Compiled by Alexander Lee, General Counsel, DA-China (2019- ) from a variety of internal and external sources. People who do not know much about civics (e.g., that Members of Congress stand for re-election every two years) may want to take a deeper dive into American politics at Ballotpedia, the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections, which aims to inform people about politics by providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government by staying firmly committed to neutrality in their content.

You may find initialisms, acronyms and abbr. in the common parlance of this organization that do not appear here. You can look them up here: https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/, but please send an email to the current keeper of this glossary so we can update our list.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

...

Buckley    Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court, which held that limits on election spending in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 § 608 are unconstitutional. In a per curiam ("by the Court") opinion, they ruled that expenditure limits contravene the First Amendment provision on freedom of speech because a restriction on spending for political communication necessarily reduces the quantity of expression. It limited disclosure provisions and limited the Federal Election Commission's power.

Ballot condom   Steps that election protection experts, such as Greg Palast, suggest to make sure your ballot is counted. 

C

Caging   "Vote caging is an illegal trick to suppress minority voters (who tend to vote Democrat) by getting them knocked off the voter rolls if they fail to answer registered mail sent to homes they aren't living at (because they are, say, at college or at war)." Greg Palast, Raging Caging: What the heck is vote caging, and why should we care? (May 31, 2007)

CallHub®   Sync your campaigns with CallHub and integrate with NationBuilder. Use tags, create surveys, generate event RSVPs, assign Supporter Levels and more. This tool saves DA time and money with an advanced outbound call center so that we can connect with voters.

...

chair   The position of leadership for a committee defined in the DPCA charter or a DPCA set of bylaws, otherwise defined by Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised (current edition).

chum   Campaign gear such as bumperstickers, stickers, pins, lawn signs, and campaign buttons. The term is derived from the bait used to catch fish.

Citizens United   Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court, which held that the free speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political communications by corporations, including nonprofit corporations, labor unions, and other associations.

...

Europe, Middle East & Africa  A geographical division used by many multinational corporations.

F

FATCA   The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is an important development in U.S. efforts to combat tax evasion by U.S. persons holding accounts and other financial assets offshore. The Taxation Task Force of Democrats Abroad works on issues that effect Democrats living abroad which stem from this law.

Federal Post Card Application   A form that allows military voters, their families, and civilians living overseas to register to vote and request their absentee ballots. Completing the form accurately requires a reference to state rules, typically either a website like VoteFromAbroad.org or the reference Voter Assistance Guide (VAG) published by the Federal Voting Assistance Program.  

...

FWAB   See Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot.

G

gerrymander   The reorganization of voting districts by the party in power to insure more votes for their candidates. The term originated in 1811, when Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts signed a bill that changed districts to favor the anti-Federalist faction. The shape of one new district supposedly resembled a salamander, provoking a Boston newspaper editor to say, "Salamander? Call it a Gerrymander!"

...

PLEO   See Add-On Delegates.

pre-filling   A new technique where both well-meaning election officials and malicious officials (and possibly organizations) can pre-fill voter registration forms with names, birthdays, voter ID numbers, or other personally identifiable information in order to have them thrown out.

Q

R

reapportionment    See redistricting. 

...

RONR   See Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised. N.B. Because there is no "N" in Robert's Rules, which is usually how people refer to RONR when speaking, this a confusing acronym to the layperson. "ronr." TheFreeDictionary.com. 2020. Farlex, Inc. 22 Jul. 2020 https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/RONR.

RVC   See Regional Vice Chair.

...

Slack®   The collaboration hub that brings the right people, information, and tools together to get work done used by many members of DPCA.

spoiling   A ballot may get spoiled when a voter makes any mark in the ballot that is contrary to statutory provisions envisaged in election statute. (US Legal) More than 534,000 mail ballots were rejected during 2020 primaries across 23 states  — nearly a quarter in key battlegrounds for the fall. 

standee   See image below.

Image Added

stuffing   Ballot stuffing is a type of electoral fraud whereby a person permitted only one vote submits multiple ballots or some person or entity does so "on their behalf." 

T

U

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act   Provides the legal basis for active members of the Uniformed Services, the Merchant Marine, and the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, their eligible family members, and U.S. citizens residing outside the United States absentee voting requirements for federal offices.

...