AP Government duel

At-large all the voters of a state or county elect their representative

rewrite of a bill after hearings have been held on it

franking privilege

the person currently holding office

SuperPAC political organizations that use contributions from individuals, corporations, and labor unions to spend unlimited sums independent from the campaigns, yet influencing the outcome of elections

Enumerated powers

Straw Poll a poll conducted in an unscientific manner, used to predict election outcomes

Open primary

Politics method of maintaining, managing, and gaining control of government

Constituency

equality of opportunity

Bicameral legislature a two-house legislature

Mass media all forms of communication that reach a large portion of the population

Constituent all residents of the state for senators, all residents of a district for House members

Policy formulation the development of an approach to solving a problem that is on the political agenda

Majority opinion the majority of justices agree on the decision and the reasons for the decision

Veto the president's power to reject a bill passed by Congress

a brief submitted to the court by an interested third party that outlines issues it thinks are important in the case. amicus curiae literally means "friend of the court"

a statement of a political party on the issues facing the country, adopted at the national convention; each issue position is known as a plank

President Pro Tempore

Discretionary spending federal spending set by the government through appropriations bills, including operating expenses and salaries of government employees

let the decision stand; court decisions are based on precedent from previous cases

Powell v. Alabama (1932) The Supreme Court ruled here that the right to counsel was required by law in death penalty trials. Also, capital cases must have counsel when defendant cannot defend because of "ignorance, feeblemindedness, illiteracy, or the like". Selective Incorporation case based on the sixth amendment. Gideon v. Wainwright

Opinion leaders

Leak an unauthorized release of information to the press from someone in the government

Dissenting opinion

Political action committees (PAC$) extension of an interest group that contributes money to political campaigns

Exclusionary rule that evidence acquired as a result of an illegal act by police cannot be used against the person from whom it was seized

tests the public reaction to policy or appointments by releasing information to the media and gauging public reaction

Pocket veto when the president takes no action on a bill within ten days of Congress adjourning, the bill does not become law

Bill of attainder a law that makes a person guilty of a crime without a trial; neither Congress nor the states can enact such a law Constitutionally

Nonpartisan election

information provided in an interview that a reporter cannot directly use

Get-out-the-vote a campaign near the end of an election to get voters out to the polls

Majority leader

Caucus (congressional) a group of members of Congress who may or may not be from the same party but who share

Political ideology

Categorical grants federal funds given to state and local governments for specific programs that usually require the recipient to match the money provided and have other strings attached

belief that a person can influence politics and public policymaking

the Senate's authority to approve or neglect the president's top appointments and negotiated treaties

Impeachment bringing charges of wrongdoing against a government official by the House of Representatives

Closed convention a party national convention at which the party's presidential nominee has already been determined through the primaries

a primary election in which candidates from all parties are on the ballot, and a registered voter can vote for the Democratic candidate for one office and the Republican candidate for another

Judicial Review

Constitution

constitutional guarantee that everyone be treated equally

Party dealignment

a primary election that is limited to registered voters of a particular political party

Concurrent powers

Deviating election minority party is able to win the support of majority party members, independents, and new voters

party members vote to nominate their candidate for the general election

Politico

Oversight Congress monitors policies of the executive branch; the process by which the legislative branch checks the executive branch to ensure that the laws Congress has passed are being administered in keeping with legislators' intent

Front loading

Line item veto the president can reject a portion of a bill while approving the rest; declared unconstitutional

Pure speech

Random sampling a statistical technique that gives everyone in the target group the same opportunity to participate in a poll

Diplomacy the conduct of international relations, particularly involving the negotiation of treaties and other agreements between nations

party officials in the Democratic Party who attend the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses

Deficit government spending exceeds revenue

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