Shari M - 2023 Unit 3 Study Guide

What are the minimum requirements to be president?

**You must be at least 35 years old, you need to be a natural born citizen (born in the US), and you must have lived in the US for at least 14 years.**

What is the military role of the President? 

Commander in Chief

How does Congress check the power of the President? (List 2 -3)

**1.If a president vetoes a bill congress can vote on it and if 2/3 vote yes they can overturn the president's decision**

**2.Congress can impeach or remove the president**

How does the President check the power of Congress?

**The president will veto a bill or do a pocket veto.**

What happens when the president signs a bill?

**It becomes a law**

What are the diplomatic powers the president has? (List 2 -3)

**The president represents the US nationally, approves treaties, and appoints ambassadors.**

What are the two (2) Judicial powers of the President?

**Appoints supreme court justices and can grant pardons.**

What is the State of the Union Address?

**At the end of every year the president does a state of the union address. It is a report on things that went well and on things that happened over the year.**

How many cabinet positions are there?

15

What are the two (2) roles of cabinet members?

**They advise the president and lead their department.**

Explain the connection between the Presidential line of succession and the Presidential Cabinet.

**If the president dies the first in line to become president is the vice president. If the vice president dies then those in the cabinet would take the position based on their position in the cabinet.**

What is the electoral college?

**It is a group of people elected by each state who formally elect the president and vice president**

We can find a description of the electoral college in what historical document?

The constitution

How many total electors are there in the electoral college?

538

How many electoral votes are needed to win the presidency?

270

Why was the electoral college created?

**It protects smaller states and can limit tyranny. It can also help to elect a president in an equal way.**

How might a state gain or lose electoral votes?

**If a state's population increases or decreases a state could gain or lose votes at the census every 10 years the change would be made.**

What are safe states?

**States that have voted for the same party for multiple years**

What are swing states?

**States that don't stick with one party, they flip based.**

How many times has a candidate won the popular vote, but lost the electoral vote?

**5 times**

Who was the only president NOT to belong to a political party? Why?

**George Washington because he was the first president and was chosen by everyone to be president so no parties or elections had to be organized. Also he did not like the idea of parties.**

What is a platform?

**A platform is a document where candidates or parties talk about their political views and ideas.**