Civics political vocab

incumbent

an official currently holding political office

re-election

the election of an incumbent to another term of office

constituent

citizens that are represented by a member of the government

census data

states divided up into congressional districts

districts

one member of the house = one district

reapportionment

based on the census, the number of representatives a state gets can change if its population increased or decreased

who does congressional reapportionment

in most states, the states government (legislatives)

congruity

district must be one continuous shape

compactness

avoid jagged edges and skinny extensions

population equality

each district must have same number of constituents

who made the rules for redrawing congressional district lines

the u.s supreme court

gerrymandering

process of giving a political party an advantage over another political party

what affects third parties

tradition, presidential debates, campaign finance

packing a district

concentrating; packing districts together

cracking a district

breaking apart a district

two party system

system of government in which 2 major political parties dominate politics and elections

third party system

organized in opposition to the existing major political parties in a two-party system

the 2 general political ideologies shown on the U.S political spectrum

liberal and conservative

Under the structure of federalism…

Democrats tend to support a strong national government, while Republicans favor stronger state support

The democratic party generally supports increasing government spending on _ to assist citizens

social welfare programs

in terms of economic policy, Republicans generally favor …

lower taxes for all citizens to promote individual economic freedom

regarding business policy, the democratic party considers _ necessary to protect consumers and the environment

regulation

On social policy, a generally Republican position is _ whereas a position associated with the Democratic platform is _

Pro-life, pro-choice

When addressing criminal justice, Republicans emphasize __ while Democrats place a higher focus on __ over punishment

strong punishment and military strength, rehabilitation

Winner - takes- all

an electoral system where the candidate with the most votes wins all the electoral votes or delegates from that area, often diminishing the influence of smaller parties.

ballot access laws

strict state rules that require a high number of signatures to get candidates listed on a voting slip

third parties face significant fundraising hurdles because…

campaign finance favors major parties that already have established networks

15% rule

to participate in official presidential debates, candidates must receive at least 15% support in national public polls

voter behavior often acts as a barrier to third party success simply because of…

tradition, as voters tend to stick with established major parties