Basically, in election terms, a caucus is a meeting held to nominate a candidate for a presidential election. In modern day America, however, the process is a bit more complicated. Local branches of the various political parties hold meetings called caucuses where they nominate delegates who will go to county caucuses to vote for more delegates to go to caucuses at the state level. The state-level delegates then elect MORE delegates, who will attend their party's national convention to nominate for their presidential candidate. So many caucuses may seem confusing, but the system allows for a large number of people to be involved in the nomination process, and is therefore more democratic.

Technically, conservative means preferring to maintain a current situation than to make drastic changes. When we use the word in the context of American politics, it describes a way of thinking that supports a free-market economy and encourages giving more power to state or local governments and less power to the federal government. Typically, more Republicans than Democrats in this country would consider themselves conservatives. Because their beliefs tend to fall to the right-of-center (with liberal beliefs falling to the left), conservatives are often referred to as "right-wing."

When delegates from a particular party hold a national or state-wide gathering to nominate a candidate from their party to run for office, this meeting is called a convention. During the months leading up to a presidential election, each of the major parties typically holds a convention in the summer before the November election. The 2000 Republican Convention takes place in Philadelphia, PA from July 29 through August 4. The 2000 Democratic Convention takes place in Los Angeles, CA from August 14 through August 18. Political parties other than the two major parties sometimes also hold conventions when they have candidates running in the election.

A debate is a formal discussion between people with opposing views on an issue or several issues. During a presidential campaign, the candidates from the various parties usually meet several times to debate their positions on important national matters. These debates are often broadcast on television and/or radio, and are frequently moderated by well-known members of the media (usually news anchors). The questions the candidates debate are sometimes asked by members of the audience, who are most often reporters or other people involved in the media.

A delegate is a member of a political party who is chosen to represent that party at a political convention. (See "Convention," above.)

The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States (the other being the Republican Party). Traditionally, the Democratic Party believes in strong government that promotes equality and encourages programs to promote social reform. The Democratic Party is thought to be more liberal than the Republican Party, which is considered more conservative. (See "Liberal" and "Conservative.")

When U.S. citizens vote, they're not voting directly for a candidate. Instead, they're voting for a member of the electoral college from their state, who has aligned him/herself with one of the candidates. When you go to a voting booth, you don't actually see these electors' names because it's understood that when you vote for a particular candidate, you're voting for the elector who supports that candidate. The electoral college then holds a formal vote. There are 538 electors, and a candidate must receive a majority of 270 votes to become president.

As a result of a 1974 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the Federal Election Commission was established to enforce federal campaign finance laws during an election campaign.

According to this law, passed in 1971, political candidates and committees must reveal the sources of the campaign funding they received, and explain what they spent the money on. FECA also regulates the public funds candidates may receive. (See "Public Funding" below.)

The leader in an election race, or the candidate who is considered the most likely to win is called the "front-runner."

When women and men tend to vote differently on particular issues, or along opposing party lines, this difference is referred to by the media as the "gender gap." Recently, it has been noted that statistically, more women support Democratic candidates and issues, and more men lead towards Republicans.

Back in the day, the Republican Party was called the "Grand Old Party." These days, we abbreviate that "nickname," and the party is often referred to as the GOP.

Voters who don't identify themselves as Republicans, Democrats or members of any other political party are called "independents." Occasionally, a candidate will run as an Independent, which means the candidate is running on his or her own platform, and not one created or approved by a particular party.

Technically, liberal means open-minded and not bound by tradition. When we use the term "liberal" in a political context, we are talking about a position or an ideology that is held by people who tend to believe that governments should have power to regulate economic issues to ensure equality for the most people. People who identify themselves as liberals most often are concerned with social issues, such as equal rights for all citizens, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Generally, more liberals are affiliated with the Democratic Party than the Republican Party. Because their beliefs tend to fall to the left-of-center (with conservative beliefs falling to the right), liberals are often referred to as "left-wing."

During the primary season, presidential candidates are eligible to receive money from the U.S. government towards their campaigns. The government "matches" private contributions by giving candidates up to $250 for every donation they receive.

Because the various elected offices have different term lengths, some elections take place in presidential election years, and some are held between presidential elections. These elections, which occur two years after a presidential election (and two years before the next) are called midterm elections. 100 senators, 435 members of the House of Representatives and numerous state and local officials are elected during each midterm election.

When businesses, organizations or unions form committees that contribute funds to a candidate, these are called Political Action Committees, or PACs. A PAC is not a candidate's or a party's official committee, but because it has a political agenda—issues the members of the PAC feel strongly about—it can be a powerful force in an election.

The official statement of position issued by a candidate or a political party is that candidate or party's "platform." Basically, the platform states where the candidate or party stands on major political matters.

A primary is the process by which a party's candidate is chosen to run for office. There are two types of primaries: Most states hold "closed primaries." In a closed primary, only members of a particular party can vote for the person they think should be that party's official candidate. Most state primaries are closed. In an "open primary," voters registered for any party, or none at all, may vote.

Each year when U.S. taxpayers pay their taxes, they have the option of contributing to a fund that helps finance presidential candidates' election campaigns. This fund is maintained by the U.S. Treasury, and donations are voluntary.

The process of redrawing the geographic boundaries of congressional districts, the electoral districts within states from which members of the House of Representatives are elected. Both Democrats and Republicans at the state level compete to get hold of the legal and political mechanisms of redistricting Ñ usually by controlling the state legislature. By doing so, they can redraw boundaries of congressional districts in ways that will lend an electoral advantage to their own party.

During presidential primary season, several states within the various regions of the United States may decide to hold their primary elections on the same day to increase their particular region's affect on the election process.

The Republican party is one of the two major political parties in the United States (the other being the Democratic party). Generally, the Republican party believes that state and local governments should have more power than the federal government, and that a free-market economy, based in business and finance, should be the nation's primary vehicle for progress and change. The Republican party is thought to be more conservative than the Democratic party, which is considered more liberal. (See "Conservative" and "Liberal.")

When a candidate or politician says something in a speech or an interview that is somehow meaningful or telling about his or her position or beliefs, this "sound bite" is used many times on TV and the radio. These quotes are usually very brief.

A straw poll is an unofficial vote taken early on in the election process—when parties are still trying to determine which candidates are more popular with different types of voters. Generally, people active within the parties participate in these polls.

Candidates for office usually have one main speech they use for most appearances. Depending upon the event, he or she might adjust the speech a bit to make it relevant to the occasion.

Tuesday is the day of the week when most primary elections are held, and when a number of states hold their primaries on the same Tuesday, it's called a Super Tuesday. Since there are so many people voting on one day, a candidate's position can change drastically by the end of the day. If a candidate's behind in the morning, he or she may very well be in the lead by night time, after many of the votes have been cast. Doing well on a Super Tuesday gets candidates a lot of attention from the media, and is usually a big boost for their campaigns.

Swing Voters are people who don't identify themselves with one particular political party. They don't call themselves "Republicans" or "Democrats," and they don't base their votes on party affiliations—they might "swing" from one party to the next, depending on the candidates. Swing voters who don't know which candidate they'll be voting for are called "undecideds." Campaigning politicians and their staffs spend a lot of time trying to gain the support of these voters.

Ticket Splitters are folks who vote for candidates from different parties on the same ballot. For instance, they might vote for a democratic candidate for president, and then a republican candidate for another office, like the senate. Like swing voters, they don't vote according to a particular party's platform. They're called "ticket splitters" because they don't vote for all of the candidates on one party's "ticket," and therefore end up splitting their votes between tickets.

When a candidate or a politician already in office invites a group of people, often from a certain area, to attend a question and answer session. These are usually rather informal meetings in towns or communities in which the local people have the opportunity to ask the candidates or political leaders questions about their positions, plans, and policies.