Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms

Absentee Ballot: A ballot marked and mailed in advance by a voter away from the place where he or she is registered

Ballot: A list of candidates running for office; a ticket

Campaign: A race between candidates for elective office

Candidate: A person who seeks or is nominated for an office, prize, or honor

Canvass: The process used to determine the official results of an election

Disenfranchised: Deprived of the rights of citizenship especially the right to vote

District: A territorial division (as of a nation, state, county, or city) for administrative, judicial, electoral, or other purposes

Election: Voting for candidates for an elective office

Electoral College: A body of electors chosen to elect the President and Vice President of the United States

Eligible Voter (in Virginia): and individual who is a Virginia resident, is 18 years of age or will turn 18 by the next General Election, does not claim the right to vote in any other state, is not currently declared mentally incompetent by a court of law, has had his or her voting rights restored if convicted of a felony, and is registered to vote

General Election: An election involving all or most constituencies of a state or nation in the choice of candidates

Help America Vote Act (HAVA): An item of United States federal election law passed on October 29, 2002. Under HAVA, a new federal voter registration form was created. HAVA also guarantees the ability of individuals to cast a provisional ballot and have the validity of their registration checked later if they do not appear on voter registration rolls

Petition: A formal written document requesting a right or benefit from a person or group in authority

Platform: A formal declaration of the principles on which a group, such as a political party, makes its appeal to the public

Political Party: An organization to gain political power

Politics: The art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs

Poll Book: The register of the names of electors who may vote in an election

Polling Place: Place where voters go to cast their votes in an election

Precinct: An election district of a city or town

Primary Election: A preliminary election in which voters nominate party candidates for office

Recount: An additional count, especially a second count of votes cast in an election

Special Election: An election that is held when a lawmaker dies, resigns, or is expelled from office in mid-term

Suffrage: The right or privilege of voting; franchise; the exercise of such a right

Vote: A formal expression of preference for a candidate for office or for a proposed resolution of an issue; a means by which such a preference is made known, such as a raised hand or a marked ballot