Political Glossary

Short, neutral definitions of the election, polling and government terms you'll see in the news.

Plain-language definitions of terms you'll see in election coverage and on this site. Each term has its own link (for example, /glossary#filibuster) so you can share it.

Jump to: Elections · Polls and forecasts · Election night · Congress and government · Money and campaigns

Elections

Absentee and mail ballots

Ballots voters fill out away from a polling place and return by mail, drop box or in person. Some states mail one to every voter; others require a request or an excuse.

Ballot measure

A question that voters decide directly, such as a law or a constitutional amendment. An initiative is put on the ballot by citizen petition; a referendum asks voters to approve or reject a law the legislature passed. See 2026 ballot measures.

Battleground (swing) state

A state where either party has a realistic chance of winning, so campaigns spend the most time and money there.

Early voting

Voting in person before Election Day at designated locations. Most states offer it; the length of the period varies.

Electoral College

The system that elects the president. Each state gets as many electors as it has members of Congress (D.C. gets three), for 538 in all; 270 wins. Almost every state gives all its electors to the statewide winner; Maine and Nebraska split theirs by congressional district.

Gerrymandering

Drawing district lines to give one party or group an advantage, typically by packing opponents into a few districts or spreading them thin across many. Courts have ruled that federal courts can't police partisan gerrymandering, though state courts and constitutions sometimes can.

Incumbent

The person who currently holds an office. An open seat has no incumbent running.

Midterm election

The general election held halfway through a president's four-year term. All 435 House seats and about a third of the Senate are on the ballot, along with many governors.

Primary, open and closed

An election in which voters choose each party's nominee. In a closed primary only registered party members vote; in an open primary any voter can choose a party's ballot. A top-two (or top-four) primary puts all candidates on one ballot and sends the leaders to the general election regardless of party.

Provisional ballot

A ballot cast when a voter's eligibility can't be confirmed at the polls. It's counted once officials verify the voter was eligible.

Ranked-choice voting

Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no one wins a majority of first choices, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots go to their next choice, repeating until someone has a majority.

Redistricting

Redrawing the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts, normally once a decade after the census. Some states use independent commissions; in others the legislature draws the maps.

Runoff

A second election between the top two candidates when no one reaches a required share of the vote, usually 50%. Georgia and Louisiana are among the states that use them.

Turnout

The share of eligible voters who actually vote. Midterms usually have lower turnout than presidential elections.

Polls and forecasts

Generic ballot

A poll question asking which party's candidate voters would support for Congress, without naming candidates. It's a rough gauge of the national mood in midterm years.

Likely vs. registered voters

Polls of registered voters include everyone on the rolls; polls of likely voters try to include only people expected to vote, using questions about interest and past voting. Results can differ by a few points. See how to read polls.

Margin of error

The range within which a poll's result would likely fall if everyone had been asked, usually stated at 95% confidence. A candidate leading by less than about twice the margin of error isn't clearly ahead.

Polling average

The combined result of several recent polls, which smooths out the noise of any single poll. This site uses a simple 21-day average; see our methodology.

Prediction market

A market, such as Kalshi or Polymarket, where people trade contracts that pay out if an event happens. Prices are read as implied probabilities: a contract at 62 cents implies about a 62% chance. They reflect traders' bets, not a poll of voters.

Approval rating

The share of people who say they approve of how an official, usually the president, is doing the job.

Election night

Race call (projection)

A news organization's determination that a candidate has won, based on votes counted and statistical models of the votes still out. Calls aren't official results; states certify those later.

Expected vote and percent reporting

How much of the total vote has been counted. Mail ballots in some states are counted late, so early leads can shift.

Red or blue shift

A change in a race's margin as different kinds of ballots are counted. In recent elections mail ballots have leaned Democratic and Election Day votes Republican, so the order of counting matters.

Recount

A second count of the ballots, often automatic when the margin is very small (for example, within 0.5% in some states) or available on request.

Certification

The formal approval of results by election officials, which makes them official. It happens days or weeks after Election Day.

Concession

A candidate's public acknowledgment of defeat. It's customary but has no legal effect.

Congress and government

Cloture

The Senate vote to end debate on a measure. It takes 60 votes for most legislation, which is what makes a filibuster possible.

Filibuster

Using the Senate's unlimited-debate rules to delay or block a vote. Because ending debate usually takes 60 votes, most bills need 60 senators' support to pass. Nominations and budget reconciliation bills need only a simple majority.

Budget reconciliation

A special process for tax and spending bills that can pass the Senate with a simple majority and can't be filibustered, within limits on what the bill can contain.

Lame duck

An official, or a session of Congress, serving between an election and the date successors take office. The new Congress begins January 3.

Majority and minority leader

The leaders of the larger and smaller parties in the Senate (and House). The Senate majority leader controls which bills come to the floor.

Speaker of the House

The presiding officer of the House, elected by its members, usually from the majority party. The speaker controls the House agenda and is second in line to the presidency after the vice president.

Veto

The president's (or a governor's) rejection of a bill. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers.

Trifecta

When one party holds the presidency (or governorship) and both chambers of Congress (or the legislature).

Money and campaigns

PAC

A political action committee raises money and donates to candidates, within legal limits on how much it can receive and give.

Super PAC

A committee that can raise and spend unlimited amounts on ads and other activity supporting or opposing candidates, as long as it doesn't coordinate with campaigns. It must disclose its donors. See money in politics.

Dark money

Political spending by groups, often nonprofits, that aren't required to disclose their donors.

Independent expenditure

Spending for or against a candidate that isn't coordinated with any campaign. Super PACs make most of it.

Lobbying

Trying to influence lawmakers or officials on behalf of a company, union, cause or other group. Federal lobbyists must register and report their spending.

Citizens United

The 2010 Supreme Court decision holding that the government can't limit independent political spending by corporations and unions, which led to super PACs.

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