| Term | Definition |
|---|
| reapportionment | the process of taking a census and giving each state a # of representatives based on their % of population to the whole population |
| malapportionment | when districts aren't equal; population within a state of the districts aren't roughly the same & receive the same # of representatives |
| impeachment | the formal charging of a gov't official with "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" |
| name recognition | part of the incumbency effect; advantage along with their efforts to publicize their activities & speeches in the local media |
| sophomore surge | an Australian saying that refers to the increase of votes during a congressional candidate's first re-election |
| agenda | a broad, imprecise, and unwritten document comprising all the issues an institution is considering |
| casework | solving problems for constituents, especially problems involving gov't agencies, in return for their vote |
| constituents | people who live and vote in a gov't official's district or state |
| franking privilege | the right of a congressman to send mail free of charge |
| descriptive representation | a belief that constituents are most effectively represented by legislators who are similar to them in such key demographic characteristics as race, ethnicity, religion, and or gender |
| substantive representation | the tendency of representatives to advocate for certain groups, often in contrast to their background ex: kennedy for the poor |
| 17th Amendment | provides for population election of senators, who were formerly elected by state legislatures |
| veto | the president's disapproval of a bill that has been passed by both houses of Congress. Congress can override with a 2/3 vote in each house |
| pocket veto | a means of killing a bill that has been passed by both houses of Congress, in which the president does not sign the bill and Congress adjourns within 10 days of the bill's passage |
| standing committee | a permanent subject committee in which once you are elected you remain to gain expertise ex:agriculture |
| joint committee | committee made up of both House and Senate members that find facts & publicize problems & policy issues ex: Joint Eco Comt |
| select committee | a temporary congressional committee created for a specific purpose and disbanded after that is fulfilled ex: investigate 9/11 attack |
| conference committee | a temporary committee created to work out differences between the House and the Senate versions of a specific piece of legislation |
| seniority system | within each committee, the senior member of each majority party usually becomes the committee chair |
| oversight | the process of reviewing the operations of an agency to determine whether it is carrying out policies as Congress intended |
| filibuster | a delaying tactic, used only in the Senate, that involves speech making to prevent action on a piece of legislation |
| cloture | a mechanism in which a filibuster is cut off in the Senate |
| trustee | representative is trusted to vote with their own beliefs and what they think is right |
| delegate | representative must represent the beliefs of the people as his own |
| bicameral legislature | two houses that involve concurrent majority opinions of mixed gov't to pass legislation |
| congressional caucus | partisan groups which meet in private closed sessions to set legislative agendas, select comt members, & hold elections for floor holders |
| concurrent resolution | to choose to agree with the main decision but for different reasons than that are listed |
| earmarks (pork barrel legislation) | gov't spending for projects that are intended to benefit particular constituent(s) |
| logrolling | the exchange of support or favors, esp. by legislators for mutual political gain as by voting for each other's bills. |
| president pro-tempore | only in the Senate, the honorary position elected by the majority party, that supposed to chair Senate in VP's absence |
| speaker of the house | has power in House, chooses from what members are on conference & Rules Comt to what office space you get |
| majority leader | head of the majority party in the Senate; 2nd highest member of the majority party in the House as well |
| whip | party enforcers whose primary purpose is to ensure the control of the decision making process in a parliamentary system |
| Rules Committee | in House only, set all rules for the debate: time, decision to offer amendments on floor, when on calendar - House members want to befriend these people |
| Ways and Means Committee | only in Senate, can look at treaties & can ratify them with a 2/3 agreement |
| gerrymandering | draw own district boundary in order to favor a political party |
| racial gerrymandering | draw own district boundary in order to favor particular minority group |
| rider | an additional clause, usually unrelated to the main body, attached to a legislative bill in passing it |
| Baker V. Carr (1962) | enabled federal courts to intervene with malapportionment cases |
| Shaw V. Reno (1964) | rule: redistricting based on race must be under strict scrutiny & must assure compliance with the Voting Rights Act |
| Miller V. Johnson (1995) | racial gerrymandering act considered unconstitutional & a violation of the Equal Protections Clause |
| Shaw et al. V. Hunt (1996) | racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional |
Combine with other sets
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