AP Gov Unit 2 Vocab

Majority-Minority Districts

congressional district where a majority of voters are racial/ethnic minorities

Descriptive Representation

when citizens are represented by elected officials from their same racial/ethnic background

Substantive Representation

ability of citizens to elect officials who will enact into law policies that the citizens favor

Marginal Districts

districts in which candidates elected to the House of Representatives win in close elections (typically, less than 55 percent of the vote)

Safe Districts

districts in which incumbents win by a comfortable margin

Coalition

an alliance of factions

Representational Behavior

the theory of congressional voting behavior assumes that members make voting decisions based on their perception of constituents' wishes to ensure their own reelection. A correlation between district attitudes and members' votes has been found on issues of importance to constituents (e.g., civil rights and social welfare) but not on issues of remote concern to constituents (foreign policy)

Organizational Behavior

the theory of congressional voting behavior which assumes that members make voting decisions to please fellow members and obtain their goodwill. Such behavior is possible since constituents seldom know how their representatives vote. Members vote by following cues provided by colleagues

Attitudinal Behavior

the theory of congressional voting behavior which assumes that members vote on the basis of their own beliefs because the array of conflicting pressures on members cancel out one another

Bicameral Legislature

a lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts

Republicanism

form of government where citizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf

Enumerated Powers

powers given to the national government alone

Implied Powers

powers that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but are considered necessary to carry out the expressed powers of the government (come from necessary and proper clause)

Constituents

people who live in a geographic area represented by an elected official, usually a member of congress

Incumbency

holding the political office for which one is running

Trustee

representation where a representative makes decisions based on their own conscience

Delegate

elected representatives should represent the opinions of their constituents

Politico

representatives switch between the trustee and delegate models

Gender Gap

difference in political views between men and women

Political Polls

a poll that asks a sample of people for their feelings on a particular issue, such as what they think of a political party or a commercial product

Double Tracking

a procedure to keep the Senate going during a filibuster in which the disputed bill is shelved temporarily so that the Senate can get on with other business

Veto

a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law-making body

Cloture Rule

a rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate

Franking Privilege

the ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge

Random Sampling

method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected

Sampling Error

the difference between the results of random samples taken at the same time

Exit Polls

polls based on interviews conducted on election day with randomly selected voters

Political Socialization

process by which one's family influences one's political views

Party Sorting

the alignment of partisanship and issue positions so that Democrats tend to take more liberal positions and Republicans tend to take more conservative ones

Partisanship

individuals identification with a party; being a Democrat, Republican, or Independent

Divided Government

one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress

Voting Age Population

citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching the minimum age requirement

Voting Eligible Population

citizens who have reached the minimum age to be eligible to vote, excluding those who are not legally permitted to cast a ballot

Australian Ballot

a government-printed ballot of uniform dimensions to be cast in secret that many states adopted around 1890 to reduce voting fraud associated with party-printed ballots cast in public

Motor Voter Registration Act

is legislation requiring state governments to allow for registration when a qualifying voter applied for or renewed their drivers license or applied for social services

Filibuster

an attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill

Earmark/Pork Barrel

the use of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes

Majority Leader

the legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate

Minority Leader

the legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate

Speaker of the House

the presiding officer of the House of Representatives and the leader of his or her party in the House

President Pro Tempore

a high-ranking senator of the majority party who presides over the US Senate in the absence of the vice president; runs day to day operation of the Senate

Majority Whip

a go-between with the majority leadership and party members

Minority Whip

a go-between with the minority leadership whose job mirrors that of the majority whip but without the power that comes from holding a majority

Party Line Vote

a vote in which a majority of democratic legislators vote one way, while a majority of republican legislators vote the other way

Single Member Districts

electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office

Congressional Caucus

an association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest

Select Committees

congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose

Joint Committees

committees on which both senators and representatives serve

Conference Committee

joint committees appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill

Standing Committees

permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area

Closed Rules in House

order from the House Rules Committee that sets a time limit on debate; for bids a bill from being amending on the floor

Open Rules in House

order from the House Rules Committee that permits a bill be amended on the floor

Discharge Petition

a device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for 30 days, may petition to have it brought to the floor

Senatorial Hold

procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination

Simple Resolution

an expression of opinion either in the House or Senate to settle procedural matters in either body

Concurrent Resolution

an expression of opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate, but not the president

Joint Resolution

a formal expression of congressional opinion that must be approved by both houses of Congress and by the president; constitutional amendments need not be signed by the president

Quorum

the minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress (50%)

Riders

amendments on matters unrelated to a bill that are added to an important bill so that they will "ride" to passage through the Congress. When a bill has many riders, it is called a Christmas-tree bill