Ch 9 Flashcards
refers to the free use of the U.S. mails granted to members of Congress to promote communication with constituents
Franking Privilege
Case where The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1944 that laws preventing blacks from voting in primaries was unconstitutional
Smith v Allwright
suspended the remaining voting test which discriminated against blacks
The voting rights act of 1965
What is the 19th Amendment?
Women suffrage (ratified in 1920)
Process for constitutional change in which a proposal is voted on by the public
Referendum
drawn by the state legislatures following reapportionment
Electoral Districts
process of redistributing the number of seats in the House of Representatives among the states based on each state’s population
Reapportionment
the practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections
gerrymandering
Electors equal the number of House and Senate members
The Electoral College
responsible for setting limits on contributions for all federal elections
Federal Election Commission
contest about winning 270 electoral college votes (majority election - 50% + 1 vote)
the general election
it may be the best predictor of how an individual will vote
party loyalty
what are some important candidate characteristics
race, religion, gender, and physical characteristics
districts must be based on population and not geographical size
Westbury vs Sanders
Districts must be continuous
Shaw vs Reno
The court rule that you cannot draw districts to benefit one race over another
Miller vs Johnson
The amendment that provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president
12th amendment
political action committee
PAC
a type of independent political action committee that can raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals
super PAC
political issues that have a broad amount of consensus among voters
Valents issues
voting behavior where voters decide whether the party or candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past
Retrospective voting
a type of voting behavior where voters cast their ballots based on predictions of how a party or candidate will perform in the future
Prospective voting
The effects of individuals judgement about how the nation is doing economically on their evaluation of incumbents.
sociotropic voting
a type of retrospective voting where voters focus on their personal financial situation when deciding which candidate to vote for
Pocket book voting
