chapter 9 - legislatures + legislative elections

Question 1

legislature

Answer 1

assembly or body of representatives with the authority to make laws

Question 2

bicameral legislature

Answer 2

legislature with two chambers, which may have equal or unequal powers

Question 3

chamber

Answer 3

an assembly or body of a legislature, often referring to one of two such bodies in a bicameral legislature

Question 4

lower chamber

Answer 4

in a bicameral legislature, the house that typically has a larger number of representatives, and often represents the national vote either more proportionally or through smaller geographic constituencies

Question 5

upper chamber

Answer 5

the chamber in bicameral legislature that is usually smaller in number of legislators, often representing larger geographic constituencies like states or provinces

Question 6

unicameral legislatures

Answer 6

legislatures with a single chamber

Question 7

congress

Answer 7

a form of legislature, typically associated with a presidential system in which there is a separation of powers

Question 8

parliament

Answer 8

a type of legislature, often associated w/ systems in which legislators vote on the leadership of the executive branch and the formation of a government

Question 9

district system

Answer 9

an electoral system in which voters select representatives from specific geographic constituencies

Question 10

constituency

Answer 10

a group of voters or a geographic district that legislators or other elected officials represent

Question 11

single-member district system

Answer 11

electoral system in which voters choose a candidate and the winner is elected by the most votes earned or through winning a runoff vote

Question 12

first-past-the-post

Answer 12

electoral system in which the candidate w/ the most number of votes is elected, regardless of whether a majority has been attained

Question 13

runoff

Answer 13

electoral system in which the top candidates after a first round of voting compete in one or more additional rounds of voting until a candidate receives a majority

Question 14

multi-member districts (MMDs)

Answer 14

electoral system in which district constituencies have more than one representative

Question 15

proportional representation (PR)

Answer 15

in its pure form, an electoral system in which voters choose a preferred party and seats are allocated to parties according to the percentage of the vote the party wins

Question 16

open-list proportional representation

Answer 16

electoral system in which voters choose a candidate but votes are aggregated by political party to determine the allocation of seats across parties

Question 17

alternative vote

Answer 17

voting system in which voters rank candidates and the votes of low-ranking candidates are reallocated until a winner is determined

Question 18

single transferable vote (STV)

Answer 18

electoral system in which voters rank candidates and the winners’ surplus votes are reallocated to other, lower-ranking candidates until a slate of representatives is chosen

Question 19

strategic voting

Answer 19

voting in a way that does not reflect a voter’s ideal preference, so as to prevent a less-desired outcome

Question 20

indirect election

Answer 20

electoral system in which representatives are chosen by other elected officials, rather than directly by the citizenry at large

Question 21

indirect election of executives

Answer 21

an electoral system in which most voters never cast a ballot directly for the individual who becomes head of government

Question 22

representation

Answer 22

in legislatures, the process by which elected legislators reflect the interests and preferences of voters in their constituencies

Question 23

apportionment

Answer 23

the process by which legislative seats are distributed among geographic constituencies

Question 24

districting

Answer 24

the process by which districts or other geographic constituencies are created for the purposes of elections

Question 25

gerrymandering

Answer 25

creation of districts of irregular shape or composition in order to achieve a desired political result

Question 26

malapportionment

Answer 26

apportionment in which voters are unequally represented in a legislature, such as through relatively greater numbers of legislators per capita for low-population areas + lesser number of legislators per capita for high-population areas

Question 27

committee

Answer 27

in a legislature, a body composed of a group of legislators convened to perform a certain set of tasks

Question 28

executive-legislative relations

Answer 28

the set of political relationships b/w the executive branch of government, which executes laws/policies, and the legislative branch, which often has the authority to pass laws/policies