honors gov midterm

constitution

statement of basic principles and laws of a nation

old and durable, short, hard to amend

comparative characteristics of the constitution

creates laws, designed to be most powerful

legislative branch

powers of legislative branch

tax, coin money, regulate commerce, declare war, regulate immigration, maintain army

enforces laws, fear of central gov power

executive branch

powers of executive branch

recognize other countries, grant pardons, veto legislation, negotiate treaties

interprets laws

judicial branch

powers of judicial branch

resolve national and state conflicts, resolve conflicts between citizens of different states

articles of confederation

first governing document of the country, “loose bond of friendship”, made hastily against england

loose, unicameral, congress only, no coherence for economy

problems with articles of confederation

bicameral, executive and judicial branch, centralization of commerce in congress

constitution’s solutions to problems with articles of confederation

large vs. small states, northern vs. southern states, federalist vs. anti-federalist

major cleavages of constitutional convention

conneticut compromise

bicameral congress: the house represents state population, the senate has 2 for each state

no abolishing slavery for 20 years

slavery abolition compromise

3/5 compromise

enslaved people were considered 3/5 of a free person in the eyes of the law

federalist

someone who wanted to keep and amend the articles of confederation

anti-federalist

someone who wanted to scrap the articles of confederation and start over

federalist 10

madison’s belief that factions were an inevitable issue and needed to be managed

fighting over who leads

factions as a problem

prevent the same faction from winning over and over

solutions to problems of factions

articles 1-3

articles of constitution describing the three branches of government

if not stated, power goes to states

article 4

2/3 of congress + 3/4 of state legislature

article 5: how to amend constitution

benefits of voting

favorable policies passing, preferred parties/candidates winning, community, bragging rights

sense of efficacy

believing your vote matters

competitiveness

___ encourages a larger margin of of victory

costs of voting

lack of info, transportation issues, lack of economic resources, civics skills, high predictor if they voted last time, accessibility of registration

public opinion

aggregate thoughts from the public on specific concepts and individuals

scientific polling

carefully worded questions to a select sample of adults

push polls

advertisements disguised as neutral polls

bad poll

small sample size, unreported sample size, unacknowledged bias, funny questions

civil liberties

protection from improper government action

bill of rights

the civil liberties in the constitution are located in the ___

selective incorporation

the case-by-case inclusion by the courts of the bill of rights into the due process clause of the 14th amendment

due process clause

no state shall deny an individual ___ of the law (14th amendment)

speech, press, assembly, religious establishment, expression of religion

1st amendment rights

no search and seizure, no illegally obtained evidence, no self-incrimination, no double jeopardy, legal counsel, impartial jury, civil suits, no cruel and unusual punishment

rights of the accused amendments

9th amendment

the ___ protects implied rights

right to privacy

implied right example

representative democracy

citizens hold government accountable through elections

initiative, referenda, recall

types of direct democracy

initiative

citizens start the process → writing a bill → getting enough signatures for certification → it gets put on the ballot

referenda

citizens referred to in legislative process (legislatively referred = law requires it, or citizens allow law to be put on ballot)

recall

remove official before end of their term → special election

initiative process

filing with secretary of state → review language, title, and summary → get signatures → certify signatures → gets put on ballot

electoral system

figuring out who gets to vote for which seats

number of parties, weakness of parties, focus on local issues and preferences

US electoral system decides ___

1 seat per district, plurality to win

house apportionment

house apportionment controversy

seats stay the same as population keeps rising

allocating seats controversy

reapportionment after census

435

seats in the house

gerrymandering

redistricting to advantage one group over the other for the total seats of the legislature

partisan, racism, incumbent

types of gerrymandering

racist

the VRA declares ___ gerrymandering unconstitutional

cracking

spreading voters to prevent majority

packing

wasted votes

2 members per state

senate apportionment, causes lots of malapportionment

steps to policy passage

congress member introduces bill, co-sponsorship, bill referral to committee, committee action, floor action in house, floor action in senate, house and senate agree on identical bills, sent to president

rules committee

sets rules for floor debate including time and amendments in the house

majority

to pass a bill, senate must get ___ votes

filibuster

use extended debate to block/delay passage

60

to invoke cloture, ___ votes

budget reconciliation

some bills get this label when they include major policy changes, tool to prevent filibuster

supremacy clause

article 6, constitution is the supreme law of the land, federal law takes precedence over state law

unanimous consent agreement

sets rules for floor debates like time and amendments in the senate

caucus

primary meeting to decide delegates, takes hours

iowa

the first caucus is in ___

new hampshire

the first primary election is in ___

open primary

an election in which any registered voter may voter in any party’s primary or caucus

closed primary

an election in which only voters registered with a party may vote for that party’s candidates

semi-closed primary

an election in which registered party members and unaffiliated voters can vote in a specific party election

delegate selection process

parties allocate delegates → delegates distributed based on party method → delegates attend national convention

democrat delegate selection

winning delegate: proportional to candidate’s vote total

republican delegate selection

winning delegate: up to the states, can be winner-take-all, proportional, or combo

contested convention

primary with no majority

most partisan

people who vote in primary elections are typically ___

electoral college

the ___ was chosen because the founding fathers believed citizens were too stupid to make an informed decision

house representatives + 2 (senators)

number of electors per state

faithless elector

elector who doesn’t vote for the candidate they pledged for

270

the candidate with ___ votes wins every member of the electoral college

maine and nebraska

________ split their votes between two districts

overrepresentation of states

occurs in electoral college because it isn’t purely based on population

overrepresentation of parties

occurs in electoral college because minor or third parties are severely disadvantaged

flipped election

popular vote winner still loses the election, has almost happened a lot recently, bush v. gore in 2000 was considered a turning point

26th amendment

amendment that gave 18 year olds the right to vote

plessy v. ferguson

separate but equal doctrine

duverger’s law

the plurality law in elections favors two

line item veto

cross out certain aspects of a law while letting the rest of it pass, presidents aren’t allowed to use them