Gov Quiz 10/04

formal qualifications to be president

natural born citizen of US, at least 35, and a resident for at least 14 years

duties and responsibilities of president

implementing and enforcing laws written by Congress, appoint heads of federal agencies, including cabinet

benefits that president recieves

pension, transition, staff and office, medical insurance, and secret service protection, Air Force 1, Marine 1, Camp David

Which article of the Constitution applies to the Executive Branch?

Article II

12th Amendment

separated the elections for president and VP, each elector has one vote for each

22nd Amendment

a president cannot exceed two terms or 10 years in office

25th Amendment

declares line of succession (President, VP, Speaker of the House)

How does the electoral college work?

based off of number of senators and representatives of each state, plus 3 reps. from Washington D.C. Electors vote (representing state/district) on who should be president through popular vote. 270 votes required to win. people choose electors.

How do Maine and Nebraska allocate their electoral college voters?

2 senator votes are given to whoever wins the popular vote. Then 1 vote is allotted to the candidate who wins in each district (per district)

significance of 1800 election

Jefferson and Burr tied 36 times in the election causing the 12th amendment to be created

checks and balances of executive branch on other branches

legislative: veto bills, add signing statements, distribute executive order
judicial: reprieve, pardon, commutation, amnesty, and nominate judges

changes in executive branch size and departments of cabinet

was roughly few thousand with 4 cabinet members and then became 4 million with 16 members

summarize executive branch in one sentence.

The executive branch is made up of the president, vice president, cabinet, and other executive departments and carries out and enforces laws.

executive privilege, pardons, and executive order (limits)

executive privilege: ability to refuse to disclose info to congress/federal courts; must obey supreme court
pardon: legal forgiveness of a crime; only involves federal offense
executive order: a spoken law that bypasses the legislative process; can be overturned by federal courts

How did Richard Nixon challenge executive privilege?

Nixon argued that executive privilege gave him the power to withhold sensitive information (tapes), he believed he was exempt from the court's order.

reprieve

postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution

amnesty

legally forgive a group of wrongdoers for a crime

pardon

legally forgive an individual for a crime

commutation

lessening a punishment for a criminal (such as shortening a sentence or decreasing the amount of money paid in a fine)

presidential salary

400k plus 50k spending money