Governing States and Localities, Chapter 7

Majority Rule

Majority Rule

The process in which the decision of a numerical majority is made binding on a group.

Coalition Building

The assembling of an alliance of groups to pursue common goal or interest.

Logrolling

The practice in which a legislator gives a colleague a vote on a particular bill in return for that colleague's vote on another bill to be considered later.

Filibuster

A debate that under U.S. Senate rules can drag on, blocking final action on the bill under consideration and preventing other bills from being debated.

Rider

An amendment to a bill that is not central to the bill's intent.

Committee

A group of legislators who have the formal task of considering and writing bills in a particular issue area.

District

The geographical area represented by a member of a legislature.

Constituents

Residents of a district

Compromise

The result when there is no consensus on a policy change or spending amount but legislators find a central point on which a majority can agree.

Representation

Individual legislators acting as the voices of their constituencies within the house of representatives or senate.

Constituent Service

The work done by legislators to help residents in their voting districts

Casework

The work undertaken by legislators and their staffs in response to requests for help from constituents

Incumbent

A person holding office.

Oversight

The legislature's role in making sure that the governor and executive branch agencies are properly implementing the laws.

Caucus

All the members of a party - Republican or Democrat - within a legislative chamber. Also refers to meetings of members of a political party in a chamber.

Rank-and-File Members

Legislators who do not hold leadership positions or senior committee posts

Delegates

Legislators who primarily see their role as voting according to their constituents' beliefs as they understand them.

Trustees

Legislators who believe they were elected to exercise their own judgment and to approach issues accordingly.

Professionalization

The process of providing legislators with the resources they need to make politics their main career, such as making their positions full-time or providing them with full-time staff.

Apportionment

The allotting od districts according to population shifts. The number of congressional districts that a state has may be reapportioned every ten years, following the national census.

Redistricting

The drawing of new boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts, usually following a decennial census.

Gerrymanders

Districts clearly drawn with the intent of pressing partisan advantage at the expense of other considerations.

Malapportionment

A situation in which the principle of equal representation is violated.

Majority-Minority District

A district in which members of a minority group, such as African Americans or Hispanics, make up a majority of the population or electorate.