Texas Government Review - Elections, Redistricting, Gerrymandering, and Campaigns

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, legal cases, and concepts from the Texas Government Exam Review.

Gerrymandering

Drawing districts to give particular candidates, parties, or groups an electoral advantage.

Cracking

Splitting a group among several districts so it cannot become the majority in any of them.

Majority minority gerrymandering

Drawing a district where a racial or ethnic minority makes up the majority to increase its representation.

Partisan gerrymandering

Drawing districts to benefit a political party through packing or cracking.

Packing

Concentrating a particular party, ethnicity, or special interest population in a district so it is heavily represented.

Total population

Everyone living in an area, regardless of age, citizenship, or voting eligibility.

Voting age population

Residents who are 18 or older.

Voting eligible population

Residents who meet the legal qualifications to register to vote, including age, citizenship, residency, competency, and felony restrictions.

Colegrove v. Green (1946)

Supreme Court case in which the Court considered districting a political question that legislatures and voters should resolve.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Supreme Court case ruling that courts could hear reapportionment challenges under the 14th Amendment's equal protection principle.

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

Supreme Court ruling that legislative districts must have populations as close to equal as practicable: "one man, one vote," and identifying contiguity as a requirement.

Evenwel v. Abbott (2016)

Supreme Court case establishing that Texas could use total population to draw districts because government represents and serves everyone, including people who cannot vote.

Reno v. Shaw (1993)

Supreme Court case (called Shaw v. Reno in the reading's explanation) where the Court rejected a bizarrely shaped district drawn based solely on race and required it to be redrawn.

Ballot fatigue

Phenomenon where voters stop voting for offices or issues farther down or on the back of the ballot.

Straight ticket

Voting for every candidate of one party with a single ballot selection (ended in Texas in 2020).

Primary election

An election where a party's voters choose its nominee for each office.

General election

An election where voters choose officeholders from party nominees and other candidates, in which the candidate with the most votes wins.

Open primary

A primary election where voters may choose which party's primary to vote in, regardless of party affiliation.

One party dominance

A political dynamic where one party is so strong that its nominee's general election victory is nearly guaranteed, making the primary especially important.

Closed primary

A primary election where voters register with a party and may vote only in that party's primary.

Caucus

A gathering where party voters choose candidates informally, such as standing in corners or placing names in a box.

Electronic ballots

Ballots that use touch screens or dials.

Optical ballots

Paper ballots on which voters fill in a circle or box, similar to a Scantron.

Democratic Texas Two-Step

A process combining a daytime primary and evening caucus, which ended in 2015.

Apportionment

The process (also called reapportionment) that allocates US House seats among states based on relative populations.

Redistricting

Redrawing district lines.

Contiguity

A requirement in Texas district drawing meaning connected.

Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004) and Rucho v. Common Cause (2019)

Supreme Court decisions supporting the position that the Supreme Court treats partisan gerrymandering as a political question federal courts should not decide.

District city elections

Elections in which residents of each district elect their own representative, promoting neighborhood representation and generally cheaper campaigns.

At-large city elections

Elections in which the whole city elects representatives who represent everyone, characterized by higher campaign costs and potential concentration of officials from similar neighborhoods.

Direct mail

Campaign strategy involving targeted flyers with names, policies, issues, and endorsements.

Cues

Images suggesting values, such as church spires or hunting clothing.

Casework

Constituent assistance provided by incumbents with government problems.

Credit claiming

Publicizing accomplishments, such as securing road or school funding, to build support.