Election Vocabulary Useful Vocabulary

Things you might see around election time

ballot paper(s)

leaflet(s) / pamphlet(s)

party political broadcast

politician(s)

poll card(s)

poster(s)

postal vote(s)

vote(s)

voting booth(s)

Main Political Parties in the UK - from left to right. Their Colours and Logos

Labour - Red - Rose

Liberal Democrats - Gold Conservatives - Blue - Tree Bird

Words you might see or hear during an election

block vote A way of voting in which your vote re resents other members of your organi!ation" es ecially at trade union meetings# A s ecial election" held between regular elections" when an area votes# A by-election can be $called$ if an e%isting &#'# dies or retires# *n an election a cam aign is a olitical cam aign is an organi!ed effort which seeks to win the vote of the electorate# +ften called a $ olitical cam aign$ or an $election cam aign$# The things a candidate does to be elected# (,*ssing babies" shaking hands" giving s eeches to the -* etc#) The erson who is running in an election# *f there$s no outright winner in an election a government can be formed in which several arties coo erate# A citi!en who is re resented in a government by officials

by-election

cam aign (n)

cam aign (v) candidate (n) coalition (n) constituent (n)

for whom he or she votes# constituency (n) debate (n) debate (v) de osit (n) dissolution (n) dissolved (v) elect (v) election (n) electorate (n) general election gerrymander government 1ouse of Commons 1ouse of Lords inde endent leader local election &' &ember of 'arliament o osition arty .ach of the electoral areas or divisions in the /, which elect one or more members to arliament# A formal discussion of the merits of something# To argue for and against something# The sum of money that a candidate must ay in return for the right to stand in British arliamentary elections# The termination of the current arliament" which has to take lace before a general election# +nce the dissolution of arliament has been announced" we say it has been dissolved# The act of voting to select the winner of a olitical office# The formal decision-making rocess by which a o ulation chooses an individual to hold ublic office# The eo le who are eligible to vote in an election# An election held for a nation$s rimary legislative body# To redraw electoral district boundaries for olitical advantage# The olitical body with the ower to make and0or enforce laws for a country" The lower house of the British arliament# The u er house of the British arliament#

A candidate who is not controlled by a olitical arty# The erson who runs a olitical arty# (&argaret Thatcher was the leader of the Conservatives)# County" unitary authority" borough" district" city" town or arish elections# Abbreviation of &ember of 'arliament# The erson who re resents their constituency in the 1ouse of Commons# The ma2or olitical arty o osed to the arty in office and re ared to re lace it if elected# An organi!ation formed to gain olitical ower#

olicy olitical olitician olitics '& rime minister ro%y vote rhetoric run s in s in doctor veto

A deliberate act of government that in some way alters or influences the society or economy outside the government# Related to olitics# A erson active in olitics# The rocess by which governments make decisions# Abbreviation of 'rime &inister# The erson who holds the osition of head of the government# The delegation of someone to vote on someone else$s behalf# The art of using language as a means to ersuade someone to your way of thinking# To cam aign to stand for a olitical osition# To resent the facts in such a way as to sway ublic o inion#

A vote that blocks a decision#

Build Up - Different forms of government / political po er

!utocracy

A system of government in which supreme political power to direct all the activities of the state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perhaps for the implicit threat of coup d'etat or mass insurrection)
!ristocracy

A privileged social class whose members possess disproportionately large shares of a society's wealth, social prestige, educational attainment and political influence, with these advantages having been ac!uired principally through gift or inheritance from a long line of similarly privileged and cultivated ancestors "he term refers also to a form of government in which the state is effectively controlled by the members of such a class "he term tends to have a somewhat unsavory or derogatory connotation today in the light of democratic theories, but in classical political philosophy it meant rule by #the best people$ of the society, who were expected to feel a paternalistic concern for the humbler members of the society that would %eep them from ruling in a purely self&see%ing fashion
"ommunism

'evere government interference in economics (entralized planning by the government, )*+ ,A-". rule, and stresses that there should be only one class of people
Democracy

A system of government in which effective political power is vested in the people /n older usage (for example, in the writings of the classical 0ree% and -oman philosophers or in the 1ederalist ,apers), the term was reserved exclusively for governmental systems in which the populace exercised this power directly through general assemblies or referenda to decide the most important !uestions of law or policy /n more contemporary usage, the term has been broadened to include also what the American 1ounding 1athers called a republic && a governmental system in which the power of the people is normally exercised only indirectly, through freely elected representatives who are supposed to ma%e government decisions according to the popular will, or at least according to the supposed values and interests of the population
Dictatorship

0overnment by a single person (or group) whose discretion in using the powers and resources of the state is unrestrained by any fixed legal or constitutional rules and who is (are) in no effective way held responsible to the general population or their elected representatives 0eneric term used to describe any government controlled by a single individual and giving the people little or no individual freedom "ypically a person who rules by threat of force ,eople who are loyal to a dictatorship swear allegiance to the person first and the country second 1ascism, "heocracies, 2onarchies and (ommunism can all be dictatorships A -epublic cannot be a dictatorship
#ascism

A class of political ideologies (and historical political regimes) that ta%es its name from the movement led by 3enito 2ussolini that too% power in /taly in 4566 2ussolini's ideas and practices directly and indirectly influenced political movements in 0ermany (especially the *azi ,arty), 'pain (1ranco's 1alange ,arty), 1rance, Argentina, and many other +uropean and non&+uropean countries right up to the present day
$ar%ism

"he theory of government based on the ideals of 7arl 2arx and 1rederic% +ngels in the boo% "he (ommunist 2anifesto written in the 4899's 2arxism advocates the :wor%ers: (,roletariats and petite&bourgeoisie) rise up and overthrow businesses and government and ta%e control themselves 2arxism advocates a classless society in which everything is shared and owned by all /n its true form it follows the mandates of a ;irect ;emocracy in which the mob or general population rules and allocates resources based upon the will of the majority with e!ual consideration given to all without exclusions or privileges to any
$onarchy

A government that has a single person who is generally considered the ruler by the title and birthright "itles include< (zar, 7ing, =ueen, +mperor, (aesar, etc ,ower is absolute and is either ta%en through con!uest or passed down to family members without regard for ability or

appropriateness 'ociety is formed around feudal groups or tribes in which the ruling family delegates power and authority based upon the desires of a single individual ,ower struggles are common A monarchy is based upon a class system where those of a certain birthright are perceived to be of superior intellect and strength to those not of the same family line "he resources and wealth of a country is generally preserved solely for the hedonistic and self& fulfilling desires of the reigning monarch with little regard for the general population or its welfare "he inhabitants of a country under a monarch are alive to serve the monarch /n contrast the inhabitants of a republic are served by the their leaders
&ligarchy

Any system of government in which virtually all political power is held by a very small number of wealthy but otherwise unmeritorious people who shape public policy primarily to benefit themselves financially through direct subsidies to their agricultural estates or business firms, lucrative government contracts, and protectionist measures aimed at damaging their economic competitors > while displaying little or no concern for the broader interests of the rest of the citizenry #)ligarchy$ is also used as a collective term to denote all the individual members of the small corrupt ruling group in such a system "he term always has a negative or derogatory connotation in both contemporary and classical usage, in contrast to aristocracy (which sometimes has a derogatory connotation in modern usage, but never in classical)
'epublic

)riginally, any form of government not headed by an hereditary monarch /n modern American usage, the term usually refers more specifically to a form of government (a % a #representative democracy$) in which ultimate political power is theoretically vested in the people but in which popular control is exercised only intermittently and indirectly through the popular election of government officials and?or delegates to a legislative assembly rather than directly through fre!uent mass assemblies or legislation by referendum
(ocialism

@imited government interference in business activity, (as opposed to communism) but more than in capitalism (ertain areas of an individual's life are controlled and representation tends to be parliamentary in nature /n other words, people vote for a particular party and the party elects the leaders of the country "he notable difference here is that there is more than one party
Theocracy

A government which claims to be immediately directed by 0od, and divinely blessed "he country tends to be intolerant either passively or overtly to faiths other than that recognized by the state "he country identifies itself and its laws within religion and religious doctrine "here is no legal separation between church and state, and citizens of other faiths are often excluded or hampered from participation or expelled 3ecause a theocracy is exclusionary, it can never be a democracy which re!uires inclusion without exception of all e!ually /t cannot be a republic because a republic re!uires the separation of church and state and e!ual rights to all

)aturally (pea*ing

3oting

I'd like to register to vote. I'm on the electoral registry. I haven't had my poll card, yet. Where is the polling station? Have you voted, yet? Are you going to vote? Which party are you voting for?* Who are you going to vote for?* Who got the most votes?

*Be careful a out asking this. !or many people in the "#, voting is a personal matter.

Dialogue
$r and $rs (mith are discussing the elections+

.lection - Conversation $rs %mith& $r %mith & $rs %mith& $r %mith& $rs %mith& $r %mith& $rs %mith& Are you coming to vote? 'he polling station (ill e closing in an hour. It's raining) %o (hat? I can't e othered. It doesn't matter (ho I vote for, (e al(ays end up (orse off. 'hey're all as ad as each other. Well don't complain to me if you don't like the policies of (hoever (ins. I don't think anyone (ill (in. 'hey're predicting a hung parliament. Well if no one others to vote, I guess they'll e right. I'll e ack in ten.

Games and Tests for this Vocabulary Unit