chapter 9 - legislatures + legislative elections Flashcards
legislature
assembly or body of representatives with the authority to make laws
bicameral legislature
legislature with two chambers, which may have equal or unequal powers
chamber
an assembly or body of a legislature, often referring to one of two such bodies in a bicameral legislature
lower chamber
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
upper chamber
the chamber in bicameral legislature that is usually smaller in number of legislators, often representing larger geographic constituencies like states or provinces
unicameral legislatures
legislatures with a single chamber
congress
a form of legislature, typically associated with a presidential system in which there is a separation of powers
parliament
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
district system
an electoral system in which voters select representatives from specific geographic constituencies
constituency
a group of voters or a geographic district that legislators or other elected officials represent
single-member district system
electoral system in which voters choose a candidate and the winner is elected by the most votes earned or through winning a runoff vote
first-past-the-post
electoral system in which the candidate w/ the most number of votes is elected, regardless of whether a majority has been attained
runoff
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
multi-member districts (MMDs)
electoral system in which district constituencies have more than one representative
proportional representation (PR)
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
open-list proportional representation
electoral system in which voters choose a candidate but votes are aggregated by political party to determine the allocation of seats across parties
alternative vote
voting system in which voters rank candidates and the votes of low-ranking candidates are reallocated until a winner is determined
single transferable vote (STV)
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
strategic voting
voting in a way that does not reflect a voter’s ideal preference, so as to prevent a less-desired outcome
indirect election
electoral system in which representatives are chosen by other elected officials, rather than directly by the citizenry at large
indirect election of executives
an electoral system in which most voters never cast a ballot directly for the individual who becomes head of government
representation
in legislatures, the process by which elected legislators reflect the interests and preferences of voters in their constituencies
apportionment
the process by which legislative seats are distributed among geographic constituencies
districting
the process by which districts or other geographic constituencies are created for the purposes of elections
gerrymandering
creation of districts of irregular shape or composition in order to achieve a desired political result
malapportionment
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
committee
in a legislature, a body composed of a group of legislators convened to perform a certain set of tasks
executive-legislative relations
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
