If you aren't an American (or even if you are), there is some confusing terminology involved in U.S. presidential elections. Here is a primer  on some of the U.S. political lingo.

Electoral College

In the 2000 presidential election, Democratic contender Al Gore actually won 500,000 more votes than Republican George W. Bush but lost the election (it's a long story).

Why? Ultimately, he won fewer electoral college votes than Bush.

"It's the strange thing our founders came up with to make sure democracy didn't run amok," laughed Rebecca Deen, a University of Texas political scientist. "The framers believed in power originating from the people, but they were a little skeptical of all the people."

This is one of those checks-and-balances that U.S. politics is famous for.

The electoral college assigns electors to a state: It's calculated by the number of Senators (two) plus the number of U.S. Representatives (aka Congressmen). That latter number can change as a state's population changes. For example, Arizona had seven electoral college votes in the 1980s. Now it has 10.

Whichever party's electors wins the majority of votes also wins the support of all the state's electors.

There are 538 electoral college votes up for grabs. To become elected president, one must capture at least 270 electoral college votes.

Red states, Blue states

These states are seen as electoral bedrock for their respective parties.

A classic Red State for George W. Bush would be his home state of Texas. For Sen. John Kerry, a Blue State would be his home base: Massachusetts.

According to a New York Times analysis, the Republicans can count on 27 states that are either strongly Republican or leaning that way. They represent 232 electoral college votes. The Democrats have 15 states that are either strongly Democratic or are leaning that way. They represent 221 electoral college votes.

Neither candidate would spend much time campaigning in each other's solid turf during a close election year like this.

They want to spend time and resources in the …

Battleground states

"A battleground state is a state where there are both a significant number of electoral college votes and a large number of undecided voters," Deen said.

At the campaign's outset, the polling company Zogby International identified 20 states as potential battleground states. However, that number has dwindled as the calendar moves towards the Nov. 2 vote.

In The New York Times analysis, there are eight battleground states, representing 85 electoral college votes, as of Oct. 12. They are: Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Florida and New Hampshire.

If you want to see some nasty U.S. presidential campaign advertising, plan on visiting one of those states before Nov. 2 and turn on the TV! Better yet, go to Toledo, Ohio: The Washington Post reported that between March and late September, 14,273 election ads appeared on the four main stations there, making Toledo the most advertised-to market in the u.S.

Ohio has 20 electoral college votes. Bush has visited Ohio more than 20 times as president. Kerry has also made it a major focal point. No Republican has won the presidency without winning Ohio.

Florida was a swing state in 2000. Bush won its 25 electoral college votes with a 537-vote margin over Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore in a fight that was wracked by controversy.

Bush made four hurricane-damage-related trips to Florida this fall. His brother Jeb is the state's governor.

Persuadables

This is the new buzzword for what could be considered undecided or swing voters.

Persuadables aren't really committed to any particular party and can't be considered to be part of a party's base. For example, the Republicans can count on economic and social conservatives among their supporters. Democrats draw heavily from unions.

In the 1980s, one phrase that emerged was Reagan Democrats; people who were nominally Democrats but bought into Reagan's policies. (In Canada, the same phenomenon could be seen in Ontario: Harris New Democrats were highly-paid union members who liked the idea of paying less in income taxes).

The National Annenberg Election Survey, by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, defined a persuadable as either undecided or willing to consider switching support from one candidate to another. It said those voters totally about 11 per cent of the voting public.

It describes them are more socially moderate, white, less educated, less wealthy and less religious than other Americans. They are also less interested in politics, less likely to be registered to vote and are less likely to vote.

Security moms

A phrase that describes married women with children under the age of 18 who are worried about national security issues.

Here is how self-proclaimed "security mom" and conservative columnist Michelle Malkin described herself in a USA Today commentary: "I have studied the faces on the FBI's most-wanted-terrorists list. When I ride the train, I watch for suspicious packages in empty seats. When I am on the highways, I pay attention to large trucks and tankers. I make my husband take his cell phone with him everywhere -- even on a quick milk run or on a walk to the community pool."

They are thought by some to be the new "soccer moms" -- a term that came into vogue during the 1996 presidential campaign. It described primarily white, suburban, middle-class women who drove minivans while taking kids to (you guessed it) soccer practice.

They are characterized as swing voters.

While some question the "security moms'" electoral significance, here's a snippet from a Pew Center for the People and the Press poll released on Sept. 28: "The shift among women, a group that Al Gore carried by 11 points in 2000, is particularly notable. In August, Kerry led among women by 10 points (52%-42%) while trailing among men by about the same margin (42%-50%). Bush has drawn virtually even with Kerry among women, while expanding his lead among men to 52%-37%."

The Sept. 1 attack on the school in Beslan, Russia is thought by some to prod "security moms" to support Bush, who has been seen throughout the campaign as stronger on terrorism and security issues.

However, Tom Riehle, president of Ipsos Public Affairs in the U.S., notes that married women strongly tend to vote Republican anyway. "So perhaps there's been no swing; they were there already," he told CTV.ca.

NASCAR dads

NASCAR stands for North American Stock Car Automobile Racing. About 70 million Americans follow it.

The term "NASCAR dads" first cropped up about two years ago. It was a phrase to describe white, primarily southern working-class men who defined themselves more by values than political labels -- who, er, like racing.

Some wonder about the value of the term. For one thing, NASCAR itself puts most of its fan base outside the south.

Bush swept the south in 2000, although he only won Florida -- home of the Daytona 500 -- by the narrowest of margins.

NASCAR dads "were never really in play. They were never going to be voting for John Kerry," Riehle said.

Wal-Mart clerks

Across the rural south, there are towns far from major cities that prospered during the go-go economy of the 1990s. People who live in them tend to be more mobile. Religion isn't as important in those places.

In those places are people who have low income and low educational levels. They are often unmarried mothers.

"If you wanted to put a name on them, they're Wal-Mart clerks," Riehle said, to identify this potential group of swing voters.

That group wanted to hear a populist economic message. But the election has turned on Iraq and national security issues, and that group appears to be drifting back to Bush, he said.

High school teachers

In the Midwest and upper Midwest are counties that are outer suburbs or far from urban centres. They tend to be very white and populated by people who are well-educated but not particularly high-income.

"If you're to describe them with a cute title, they're high school teachers," Riehle said.

They swung to Al Gore at the very end of the 2000 campaign, allowing him to win states like Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa by "extremely narrow margins," he said, adding New Mexico also fell in that category.

Kerry needs to hold onto that demographic to stand a chance against Bush on Nov. 2, he said.

Registered voters

In the United States, you have to register before you can vote. Rebecca Deen said this was actually a reformist measure in response to electoral scandals in the 1800s when you had embarrassments like dead people voting.

It varies from state to state, but generally speaking, you can't walk into a polling stations on voting day, register and vote.

"In some states you have to register for a party so you can't vote in the other party's primary," Deen said, although her own state of Texas has open primaries, which are held to determine a party's presidential candidate.

People can also register as an Independent.

Because very few U.S. states have laws saying people are allowed time off with pay to vote, Deen said poor people working in hourly jobs tend to be less likely to vote.

You might see opinion polls referring to registered voters and likely voters. Because voter turnout in presidential elections is relatively low, pollsters ask not only whether a person is a registered voter but if they are likely to vote.

For example, here's a snippet from a Sept. 18 Associated Press story: "Bush was ahead of Kerry 52-40 among registered voters and by an even wider margin, 54-39, among likely voters, a narrower group."

GOTV

This means Get Out The Vote. Parties have banks of volunteers telephoning likely supporters, offering rides to the polls and other such topics.

Karl Rove, Bush's top political strategist, has noted that up to five million evangelical Christians, an important part of Bush's base, stayed home on voting day in 2000.

Political scientists say part of the trick for both Bush and Kerry is to draw the persuadable voters to their camp while not alienating their base supporters.

Soft money

Once upon a time, there was something called "soft money"  in U.S. politics. This was any election contribution money not regulated by U.S. federal election law. It was supposed to be used to support political parties and not individual candidates. It was also to be used for state and local activities.

Until November 2002, parties could raise unlimited funds from corporations, unions and individuals.

After that, restrictions were placed on "soft money" by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.

So theoretically, it doesn't exist anymore -- but neither did it go away.

527s

These have become the new soft money. 527s are organizations which involve themselves in the political process through voter mobilization or issue advocacy. Their name stems from section 527 of the Internal Revenue Service code. They are allowed to raise soft money. Some have had multi-million-dollar cheques written to them.

To this point, they have collectively raised about $150 million US.

The one thing they can't do is specifically call for the defeat or election of a federal candidate, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Some newsworthy 527s are MoveOn.org Voter Fund and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

MoveOn has attacked the Bush administration, and the Swift Vets became notorious for TV ads going after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam war record.

To further muddy the waters, there are also non-federal groups.

The Center for Responsive Politics defines them as follows: "A group set up to raise unlimited contributions called "soft money," which it spends on voter mobilization efforts and so-called issue ads that often criticize or tout a candidate's record just before an election in a not-so-subtle effort to influence the election's outcome. 501(c) groups and 527 groups may raise non-federal funds. "

A 501(c) is a group that is mainly non-political, but can dabble in politics. A labour group or chamber of commerce would be an example.

PACs

Political Action Committee. It's a group that works to elect a particular candidate. The following from MoveOn.org might help clarify:

"The MoveOn family of organizations consists of three entities. MoveOn.org, a 501(c)(4) organization, primarily focuses on education and advocacy on important national issues. MoveOn PAC, a federal PAC, primarily helps members elect candidates who reflect our values. And MoveOn.org Voter Fund, a 527 organization, primarily educates voters on the positions, records, views, and qualifications of candidates for public office."

Have you come across some political jargon you don't understand? E-mail CTV News Online at newsonline@ctv.ca and we'll update this site with the answer.