Chapter 1 Terms Flashcards
Constituency
The residents in the area from which an official is elected
Bicameral
Having a legislative assembly composed of 2 chambers or houses, distinguished from unicameral
Delegate
A representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency
Trustee
A representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency
Sociological representation
A type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, gender, ethnic, religious, or educational backgrounds as their constituents; it is based on the principle that if 2 individuals are similar in background, character, interests, and perspectives, than one can correctly represent the others views
Agency representation
A type of representation in which a representative is held accountable to a constituency if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly; this is incentive for the representative to provide good representation when his or her personal backgrounds, views, or interests, differ from those of his or her constituency
Incumbency
Holding the political office for which one is running
Term limits
Legally prescribed limits on on the number of terms an elected official can serve
Apportionment
The process occurring after every decennial census that allocates congressional seats among the 59 states
Redistricting
The process of redrawing election districts and distributing legislative representatives; this happens every 10 years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges to existing districts.
Gerrymandering
The apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party
Patronage
The resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisans appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses or special favors to supporters
Pork barrel
Apportionments made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts
Private bill
A proposal in congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief, such as a special exemption immigration quotas
Conference
A gathering of House Republicans every 2 years to elect their house leaders. Democrats call their gathering the caucus
Caucus
A normally closed political party business meeting of citizens or lawmakers to select candidates, elect officers, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters
Speaker of the house
The chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives; the speaker is the most important party and house leader and can influence the legislative agenda, the fate of individual pieces of legislation, and members positions within the house
Majority leader
The elected leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives or in the senate; in the house the majority leader is subordinate in the party hierarchy to the speaker of the house
Minority leader
The elected leader of the minority party in the house or senate
Whip
A party member in the house or senate responsible for coordinating the party’s legislative strategy building support for key issues, and counting votes
Standing committee
A permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject such as finance or agriculture
Select committees
Temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees
Joint committees
Legislative committees formed of members of both the house and senate
Conference committees
Joint committees created to work out a compromise on house and senate versions of a piece of legislation
Seniority
The ranking given to an individual on the
