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Glossary

Bipartisan: If something is bipartisan, it has the support of two political
parties that normally don’t agree on much. The word bipartisan is easy
to figure out when you break it apart: bi-, meaning “two,” plus partisan,
meaning “supporter of a party.” So something that’s bipartisan involves
two parties finding enough common ground to support the same thing.
A key aspect of something that’s bipartisan is that the two parties
involved typically hold opposing views about the best way to do things,
so a bipartisan agreement is one that likely involved a lot of effort,
compromise, and cooperation.

Abstain: Roots of the word abstain are from the 14th-century French, “to
withhold oneself,” and the word often refers to people who hold themselves
back from indulging in habits that are bad for them, physically or morally.
Abstain can also mean withholding a vote, and sometimes a difficult
decision is stalled when government representatives abstain from voting one
way or another.

Nonpartisan Democracy: Nonpartisan democracy is a system of
representative government or organization such that universal and
periodic elections take place without reference to political parties.

Precinct: The word precinct comes from the Latin precinctum meaning
“enclosure, boundary line.” A precinct is an area that has a clear
boundary line around it, making it easier for the citizens to know
where they should go to vote.

Absentee Ballot: An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable
or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally
allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy
voting and online voting. Increasing the ease of access to absentee ballots is
seen by many as one way to improve voter turnout through convenience voting,
though some countries require that a valid reason, such as infirmity or travel, be
given before a voter can participate in an absentee ballot.