Chapter 6: Vocabulary American Government

Suffrage – the right to vote Registration – a procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting Poll tax – a special tax demanded as a condition of voting Gerrymandering – the practice of drawing electoral district lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or party

Injunction – a court order the either forces or limits the performance of some act by a private individual or public officer Off-year elections – congressional elections held in the even- numbered years between presidential elections Political efficacy – the idea that one person cannot influence or make a difference in politics

Political socialization – the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions Gender gap – measurable gaps between the partisan choices of men and women Party identification – the loyalty of people to a particular political party

Straight-ticket voting – the practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election Independents – this is the term regularly used to identify those people who have no party affiliation