation designed to regulate campaign contributions and limit campaign expenditures. |
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| Federal Election Commission (FEC) |
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Definition
| A bipartisan body that administers campaign finance laws. |
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| States’ decisions to move their presidential primaries and caucuses to earlier in the nomination season in order to capitalize on media attention. |
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| Money provided to qualifying presidential candidates from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, the amount of which is determined by the amount of contributions raised. |
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| McGovern-Fraser Commission |
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Definition
| – A committee in the Democratic Party that recommended changes in party rules to promote more representation of women and minorities in the delegate selection process. |
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| National Party Convention |
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Definition
| Meeting of delegates from each state to determine the party’s nominee for president. |
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| A proposal by critics of the current caucus/primary system to replace these electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year. |
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| A party’s official endorsement of a candidate for office. |
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Term
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Definition
| A party’s statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. |
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Term
| Political Action Committee (PAC) |
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Definition
| A legal entity formed expressly for the purpose of contributing money to candidates and influencing electoral outcomes. |
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| Presidential Election Campaign Fund |
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Definition
| Money from the $3 federal income tax check-off goes into this fund, which is distributed to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns. |
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Term
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Definition
| State-level elections to determine which candidate state delegates will support. |
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Term
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Definition
| A proposal by critics of the current caucus/primary system to replace these electoral methods with a series of primaries held in each geographic region. |
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Term
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Definition
| The act of paying the most attention to things one agrees with already. |
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Term
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Definition
| Money raised by political parties for voter registration drives and the distribution of campaign material at the grass-roots level, now banned at the national level. |
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Term
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Definition
| Delegates to the Democratic Party’s national convention who obtain their seats on the basis of their positions within the party structure. |
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Term
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Definition
| Independent groups that seek to influence the political process but are not subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly advocate the election of a particular candidate. |
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