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Poli 100: Chapters 5-9 > Exam 2 > Flashcards

Exam 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Bicameral legislature

A

A legislature consisting of two chambers or house

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2
Q

Single-member district

A

An electoral district in which a single person is elected to a given office

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3
Q

Plurality rule

A

A method for determining an election’s winner in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins

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4
Q

Proportional representation

A

A method for allocating seats in a legislature in which the number of seats a party receives in a district or nationwide is proportional to the votes it receives in the elections

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5
Q

Gerrymandering

A

Drawing strangely shaped district boundaries to gain political advantage

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6
Q

Trustees

A

Representatives who make decisions using their own judgments about what is best for their constituents

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7
Q

Delegates

A

Representatives who listen carefully to what their constituents wants and make decisions based on feedback from constituents

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8
Q

Constituency service

A

A legislator directly helping a constituent in dealing with government bureaucracy

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9
Q

Incumbency advantage

A

The advantage current officeholders have in an election, in particular as it relates to the high rates at which congressional legislators win re-election

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10
Q

Pork barrel

A

Government spending that benefits a narrow constituency in return for electoral support or some other kind of political support, including campaign donations

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11
Q

Distributional model

A

The view that the internal institutional of the congressional chambers are designed primarily to help members of Congress secure economic benefits for only their constituents, not the general public

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12
Q

Logrolling

A

An instance of two or more legislators agreeing to vote in favor of one another’s proposed bills or amendments

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13
Q

Informational model

A

The view that the internal institutions of the congressional chambers are designed to help Congress make more informed decisions

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14
Q

Partisan model

A

The view that majority-party leaders dominate the workings of Congress and ensure that most legislative benefits come to majority party members

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15
Q

Party discipline

A

Pressure on party members to vote on bills that have the support of the party leadership

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16
Q

Speaker of the House

A

The constitutionally designated leader of the House of Representatives. In the modern House, he or she is always the leader of the majority party

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17
Q

Reed’s Rules

A

Procedural guidelines used by the majority-party leadership for determining who sits on which committees, how the order of business should be decided, and how the majority party should limit the powers of the minority party

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18
Q

Majority Leader

A

The head of the party holding a majority of seats and, in the Senate, the leader of the Senate. In the House, the majority leader is second to the Speaker of the House

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19
Q

Whip

A

A member of the House or Senate who is elected by his or her party to help party leaders coordinate party members’ actions, including enforcing party discipline

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20
Q

Standing committee

A

A group of legislators given permanent jurisdiction over a particular issue area or type of policy

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21
Q

Special (or select) committee

A

A committee appointed to consider a special issue or serve a special function that disbands once is has completed its duties

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22
Q

Joint committee

A

A committee made up of members of both the House and Senate

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23
Q

Conference committee

A

A meeting of legislators from the House and Senate to reconcile two bills passed on the same topic

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24
Q

Caucus

A

In a legislature, a group of legislators that unites to promote an agenda not pursued within the parties or the legislative committees

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25
Q

Split referral

A

A rule (in place since 1975) that permits the Speaker to split a bill into sections and give sections to specific committees

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26
Q

Markup

A

A committee or subcommittee process where committee members edit and amend bills

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27
Q

Open rule

A

A provision that allows any amendment to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor

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28
Q

Closed rule

A

A provisions that allows no amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the chamber floor

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29
Q

Restricted (or modified) rule

A

A provision that allows only certain kinds of amendments to be proposed once a bill comes to the floor, typically only amendments that pertain to the original purpose of the bill

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30
Q

Unanimous consent agreement

A

Rules under which the Senate debates, offers amendments, and votes on a given bill. All members of the chamber must agree to them, so any senator can object and halt progress on a bill

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31
Q

Filibuster

A

Instances in which senators, once recognized to speak on the floor, talk for an extended period (“hold the floor”) in an attempt to block the rest of the Senate from voting on a bill

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32
Q

Cloture

A

A rule that limits debate on a bill to a specific number of hours. Senate rules require 60 senators to support such a motion to end debate (including filibusters) and proceed to a vote

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33
Q

Pocket veto

A

A veto that occurs automatically if a president does not sign a bill for 10 days after passage in Congress and Congress has adjourned during that 10-day period

34
Q

Spoils system

A

The practice of rewarding loyal partisans with government positions after they demonstrate their support during an election

35
Q

Divided government

A

A government in which the president is from a different party than the majority in Congress

36
Q

Unified government

A

A government in which the president is from the same party as the majority in Congress

37
Q

Going public

A

Action taken by a president to communicate directly with the people, usually through a press conference, radio broadcast, or televised speech, in order to influence public opinion and put pressure on Congress

38
Q

Administrative law

A

The body of law created by executive agencies with the purpose of refining general law passed in legislation

39
Q

Pocket veto

A

A veto that occurs automatically if a president does not sign a bill for 10 days after passage in Congress and Congress has adjourned during that 10-day period

40
Q

Veto threat

A

A public statement issued by the president declaring that if Congress passes a particular bill that the president dislikes it will ultimately be vetoed

41
Q

Executive order

A

An official means by which the president can instruct federal agencies on how to execute the laws passed by Congress

42
Q

Executive agreement

A

An agreement between the United STates and one or more foreign countries. Because it is not a formal treaty, it does not need Senate approval

43
Q

Signing statement

A

A public statement written by the president and attached to a particular bill to outline the president’s interpretation of the legislation

44
Q

Parliamentary democracy

A

A form of democracy in which the executive is elected by the legislature and government is responsible to the legislature

45
Q

Presidential system

A

A form of democracy in which the executive is elected independently and the government is not responsible to the legislature

46
Q

Mixed presidential system

A

A form of democracy in which the executive is elected independently and shares responsibility for the government with the legislature

47
Q

Line-item veto

A

A partial veto that allows the executive to strike specific passages from a given bill

48
Q

Special prosecutor

A

Independent, private-sector counsel hired by Congress to investigate government officials

49
Q

Impeachment

A

Process by which the House of Representatives formally charges a federal government official with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”

50
Q

Judicial review

A

The authority of the judiciary to decide whether a law or any other government action is constitutional

51
Q

Federal court supremacy

A

The arrangement based on the supremacy clause in the Constitution that gives federal courts the authority to overturn state court decisions and to decide on the constitutionality of state laws and actions

52
Q

Criminal case

A

A case in which the government prosecutes a person for a crime against society

53
Q

Civil case

A

A case in which at least one person sues another person for violating the civil code of conduct

54
Q

Standing

A

The official status of a litigant who is entitled to have his or her case decided by the court

55
Q

Class action

A

A lawsuit in which the plaintiff or defendant is a collective group of individuals

56
Q

Common law

A

A system of jurisprudence in which the judiciary has the authority to determine how the law is to be interpreted. Under this system, legal precedent established by judges informs future decisions

57
Q

Civil law

A

A system of jurisprudence in which authoritative documents determine how the law is to be interpreted. Under this system, legal codes and states (and not judges) inform future decisions

58
Q

Stare decisis

A

The legal principle that requires judges to respect the decisions of past court cases

59
Q

Statutory law

A

The laws passed by legislatures, or administrative agencies empowered by legislatures, and the court decisions interpreting those laws

60
Q

Constitutional law

A

The collection of fundamental rules for making statutory laws and regulations, their enforcement, and the court decisions interpreting those rules

61
Q

Writ of certiorari

A

An order by the Supreme Court directing an inferior court to deliver the records of a case to be reviewed, which effectively means the justices of the Court have decided to hear the case

62
Q

Moot

A

The status of a case in which further legal proceedings would have no impact on one or both parties

63
Q

Amicus curiae

A

Briefs (letters to the courts) in which those who are not parties in a case provide their opinions on how the case should be decided

64
Q

Legal model

A

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the case, the plan meaning of the text from the Constitution and statues, the intent of the framers, and/or legal precedent

65
Q

Attitudinal model

A

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the policy goals and ideological agendas of the judges

66
Q

Strategic (or rational choice) model

A

A theoretical model where judicial decisions are primarily determined by the policy goals of judges and the various constraints that stand in the way of achieving those goals

67
Q

Concurring opinion

A

An opinion issued by a member of the majority of the Supreme Court that agrees with the decisions of the majority buy offers alternative legal reasoning

68
Q

Dissenting opinion

A

An opinion issued by a member of the Supreme Court in opposition to the majority, offering legal reasoning for the decisions to oppose

69
Q

Strict constructivism

A

The legal philosophy that judges should use the intentions of those writing the law or the Constitution as guides for how to interpret the law

70
Q

Judicial activism

A

Judicial rulings that go beyond interpreting the law in order to promote a judge’s personal or political agenda

71
Q

Public opinion

A

The collection of attitudes and preferences of the mass public

72
Q

Population

A

In statistical research, the entire group about which you want to learn, such as all adults living in the United States

73
Q

Sample

A

In statistical research, a subset of the population chosen to provide information for the research about the population

74
Q

Random selection

A

Choosing a sample such that each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected into the sample

75
Q

Margin of error

A

In statistical research, the range of outcomes we expect for a population, given the data revealed by a sample drawn from that population

76
Q

Biased sample

A

A sample that, because it does not accurately represent the overall population, is likely to lead to erroneous conclusions about the population

77
Q

Rationality

A

The habit of choosing the best choice among available options given one’s interests and information

78
Q

Priming

A

The psychological process of shaping people’s perceptions of a particular issue, figure, or policy

79
Q

Framing

A

Establishing the context for an issue in such a way as to emphasize certain aspects over others

80
Q

Ideology

A

A coherent, organized set of ideas and principles that functions as a core on which individuals draw when forming their attitudes about public affairs

81
Q

Party identification (or partisanship)

A

Loyalty or psychological attachment to a political party

82
Q

Non-attitude

A

A lack of opinion on an issue, or an opinion so weakly held that it does not enter into a person’s calculations about voting or taking some other political action, even though the person may express an opinion to a pollster

Poli 100: Chapters 5-9 (1 decks)

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