KEY TERMS

logrolling  the situation in which groups of legislators all agree to vote for a package of otherwise unrelated laws that they individually favor

median voter theory  theory that politicians will try to match policies to what pleases the median voter preferences

pork-barrel spending  spending that benefits mainly a single political district

rational ignorance  the theory that rational people will not vote if the costs of becoming informed and voting are too high or because they know their vote will not be decisive in the election

special interest groups  groups that are small in number relative to the nation, but well organized and thus exert a disproportionate effect on political outcomes

voting cycle  the situation in which a majority prefers A over B, B over C, and C over A