Index of Terms

About | Contact | Support | CopyrightIndex of contents | Index of terms | Scope For a full list of terms and definitions, click here.This page is an editing tool for writers on Ballotpedia. It highlights format standards, key terms and definitions used throughout the site. If you have any questions, please e-mail editor@ballotpedia.org.

Elections

...more terms available here.

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Search tips

Tips for searching election pages:

To search for pages within the Election project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

For state-specific pages, use:

• [[STATE elections, YEAR]].

For state-specific voting and ballot access information, use:

• [[Voting in STATE]] or [[Ballot access requirements for political candidates in STATE]].

Tips for searching policy pages:

To search for pages within the Public Policy Project, try searching for the following:

For energy policy pages, use:

• [[Energy policy in STATE]] or [[Fracking in STATE]].

For environmental policy pages, use:

• [[Environmental policy in STATE]].

For education policy pages, use:

• [[Public education in STATE]] or [[School choice in STATE]].

For budget policy pages, use:

• [[STATE state budget]] or [[Tax policy in STATE]].

For pension policy pages, use:

• [[Tax policy in STATE]] or [[Public pensions in STATE]].

Federal

Presidential elections

Key Presidential Elections terms:

Presidential candidates, 2020 • Presidential candidates, 2016 • Electoral College

To search for pages within the Presidential Elections project on Ballotpedia, please use the following tips:

• Use the Presidential portal to navigate to the appropriate campaign overview page.
• If you know the name of the candidate or possible candidate, you can navigate directly to his or her page. Ex: [[Marco Rubio presidential candidate, 2016]].

Congress

Key Congressional terms:

United States Congress • United States Senate • United States House of Representatives • United States Constitution
Bicameralism • Federal Election Commission • Federal government • Filibuster • Earmarks • Redistricting • Super PAC

...more terms available here.

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Tips for searching Congressional election pages:

Ballotpedia's first elections coverage began in 2012.

• There are four top-level pages: United States Congress elections, 2018, United States Senate elections, 2018, United States House of Representatives elections, 2018 and Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018).

To search for pages within the Congress project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• [[United States Senate election in STATE, YEAR]].
• [[United States House of Representatives elections in STATE, YEAR]].
• [[STATE's NUMBER Congressional District election, YEAR]].
• [[United States Senate special election in STATE, YEAR]] or [[STATE's NUMBER Congressional District special election, YEAR]].

Executive branch

Key Executive branch terms:

Possible 2016 U.S. Presidential candidates • Electoral College

Healthcare.gov website rollout • Health insurance policy cancellations since Obamacare

To search for pages within the Executive Branch project on Ballotpedia, please use the following tips:

• Use the portal page chart to navigate to the appropriate cabinet, office, appointment and/or nominee.
• If you know the name of the official, you can navigate directly to his or her page. Ex: [[Janet Yellen]].

Federal courts

Key judicial terms:

Affidavit • Appellate Court • Arbitration • Blue slip • Capital punishment • Certiorari • Chief Justice • Civil law (common law) • Civil procedure • Court of last resort • Court of record • Criminal law • Cum laude • En banc • Family law • Senior status • Gubernatorial appointment of judges • Habeas Corpus • Judicial activism • Judicial minimalism • Judicial restraint • Juris Doctor • Jurisdiction • Jury • Limited jurisdiction • LL.B. • LL.M. • Mandamus • Mandatory Retirement • Minor (law) • Original jurisdiction • Originalism • Per curiam • Philosophy of law • Prerogative writ • Procedendo • Procedural law • Prohibition (writ) • Purposive theory • Quo warranto • Read law • Recess appointment • Restitution • Rules of evidence • Scire facias • Seriatim • Stare decisis • Subject-matter jurisdiction • Subpoena • Substantive due process • Sui juris • Supernumerary • Textualism • Trial court • Trier of fact • Vicinage • Warrant (legal) • Workers' compensation • Writ

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Tips for searching federal court pages:

You can find links to the federal court pages through the United States federal courts page.

• Appellate (Circuit) courts:

[[United States Court of Appeals for the NUMBER Circuit]] (Example: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit)

• District court pages are named:

[[United States District Court for the (NORTHERN/EASTERN/SOUTHER/WESTERN/MIDDLE/CENTRAL) District of STATE]]

Or, simply [[United States District Court for the District of STATE]]

• Bankruptcy courts follow similar naming conventions to their associated district courts:

[[United States bankruptcy court, District of STATE]] (or "Northern District of STATE", etc.)

• Pages about former Chief Justice eras are titled: [[The LAST NAME OF JUSTICE Court]] (Example: The Burger Court)

State

Contents
1 State
1.1 State ballots
1.2 State courts
1.3 State executives
1.4 State legislatures

State ballots

Advisory question • Approved for circulation • Ballot • Ballot access • Ballot initiative • Ballot measure • Ballot title • Bond issue • Circulator • Initiative petition circulation periods • Citizen referendum • Constitutional amendment • Democracy • Direct democracy • Direct initiative • Distribution requirement • Election • Elector • Electronic petition signature • Eligible voter • Fiscal impact statement • Forged signature • Fraudulent signature • Indirect initiated constitutional amendment • Indirect initiated state statute • Indirect initiative • Indirect initiative statute • Initiated constitutional amendment • Initiated state statute • Initiative and referendum • Initiative proponents • Invalid signatures • Laws governing recall • Legislative referral • Legislative alteration • Legislatively-referred bond measure • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment • Legislatively-referred state statute • Out-of-state circulator • Paid circulator • Petition • Petition drive • Petition drive management • Recall • Referendum • Registered voter • Residency requirements for petition circulators • Signature certification • Signature challenge • Signer • Single-subject rule • Statute • Statute referendum • Valid signature • Veto referendum • Volunteer circulator...more terms available here.

Tips for searching statewide ballot measure pages:

To search for pages within the statewide ballot measures project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• By Year - an aggregate of ballot measures that appeared on the ballot by year - follow the format of [[YEAR ballot measures]] (example: 2011 ballot measures). A list of all ballot years can be found here.
• By State & Year pages - an aggregate of ballot measures that appeared on the ballot on a particular year and in a particular state - follow the format of [[STATE YEAR ballot measures]] (example: Washington 2009 ballot measures).
• By State with all Ballot Years - pages by state with lists of all years in which ballot measures were featured - follow the format of [[List of STATE ballot measures]] (example: List of Montana ballot measures).
  • A list of all ballot measures by state can be found here.
• By Topic - ballot measures sorted by various political topics.
  • A list of political topics can be found here.

State courts

Key judicial terms:

Affidavit • Appellate Court • Arbitration • Blue slip • Capital punishment • Certiorari • Chief Justice • Civil law (common law) • Civil procedure • Court of last resort • Court of record • Criminal law • Cum laude • En banc • Family law • Senior status • Gubernatorial appointment of judges • Habeas Corpus • Judicial activism • Judicial minimalism • Judicial restraint • Juris Doctor • Jurisdiction • Jury • Limited jurisdiction • LL.B. • LL.M. • Mandamus • Mandatory Retirement • Minor (law) • Original jurisdiction • Originalism • Per curiam • Philosophy of law • Prerogative writ • Procedendo • Procedural law • Prohibition (writ) • Purposive theory • Quo warranto • Read law • Recess appointment • Restitution • Rules of evidence • Scire facias • Seriatim • Stare decisis • Subject-matter jurisdiction • Subpoena • Substantive due process • Sui juris • Supernumerary • Textualism • Trial court • Trier of fact • Vicinage • Warrant (legal) • Workers' compensation • Writ

Tips for searching state court pages:

Comprehensive judicial elections coverage on Judgepedia.org began in 2010. In February 2015, Judgepedia.org was merged with Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia continues to provide comprehensive coverage of judicial elections.

Election pages by year: [[Judicial elections, YEAR]]

Election pages by state: [[STATE judicial elections]] (general judicial election info) or [[STATE judicial elections, YEAR]]

Supreme court elections: [[STATE Supreme Court elections, YEAR]] (started in 2014)

All states have the following main pages:

[[Courts in STATE]]

[[Judicial selection in STATE]]

[[STATE judicial elections]]

[[STATE salaries and budgets]]

Additionally, there are pages for judges appointed by each current governor (unless the state does not have gubernatorial judicial appointments):

[[Judges appointed by FIRSTNAME LASTNAME]]

State executives

Key State Executive Officials terms:

Recall • Redistricting

State executive offices:

Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney general • Treasurer • Controller • Auditor • Superintendent of Schools • Insurance Commissioner • Agriculture Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commissioner

...more terms available here.

Tips for searching State Executive Official pages:

If you are writing about specific state offices (example: the Governor of Kentucky), there are three state executive positions that are written as "Office of STATE."

1. Governor of STATE
2. Lieutenant Governor of STATE
3. Attorney General of STATE

The rest of the executive positions use a "STATE Office" format (example: the Rhode Island Director of Labor) but the specific titles vary from state to state. We've created a chart that links to every office for every state.

To search for pages within the State Executive Officials project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• [[State executive official elections, YEAR]].

State legislatures

Key state legislative terms:

State legislature • Upper house • Lower house • Unicameral • Redistricting

Leadership positions:

State Speaker of the House • State House Speaker Pro Tempore • State House Majority Floor Leader • State House Assistant Majority Floor Leader • State House Majority Whip • State House Majority Caucus Leader • State House Majority Caucus Secretary • State House Minority Floor Leader • State House Assistant Minority Floor Leader • State House Minority Whip • State House Minority Caucus Leader • State House Minority Caucus Vice Chair • State House Minority Caucus Secretary • President of the Senate • State Senate President Pro Tempore • State Senate Majority Floor Leader • State Senate Assistant Majority Floor Leader • State Senate Majority Caucus Leader • State Senate Majority Whip • State Senate Minority Floor Leader • State Senate Assistant Minority Floor Leader • State Senate Minority Caucus Leader

...more terms available here.

Tips for searching State Legislatures pages:

To search for pages within the State Legislatures project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• [[State legislative elections, YEAR]].
• [[STATE State Senate elections, YEAR]].
• [[STATE House of Representatives elections, YEAR]].
• [[STATE State Assembly elections, YEAR]].
• [[State legislative special elections, 2013]].
• [[STATE state legislative special elections, 2013]].

Local

Contents
1 Local
1.1 Municipal government
1.2 School board elections
1.3 Local ballot measures

Municipal government

Key mayoral and city council terms:

City • Chamber of commerce • Chartered local government • City • City manager • Collective bargaining, private-public sector differences • Commonwealth • Constitutional officers • Council-manager government • County • County commission • County council • County executive • County mayor • County seat • Local government budgets • Local taxes • Mayor • Mayor-council government • Municipality • Recall

Key judicial terms:

Affidavit • Appellate Court • Arbitration • Blue slip • Capital punishment • Certiorari • Chief Justice • Civil law (common law) • Civil procedure • Court of last resort • Court of record • Criminal law • Cum laude • En banc • Family law • Senior status • Gubernatorial appointment of judges • Habeas Corpus • Judicial activism • Judicial minimalism • Judicial restraint • Juris Doctor • Jurisdiction • Jury • Limited jurisdiction • LL.B. • LL.M. • Mandamus • Mandatory Retirement • Minor (law) • Original jurisdiction • Originalism • Per curiam • Philosophy of law • Prerogative writ • Procedendo • Procedural law • Prohibition (writ) • Purposive theory • Quo warranto • Read law • Recess appointment • Restitution • Rules of evidence • Scire facias • Seriatim • Stare decisis • Subject-matter jurisdiction • Subpoena • Substantive due process • Sui juris • Supernumerary • Textualism • Trial court • Trier of fact • Vicinage • Warrant (legal) • Workers' compensation • Writ

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Tips for searching Municipal Government pages:

To search for pages within the Municipal Government project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• [[CITY, STATE]]
• [[CITY, STATE municipal elections, YEAR]]

School board elections

Key School Board Election terms:

Academic bankruptcy • Academic performance • Blaine Amendment • Blended learning • Carnegie unit • Charter schools • Common Core • Competency-based learning • Dropout rate • Dual enrollment • Homeschooling • Immersion learning • Liberal education • Magnet schools • No Child Left Behind Act • Online learning • Parent trigger laws • Progressive education • Recall • Race to the Top • School board • School bond election • School choice • School district • School vouchers • Teacher merit pay

...more terms available here.

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Tips for searching School Board Election pages:

To search for pages within the School Board Elections project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• [[School board elections, YEAR]]
• [[STATE school board elections, YEAR]]
• [[STATE school districts]]
• [[DISTRICT NAME, STATE]]
• [[DISTRICT NAME elections (YEAR)]]

Local ballot measures

...more terms available here.

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Tips for searching Local Ballot Measure pages:

To search for pages within the Local Ballot Measures project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• By year - a collection of ballot measure articles organized by year - follow the format [[Local ballot measure elections in YEAR]] (example: Local ballot measure elections in 2010).
  • A list of all ballot years can be found here.
• By election date - a collection of ballot measure articles organized by election date - follow the format [[Category:ELECTION DATE local ballot measure elections]] (example: Category:March 1, 2011 local ballot measure elections).
• By state - articles that include election dates, recent news and other related links - follow the format [[Local ballot measures, STATE]] (example: Local ballot measures, Illinois).
  • A list of all local measures by state can be found here.
• By state and election date - articles that include local measures by state and by election date - follow the format [[ELECTION DATE ballot measures in STATE]] (example: July 12, 2011 ballot measures in Wisconsin).
• By topic - articles that organize ballot measures by political topic - follow the format [[Category:Political issues addressed in local STATE ballot measures]] (example: Category:Political issues addressed in local Louisiana ballot measures).
  • A list of local measure political topics can be found here.

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Tips for searching Ballot Law pages:

To search for pages within the Ballot Law project on Ballotpedia, try searching for the following:

• Law changes by year - articles that provide a list of proposed, approved and defeated laws relating to ballot measure law - follow the format [[Changes in YEAR to laws governing ballot measures]] (example: Changes in 2011 to laws governing ballot measures).
  • A list of such articles can be found here.
• Lawsuits by year - articles that provide a list of lawsuits relating to ballot measure law and ballot measures by state and year - follow the format [[Category:Ballot measure lawsuits, YEAR]] (example: Category:Ballot measure lawsuits, 2010).
  • A list of such articles can be found here.
• Laws by state - articles that provide a list of various direct democracy law articles - follow the format [[Laws governing ballot measures in STATE]] (example: Laws governing ballot measures in Alaska).
  • A list of articles relating to laws governing ballot measures by state can be found here.
• Initiative laws by state - articles that specifically relate to initiative and referendum laws - follow the format [[Laws governing the initiative process in STATE]] (example: Laws governing the initiative process in Arkansas).
  • A list of such articles can be found here.

Public policy

The Public Policy Project on Ballotpedia aims to illuminate major policy issues being discussed and implemented throughout the United States. Public policy can be complicated and controversial; deciding what works best and how to allocate resources to achieve a policy goal can involve multiple trade-offs. Our coverage is neutral, nonpartisan and comprehensive, written in clear language for the non-specialist. Most of the public policy that affects citizens economically, legally and socially, is made at the state level.

This index contains all the major terms in each policy area we cover, including links to the 50 state pages we have on any given subject.

Budget terms

Civil Liberties Policy

Campaign finance terms

1. Independent expenditure
2. PACs and Super PACs
3. Political action committee
4. Super PAC
5. Express advocacy
6. Bundling
7. Issue advocacy
8. Hybrid PAC
9. Receipts v. contributions
10. State campaign finance agencies
11. State campaign finance information

Civil liberties terms

Education Policy

Education terms

Election Policy

Election terms

Energy Policy

Glossary of energy terms

Environmental Policy

Glossary of environmental terms

Pension Policy

Pension policy terms

Influencers