POLS 2312 Exam III Review

Municipal Bonds

A certificate of indebtedness issued by a city that serves as a pledge by the city to pay back the loan over time with interest; used to raise money for services and infrastructure; may also be issued by other forms of local government, such as counties, school district, and special districts.

Motor Voter Act

the National Voter Registration Act, which allows citizens to register to vote when applying for or renewing their driver’s license.

Texas voter residency requirement

30+ days

Texas rank in 2020 Voter turnout

49th

Blanket Primary

A primary in which voters do not register party affiliations and receive ballot papers containing the names of all candidates from all political parties running for office; usually voters may choose only one candidate per office rather than one candidate per political party; sometimes called a jungle primary

First state total vote by mail

Oregon

Casework

The process of solving problems for constituents

Roll-Off Voting

Process in which voters mark off only the “more important” offices on a lengthy ballot – usually national or statewide offices – and leave the county or local office choices blank

Amount Abbott spent per vote in 2018

$16.78

Disclosure of Contributions

The idea that each candidate reports who has contributed money to the campaign and how much has been contributed by an individual or group

Open Primary

An electoral contest in which voters are not required to declare a party affiliation to participate but must request a specific party’s ballot at the primary; voters are subsequently barred from participating in the other party’s primary

World War I contribution accusations

James “Pa” Ferguson claimed that the improper loans that led to Ferguson’s impeachment were from the kaiser of Germany. Ferguson retorted that William P. Hobby, his opponent had put “full-blooded Germans” in key government positions.

Number of television markets in Texas

20

Populist Party AKA

People’s Party

Whig Party Collapse

Republican party was born

George Parr

Nicknamed El Tacuacha and took over after his father’s death in 1908, corrupted political machine in Duval County who made voting go his way

State with highest voter turnout in 2020

Minnesota

Delegate Allocation

How delegates at the national convention become pledged to vote for a specific candidate or attend as undecided; sending delegates to convention

Runoff Primary

A primary that occurs if no nominee receives the required majority of the votes in the primary; the top two finishers face off in a second primary to determine the nominee for the general election

Percentage of Texans that claim to be moderate

27%

President with close association to Patronage System

Andrew Jackson

When county or senatorial convention is held

On the third Saturday after the primary election

Single Issue Interest Group

Groups usually organized around one side of a single issue, such as pro-choice or antiabortion groups.

State with the earliest caucus

Iowa

Solidarity Benefit

The social interactions that individuals enjoy from joining a group and from working together for a common cause

Disturbance Theory

A theory of group formation that states that as societies become more complex and more diverse, new interests emerge to voice their concerns, prompting established interests to mobilize to protect the status quo

Matt Rinaldi

Texas Republican Party Chairman

Gilberto Hinojosa

Texas Democratic Party Chairman

Site of 2024 Texas GOP Convention

San Antonio

Site of Texas Democratic State Convention

El Paso

Robert Dahl’s pluralism book

Who Governs?, concluded that no single interest dominated and that politics was open to broad participation with organized interests representing the needs of real people

AFL-CIO

Works on issues such as raising the minimum wage and improving the quality of schools on behalf of about 500,000 labor union members in Texas

Tarrant Appraisal District Website

Got hacked, hit with ransomware attack

Texas Municipal League

Lobbies on the behalf of all Texas cities

Dark Money

Money spent on political activities by a nonprofit organization that does not have to report its source of funding

T. Boone Pickens

AT&T and Dallas oilman led the list in apartment renovation renovation donor chipping $250,000 for the apartment

Clay Jenkins

Dallas Democratic County judge issuing shelter-in-place orders with a very limited definition of essential businesses that could remain open

Dillon’s Rule

The principle that, regardless of the type of local government, all local governments are creatures of the state government and have only those powers specifically granted to them by the state

Terms for school board members

4-year terms

State with the highest number of local governments

Illinois (6,913)

State with the lowest number of local governments

Hawaii (21)

Number of elected county commissioners per county

4

Number of counties in Texas

254

Duties of county assessor

Collects property taxes and license plate fees; issues title certificates for cars and trucks and, in some counties, acts as the registrar of voters and chief elections administrator; collects county taxes, user fees, and collecting poll taxes

Population needed to be home rule city

5,000

Deadly hurricane that hit in 1900s

Galveston hurricane, killed 6,000 people and destroyed 3,600 buildings

Houston and zoning

Houston has no zoning rules

Denton and hydraulic fracking

Eagle Rock Energy violated the law by drilling wells within city limits after Denton expanded its required zone to 1,200 feet between a residence and a proposed well. Denton’s ban prompted Texas Legislature to pass a bill that prohibits cities from passing ordinances that ban fracking.

Tommy Vandergriff

Mayor of Arlington in 1951 at 25 years old and served for 26 years. Played a central role in the transformation of Arlington into a business, sports, entertainment, and education hub in North Texas. Brought General Motors auto assembly plant, Arlington State College (now UTA), Six Flags, and Texas Rangers.

MUDS

A special district that provides water, sewer, or similar services to individuals and businesses outside city limits