The residents of a congressional district or state
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Reapportionment:
The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state leg districts.
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Redistricting
The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census to accommodate populations shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.
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Gerrymandering:
The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent.
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Safe Seat:
An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so success of that candidate is all but guaranteed.
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Incumbent:
The current holder of an elected office.
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Earmarks (Pork!):
Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their home state.
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Bicameralism:
Two house legislature
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Enumerated Powers:
The powers EXPLICITLY (stated in constitution) given to Congress
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Party Caucus:
A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and develop party policy
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Majority Leader:
The legislative leader elected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line.
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Minority Leader:
The legislative leader elected by the minority party as a spokesperson for the opposition.
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Whip:
The party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature.
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Closed Rule:
procedural rule in the HOR that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill can offer amendments.
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Open Rule:
procedural rule in the HOR that permits floor amendments
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President Pro Tempore:
Officer of the Senate elected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the VP
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Filibuster
procedural practice in the Senate where a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and therefore delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.
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Cloture:
procedure for terminating debates, especially filibusters, in the Senate
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Standing Committee
permanent committee established in Congress, usually focused on a policy area
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Special/Select Committee
Congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation
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Joint Committee
Committee comprised of both HOR/Senate members
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Seniority Rule:
Legislative practice that assign the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on that committee.
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Conference Committee:
Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber (HOR/Senate) to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.
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Discharge Petition:
petition signed by members of the HOR will pry bill from committee and bring it to the floor (whole group=435) for consideration.
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Rider:
A provision attached to a bill (doesn't have to be related) in order to secure it's passage or defeat.
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Pocket Veto:
veto exercised by the Pres. after Congress has adjourned; if Pres takes NO action for 10 day, the bill doesn't become law & is not returned to Congress for a possible override.
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Override:
an action taken by Congress to reverse a Pres. veto; requires ⅔ majority in both chambers (house/senate)
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Delegate:
Official expected to represent the views of their constituents, even if it goes against their personal views
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Trustee:
Official expected to vote independently based on THEIR judgement of circumstances.
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Logrolling
: Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.
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Polarization:
extent to which liberals and conservatives occupy the more extreme positions on liberal/conservative ideological spectrum
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Speaker :
Presiding officer in the HOR, formally elected by the House, but selected by majority party.
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politico
Lawmaker who attempts to balance the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles
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Shaw v. Reno (1993)
NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.
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Baker v. Carr (1962)
Established the principle of "one person, one vote" and made such patterns of representation illegal. The Court asserted that the federal courts had the right to tell states to reapportion their districts for more equal representation.
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