AP Government Exam Practice pt.2

Seniority rule

A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee

Manifest opinion

A widely shared and consciously held view, like support for homeland security

Senatorial courtesy

Presidential custom of submitting the names of perspective appointees forapproval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.

Cabinet

Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.

Cloture

A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate.

Speaker

The presiding officer in the House of Representatives, formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.

Horse race

A close contest; by extension, any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.

Earmarks

Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Ralph Nader

________ ran as the Green partys nominee in 2000.

Safe seat

Elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of the partys candidate is almost taken for granted.

Crossover

________ voting- Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party.

Coattail

________ effect- The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president.

Honeymoon

________- Period at the beginning of the new presidents term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress, usually lasting about six months.

Winner takes all system

An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.

Laissez

Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property

Oversight

Legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization

Federal Administrative System Bureaucracy

A form of organization that operates through impersonal, uniform rules and procedures

Whip

Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank- and- file in the legislature.

Reapportionment

The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census.

Defendant

In a criminal action, the person or party accused of an offense

Uncontrollable spending

The portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs, such as Social Security, that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut

Impoundment

A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress, now prohibited under Federal law

Central clearance

Review of all executive branch testimony, reports, and draft legislation by the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each communication to Congress is in accordance with the presidents program

Filibuster

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue

Implementation

The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending

Veto

A formal decision to reject the bill passed by Congress

Turnout

The proportion of the voting age public that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote

Administrative discretion

Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws

Trustee

An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator.

Name recognition

________- Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them, and incumbents are more recognizable.

Rider

A provision attached to a bill- to which it may or may not be related- in order to secure its passage or defeat.

Office of Personnel Management

Agency that administers civil service laws, rules, and regulations.

Patronage

The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.

Constituents

The residents of a congressional district or state.

Department

Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in Federal hierarchy.

Bureaucrat

A career government employee.

Public opinion

The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population.

Regulations

The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.

Executive Agreement

A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.

State of the Union Address

The presidents annual statement to Congress and the nation.

President Pro Tempore

Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice ________.

Dealignment

Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents.

Mandate

A presidents claim of broad public support.

Libertarians

________ call for a free market system, expanded individual liberties such as drug legalization, and a foreign policy of nonintervention, free trade, and open immigration.

Delegate

________- An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of legislator.

Line Item Veto

to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Senior Executive Service

Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible, mobile corps of senior career executives who worked closely with presidential appointees to manage government.

Political party

An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy

Nonpartisan election

A local or judicial election in which candidates are not selected or endorsed by political parties and party affiliation is not listed on ballots

Patronage

The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party

Hard money

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed

Honeymoon

Period at the beginning of the new presidents term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress, usually lasting about six months

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform

Party convention

A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office

Direct primary

Election in which voters choose party nominees

Open primary

Primary election in which any voter, regardless of party, may vote

Crossover voting

Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party

Closed primary

Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote

Proportional representation

An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote

Winner-take-all system

Election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins

Minor party

A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or, if composed of ideologies on the right or left, usually persists over time; also called a third party

Libertarian party

A minor party that believes in extremely limited government

Green party

A minor party dedicated to the environment, social justice, nonviolence, and the foreign policy of nonintervention

Reform party

A minor party founded by Ross Perot in 1995

Realigning election

An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point, redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties

Laissez-faire economics

Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property

Keynesian economics

Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and the curve during booms

Divided government

Governance divided between the parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress

National party convention

A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules

Party registration

The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote

Party identification

An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood

Dealignment

Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents

Public opinion

The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population

Random sample

In this type of sample, every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected

Manifest opinion

A widely shared and consciously held view, like support for homeland security

Attentive public

Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully

Voter registration

System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents

Australian ballot

A secret ballot printed by the state

General election

Elections in which voters elect officeholders

Primary election

Elections in which voters determine party nominees

Presidential election

Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot

Midterm election

Elections held midway between presidential elections

Turnout

The proportion of the voting age public that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote

Party identification

An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood

Candidate appeal

How voters feel about a candidates background, personality, leadership ability, and other personal qualities

Prospective issue voting

Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected

Retrospective issue of voting

Holding incumbents, usually the presidents party, responsible for their records on issues, such as the economy or foreign policy

Winner-take-all system

An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins

Single-member district

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official

Proportional representation

Election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote

Electoral college

Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular partys candidates

Safe seat

Elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of the partys candidate is almost taken for granted

Coattail effect

The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot, especially the president

Candidate appeal

The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate, such as his/her strengths, weaknesses, background, experience, and visibility

National tide

The inclination to focus on national issues, rather than local issues, in an election campaign

Name recognition

Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them, and incumbents are more recognizable

Interested money

Financial contributions by individuals or groups in the hope of influencing the outcome of the election and subsequently influencing policy

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

Largely banned party soft money, restored a long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes, and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy