EXAM 2 - Review Flashcards
Traditional political participation
Activities designed to influence government – including voting, campaign contributions, and face-to-face activities such as volunteering for a campaign or working on behalf of a candidate or political organization
Digital political participation
Activities designed to influence politics using the internet – including visiting a candidate’s website, organizing, events online, and signing an online petition
Suffrage
The right to vote; also called franchise
Fifteenth amendment
Guaranteed voting rights for African American men
Nineteenth amendment
Gave woman the right to vote
Twenty-fourth amendment
- Forbids the use of poll taxes in federal elections
- Another element of Jim Crow was poll tax, which stipulated that in order to vote, citizens had to pay a tax. This tax was often enforced sporadically, meaning that people had to pay the tax for every previous election in which they had not voted. Because African Americans had not been able to vote in many previous elections, they were confronted with large cumulated poll taxes that they could not pay
Political parties
Organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices
Majority party
The party that holds the majority of legislative seats in either the House or the senate
Minority party
The party that holds the minority of legislative seats in either the House or the senate
Party identification
An individual voter’s psychological ties to one party or another
Third parties
Parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties
Midterm elections
Congressional elections that do not coincide with a presidential election; also called off-year elections
Primary election
Elections held to select a party’s candidate for the general election
General election
A regularly scheduled election involving most districts in the nation or state, in which voters select officeholders; in the United states, general elections for national office and most state and local offices are held on the the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even numbered years (every four years for presidential elections)
Closed Primary
A primary election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates but only of the party in which they are enrolled for a period of time prior to the primary day
Open primary
A primary election in which the voter can wait until the day of the primary to choose which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election
Majority system
A type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in the parliament or other representative body, a candidate must receive a majority of all of the votes cast in the relevant district
Runoff election
A “second-round” election in which voters choose between the top two candidates from the first round
Plurality system
A type of electoral system in which, to win a sear in the parliament or other representative body, a candidate need only to receive the most votes in the election, not necessarily a majority of the votes cast
Proportional representation
A multiple-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote
Electoral college
The presidential electors from each state who meet after the general election to cast ballots for president and vice president
Referendum
The practice of referring a proposed law passed by a legislature to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection
Recall
The procedure to allow voters to remove state officials from office before their terms expire by circulating petitions to call a vote
Political action committee (PAC)
A private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns
Faithless elector
Is a member of theUnited States Electoral College who does not vote for the presidential or vice-presidentialcandidate for whom they hadpledged to vote
Reapportionment
Is the process by which seats in the House of Representatives are resigned among the states to reflect population changes following the Census every 10 years
Pluralism
The theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government; the outcome of this competition is compromise and moderation.
Lobbying
- A strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on government officials
Bicameral legislature
Having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses, distinguished from unicameral (House of Representatives and the Senate)
Pork barrel (or pork) legislation/Earmark
Appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win reelection in their home 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
Franking privilege
Free postage for official business (a way to keep citizens informed)
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 a particular subject, such as finance or agriculture
Select committee
(Usually) 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 the Senate
Conference committees
Joint committees created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation
Filibuster
A tactic used by the members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation the oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down; once given the floor, senators have unlimited time to speak, and it requires a vote of three-fifths of the Senate to end a filibuster
Expressed powers
Specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress (Article I, Section 8) and to the president (Article II)
Judicial review
The power of the courts to review actions of the legislative and executive branches and, if necessary, declare them invalid or unconstitutional; the Supreme Court asserted this power in Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
- This case arose after President Thomas Jefferson replaced John Adams in the White House. Jefferson’s secretary of state, James Madison refused to deliver an official commission to William Marbury who had been appointed to a minor office by President Adams just before he left the presidency.
- Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to order Madison to deliver the commission but Jefferson and his followers did not believe that the Court had the power to undertake such an action and might have resisted the order.
- Chief Justice John Marshall was determined to assert the power of the judiciary but knew he must avoid a direct confrontation with the president. Accordingly, Marshall turned down Marbury’s petition but gave as his reason the unconstitutionality of the legislation upon which Marbury had based his claim.
- Thus, Marshall asserted the power of judicial review but did so in a way that would not provoke a battle with President Thomas Jefferson
Briefs
Written documents in which attorneys explain, using case precedents, why the the court should find in favor of their client
Senatorial courtesy
- Supreme Court justices, court of appeals judges, and district court judges (trial courts) are nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate, as stated in the Constitution
- Before the president can make a formal nomination, the senators from the candidates own state must indicate that they support the nominee. This is an informal but seldom violated practice called senatorial courtesy
National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)
Required most states to provide citizens with an opportunity to register to votes when applying for or renewing a driver’s license at the department of motor vehicles (DMV) or other designated state agency
22nd Amendment
- Limited presidential term
- The Twenty-Second Amendment – ratified in 1951, it limits the president to two terms in office (totaling 8 years in office).
