Absentee Ballot form that allows someone to vote by mail rather than in person Bipartisan issues on which Democrats and Republicans agree, often on foreign policy issues, giving rise to the saying "Partisanship stops at the water's edge." Cabinet group of people whom the President appoints to run executive agencies and give advice on policy matters (For example, the Secretary of State and Secretary of Treasury) who must be approved by the Senate Census Constitutional requirement to count the nation's population every ten years. This affects the number of Representatives a state receives in the House of Representatives and the distribution of federal funds to states Coattails when a person at the top of a ticket is so popular that he/she helps other candidates from the party to win; the opposite of ticket splitting Congress the legislative branch of government, comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate Convention gathering of party members to formally choose a candidate. (For example, thousands of Republicans met in Philadelphia this year to nominate George W. Bush as the Republican nominee for President.) Dark Horse person who is a long shot to win the Presidency (An example for this year would be Ralph Nader of the Green Party) Debates when candidates agree to discuss issues in a public forum; (For example, there are three presidential debates this year and one vice-presidential debate) Election Day always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. This year it is November 7th. Electoral College Constitutional requirement that Presidents not be chosen by direct popular votes. Each state has a certain number of electors (equaling the number of Representatives and Senators in Congress) and the people vote directly for those electors who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate. The electors meet in the first week of December and make the final choice for President. It is possible that the person with the most popular votes will not win the electoral college vote and will not become President.(See the National Archives Questions and Answers section on this at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/index.html#top Federalism sharing of power between the national, state and local governments where each level has specific powers and responsibilities Grassroots local support for an issue or a candidate Inauguration ceremony in which a person is sworn into office. Presidents are inaugurated on January 20th, following Election Day. Incumbent a person running for re-election. There are no incumbents for President in this election. Independent a person who does not belong to any political party and therefore usually does not get to vote in a primary election Interest Groups groups that have particular issues they want to address. They often donate money to candidates who agree with their positions (For example, National Rifle Association and the Sierra Club) Lame Duck the final months of an official's term when a new official has been elected and the current official waits for the new person to take office Landslide an overwhelming victory for a candidate Lobbying trying to persuade an official to take your side in an issue Media newspapers, radio, television and the Internet Midterm Election a non-Presidential election year. The year 2002 will be the next midterm election. Voter turnout tends to go down during these elections. Negative Advertising advertisements intended to criticize an opponent, as opposed to positively supporting a candidate Platform the official ideas of a party on a wide range of issues (For example, taxes, gun control, education policies, abortion, civil rights) Polls surveys of voters asking them how they plan to vote in the election Primary party elections to decide who the party's candidate should be. Typically, Republicans vote in Republican primaries to choose their candidate and Democrats vote in Democratic primaries to choose their candidate. These winners then go on to become the official party candidates in the election Reapportionment the redrawing of Congressional boundaries based on new census counts Registered Voter a voter who has already filled out the necessary forms to vote, which must usually be done at least a month before an election. The forms are easy and readily available online. Running Mate term often used to describe the Vice President Soccer Moms new political term describing suburban women and their concerns Spin an attempt by a campaign to interpret an event favorably toward their candidate. People who are good at it are called "spin doctors." Third Party American politics is dominated by two parties, Republicans and Democrats, but there are many other minor parties, such as the American Socialist, Green, and Libertarian parties. The Reform Party did very well in 1992 with Ross Perot, who received 19% of the popular vote, as its candidate for President Ticket Splitting when a person votes for a Presidential candidate from one party and a Congressman or Senator from another party. (An example for this year would be a person who votes for Al Gore (Democrat) for President and Rick Lazio (Republican) for Senator) Turnout the percentage of people who will vote in an election . This is typically around 50-55% for a Presidential election Twenty-Second Amendment limits a President to two terms of office. It was passed in 1951 following Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth election to the Presidency. Neither Ronald Reagan nor Bill Clinton could run for President again