AP Government duel

election commission a commission delegated to supervise an election

Politico

Majority-minority districts drawing district boundaries to give a minority group a majority

Midterm elections congressional elections held between presidential elections

money used by national, state, or local party organizations that is not regulated by the Federal Election Commission

Strict constitutionalist

Superdelegates

the process of redrawing congressional and state legislative districts to reflect population changes in the census; responsibility for redistricting usually falls to the state legislatures; follows reapportionment

Filibuster

Whip a majority/minority party leader in Congress who makes sure the party members are present for important votes and vote by party

Rider

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

Iron triangle

Congressional review Congress's authority to review a new federal regulation enacted by a regulatory agency and overrule it through a joint resolution

Lobbying attempting to influence policymakers through a variety of methods

an agreement by every senator to the terms of debate on a given piece of legislation

Political efficacy

Symbolic speech using actions and symbols rather than words to convey an idea

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

Enumerated powers powers that the Constitution specifically grants to the federal government

a rule of evidence that says that if the authorities act "in good faith," evidence that otherwise might have been excluded may be admissible. Modifies Mapp v. Ohio

Legislative Branch under Article I of the Constitution, the legislative branch consists of the House and Senate, which together form the US Congress; the prime responsibility is to make laws

Federal question a question of law based on interpretation of the US Constitution, federal laws, or treaties

a written document submitted to a court that presents the facts and legal reasoning of a party to the lawsuit

the difference in any year between government spending and government revenue

Constituency service casework; assistance to constituents by congressional members

Direct democracy democracy citizens meet and make decisions about public policy issues; there are no elected officials; also called participatory democracy

Electorate people qualified to vote

Precedent standards or guides based on prior decisions that serve as a rule for settling similar disputes

Mandates

District courts

to social norms and values, tough on criminals

double jeopardy

Civil rights positive acts of government designed to prevent discrimination and provide equality before the law. What the government should do.

Anti-Federalists those opposed to the ratification of the Constitution because it gave too much power to the central government at the expense of the states and the lack of a bill of rights

Substantive due process

Public policy

application of portions of the Bill of Rights to the states under the 14th Amendment

a group of private citizens whose goal is to influence and shape public policy

corporation a corporation that may receive part of its funding from Congress and is managed by a board appointed by the president; the function it performs could be carried out by private enterprise; an example is the US Postal service

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Before police interrogate, suspect must learn of rights like the Fifth Amendment

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

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

Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause) gives Congress the powers to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out their constitutional duties, found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18; also called the elastic clause

Cabinet government departments headed by presidential appointees to help establish public policy and operate a specific policy area of governmental activity

De facto segregation segregation that results from living patterns rather than law

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

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

the exchange of political favors for support of a bill; an agreement between two or more members of Congress to vote for each other's bills

Floor leaders direct majority or minority party strategy and decisions in the House and Senate

Diplomacy

Initiative

Deregulation the process of reducing or completely eliminating federal government oversight of an industry so as to allow it to operate more freely; used to encourage competition and reduce costs to consumers

independents people who have no party affiliation

the first written constitution of the United States, which went into effect in 1781; it created a unicameral legislature, in which each state had one vote but no executive or judicial authority; the power of the central government was extremely limited

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

Dealignment when a significant number of voters choose to no longer support a particular political party

distribution of congressional representatives among the states, based on the population of each state

Administrative Discretion the flexibility a federal agency can exercise in implementing legislation through its rules and regulations. the authority delegated to bureaucrats to use their expertise and judgment when determining how to implement public policy.

Revolving

End this game?