State and Local Government: Exam 2 Study Guide Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering direct democracy, voting rights, political participation, political parties, interest groups, and state legislatures based on the Exam 2 Study Guide.

Direct Democracy

A system enabling citizens to make public policy directly rather than through elected representatives, primarily via the initiative, referendum, and recall.

Initiative

A direct democracy mechanism allowing citizens to propose statutes or state constitutional amendments by gathering petition signatures.

Referendum

A ballot procedure where voters approve or reject a statute referred by the legislature or petition to overturn an enacted law.

Recall

A procedure allowing registered voters to remove an elected official from office prior to the end of their term.

"Oregon System"

The progressive direct democracy package adopted by Oregon following South Dakota's 1898 initiative adoption, serving as the blueprint for other Western states.

Roll-off

The voting pattern where individuals vote in top-of-the-ticket candidate races but skip technical, lengthy, or confusing ballot questions.

Wedge Issue

A controversial political issue or ballot initiative used strategically by activists and parties to divide the opposing coalition or drive base voter turnout.

Proposition 187 (1994)

A California ballot initiative that barred undocumented immigrants from accessing public services such as schooling and non-emergency healthcare, which was largely struck down in court.

Proposition 184 (1994)

California's "three strikes" ballot initiative that mandated severe, prolonged prison sentences for individuals convicted of a third felony offense.

Proposition 227 (1998)

A California initiative that eliminated most bilingual education programs in favor of English immersion classes, later overturned by Proposition 58 in 2016.

Proposition 8 (2008)

A California constitutional initiative that banned same-sex marriage, ultimately nullified when the Supreme Court declined to address the merits in Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013).

Proposition 13 (1978)

A California initiative that capped property taxes at $1\%$ of assessed value, limited assessment increases to $2\%$ annually until sale, required a two-thirds legislative vote for new taxes, and sparked the national "tax revolt."

Indirect Initiative

A process where a citizen-sponsored proposal must be submitted to the state legislature for review before being placed on the public ballot.

Participation Bias

The pattern where political participants differ systematically from non-participants (tending to be older, wealthier, more educated, and whiter), causing policy to respond to their interests.

Internal Efficacy

An individual's personal belief that they possess the capacity to understand and actively participate in political affairs.

External Efficacy

A citizen's belief that political institutions and governmental officials are responsive to citizen input and votes.

Midterm Penalty

The regular electoral pattern in which the political party holding the presidency consistently suffers net seat losses in congressional and state legislative midterm elections.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Landmark federal voting legislation that prohibited literacy tests, authorized federal voting examiners, barred vote-dilution nationwide under Section 2, and required Section 5 preclearance.

Section 5 Preclearance

The Voting Rights Act provision requiring jurisdictions with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to secure federal approval before enacting any changes to election laws.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

A Supreme Court ruling that struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, rendering Section 5 preclearance unenforceable.

Louisiana v. Callais (2026)

An April 2026 Supreme Court decision that narrowed Section 2 vote-dilution claims under the Voting Rights Act, making intent-based evidence more central.

Closed Primary

A party nominating election in which only voters officially registered with that specific political party are permitted to cast a ballot.

Open Primary

A primary election where any registered voter may select which party's nominating ballot they wish to cast, regardless of their own party affiliation.

Top-Two Primary

A nonpartisan blanket primary system (used in California and Washington) in which all candidates run on one ballot and the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election.

Single-Member District

An electoral district that elects one representative to a legislative chamber, typically through plurality vote.

Multi-Member District

An electoral district in which several representatives are elected simultaneously from the same geographic area, often elected at-large.

Descriptive Representation

Legislative representation where elected officials share demographic attributes (such as race, gender, and socioeconomic class) with their constituents.

Substantive Representation

Legislative representation in which lawmakers actively champion and advance the concrete policy interests and preferences of their constituents.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

The foundational Supreme Court case ruling that state legislative redistricting and apportionment challenges are justiciable in federal courts.

"One Person, One Vote"

The constitutional redistricting principle established in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) and Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) mandating that legislative districts contain approximately equal populations.

Duverger’s Law

The political science principle stating that single-member, plurality-rule electoral systems systematically tend to produce two-party political systems.

Party Machines

Hierarchical urban party organizations, such as Tammany Hall, that maintained political dominance by distributing patronage jobs and municipal favors in exchange for votes.

Spoils System

The practice of rewarding loyal political supporters and campaign contributors with government appointments, jobs, and public contracts.

Responsible Party Model

The normative model stating that political parties should present distinct policy platforms and, once elected, maintain strict party cohesion to implement them.

Functional Party Model

A model conceptualizing parties as pragmatic networks performing essential tasks (nominating candidates, mobilizing voters, and organizing government) without requiring ideological unity.

Party Identification

A citizen's enduring, long-term psychological affinity and attachment to a specific political party, often formed early in life.

Party Ideology

A coherent, organized structure of philosophical beliefs regarding the proper role, scope, and functions of government (such as liberalism or conservatism).

Partisan Realignment

A durable, long-term shift in the underlying demographic coalitions and balance of power between the major political parties.

Partisan Dealignment

A widespread decay in voter loyalty to major parties, marked by a rise in self-identified independents and frequent split-ticket voting.

Party-Column ("Indiana") Ballot

A ballot design that lists candidates arranged by their political party label, which facilitates straight-ticket voting.

Office-Bloc ("Massachusetts") Ballot

A ballot format that groups candidates together by the office they are seeking, which encourages voters to split their tickets.

Parties in Government

The organized network of elected officials who manage leadership positions, committee structures, and floor voting within legislative and executive bodies along party lines.

Parties in the Electorate

The ordinary citizens and voters who identify with, register as, or consistently support a specific political party.

Party Organization

The institutional framework of national, state, and local committees, professional staff, and party chairs that runs candidate recruitment and campaign logistics.

Disturbance Theory

The interest group theory stating that organized interest groups mobilize and form in response to external socio-economic disruptions or threats to existing interests.

Free-Rider Problem

The barrier to collective action where individuals consume and benefit from the policy gains of an interest group without paying dues or contributing effort.

Pluralist Theory

The political theory stating that power is widely dispersed among competing interest groups, with government acting as a mediator that develops policy through bargaining.

Faction

A group of citizens united by a shared interest or passion that is contrary to the rights of others or the permanent interests of the community, as defined by Madison in Federalist #10.

Inside Lobbying

Direct advocacy techniques involving face-to-face interaction with officials, such as testifying at legislative hearings, drafting legislation, and providing technical research.

Outside Lobbying

Indirect interest group techniques designed to mobilize public opinion to pressure lawmakers, including grassroots letter-writing campaigns, rallies, and media advertisements.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Federally regulated fundraising entities established by interest groups, corporations, or unions to collect voluntary contributions and disburse limited donations to political candidates.

Super PACs

Independent-expenditure-only political committees authorized after Citizens United to solicit and spend unlimited funds, provided they do not coordinate with candidates or parties.

Electioneering

Interest group activities aimed at influencing electoral outcomes, including issuing candidate endorsements, releasing scorecards, mobilizing voters, and running independent expenditures.

Revolving Door

The rapid career movement of public officials between government positions and lucrative private-sector lobbying roles, frequently regulated by mandatory statutory waiting periods.

Spillover Effects

External impacts occurring when the policies, laws, or political strategies adopted in one jurisdiction or state affect neighboring jurisdictions without their consent.

Legislative Professionalism

The institutional capacity of a legislature to carry out its responsibilities, evaluated under the Squire Index by session length, member compensation, and administrative staff size.

Citizen Legislature

A part-time legislative assembly characterized by modest compensation, small staffs, brief annual sessions, and lawmakers who maintain full-time outside employment.

Cracking

A gerrymandering technique that disperses an opposing group's voting bloc across multiple districts to dilute their numbers and deny them an electoral majority.

Packing

A gerrymandering technique that concentrates an opposing group's voters into as few districts as possible, wasting their excess votes and conceding adjacent districts.

Line-Item Veto

An executive authority granting state governors the power to strike individual spending items from an appropriations bill without rejecting the entire measure.

Amendatory Veto

A gubernatorial veto power allowing the executive to return an enacted legislative bill with proposed amendments and recommendations for legislative reconsideration.

Pocket Veto

The procedural expiration and death of a legislative bill that occurs when a governor refrains from signing it after the legislature has formally adjourned.

"Fire Alarm" Oversight

Reactive legislative oversight triggered when outside actors—such as constituents, the media, or interest groups—alert lawmakers to bureaucratic abuses and agency failures.

"Police Patrol" Oversight

Routine, continuous, and institutionalized legislative monitoring of executive agencies conducted via regular audits, mandatory reporting, and periodic sunset reviews.

Legislative Term Limits

Legal or constitutional restrictions capping the total number of terms or years an individual representative can serve within a state legislature.