exam 2 vocab

Question 1

cause lobbyist:

Answer 1

a person who works for an organization that tracks and promotes an issue

Question 2

contract lobbyist:

Answer 2

lobbyists who work for different causes for different clients

Question 3

closed primary:

Answer 3

a nominating election in which only voters belonging to that party may participate

Question 4

crossover voting:

Answer 4

voting by a member of one party in another party’s primary
this process is not allowed in all states

Question 5

open primary:

Answer 5

a nominating election that is open to all registered voters regardless of their party affiliations

Question 6

runoff primary:

Answer 6

an election held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote during the regular primary
the top two finishers face off again in a runoff to determine the nominee for the general election

Question 7

general elections:

Answer 7

decisive elections in which all registered voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates for a political office

Question 8

party conventions:

Answer 8

meetings of party delegates called to nominate candidates for office and establish party agendas

Question 9

factional splits or factions:

Answer 9

groups that struggle to control the message within a party; for example, a party may be split into competing regional factions

Question 10

nonpartisan ballots:

Answer 10

ballots that do not list candidates by political party; still often used in local elections

Question 11

Super PACs:

Answer 11

political action committees that can spend unlimited funds on behalf of political candidates but cannot directly coordinate their plans with those candidates

Question 12

committee:

Answer 12

a group of legislators who have the formal task of considering and writing bills in a particular issue area

Question 13

override:

Answer 13

the process by which legislative chambers vote to challenge a gubernatorial veto; often requires a supermajority of two-thirds

Question 14

coalition building:

Answer 14

the assembly of an alliance of groups to pursue a common goal or interest

Question 15

logrolling:

Answer 15

a practice in which a legislator gives a colleague a vote on a particular bill in return for that colleague’s vote on another bill

Question 16

districts:

Answer 16

the geographical areas represented by members of a legislature

Question 17

filibuster:

Answer 17

a debate that under U.S. Senate rules can drag on, blocking final action on the bill under consideration and preventing other bills from being debated

Question 18

riders:

Answer 18

amendments to a bill that are not central to the bill’s intent

Question 19

constituent service:

Answer 19

they offer personalized constituent service to help residents sort out their problems with the state government
the work done by legislatures to help residents in their voting districts

Question 20

oversight:

Answer 20

they oversee the activities of the governor and the executive branch and some private businesses through public hearings, budget reviews, and formal investigations

Question 21

caucus:

Answer 21

all the members of a party - republican or democrat - within a legislative chamber; also refers to meetings of members of a political party in a chamber

Question 22

rank-and-file members:

Answer 22

legislators who do not hold leadership positions or senior committee posts

Question 23

apportionment:

Answer 23

the allotting of districts according to population shifts

Question 24

gerrymandering:

Answer 24

districts clearly drawn with the intent of pressing partisan advantage at the expense of other considerations

Question 25

malapportionment:

Answer 25

a situation in which the principle of equal representation is violated

Question 26

majority-minority district:

Answer 26

districts in which members of a minority group, such as African Americans or Hispanics, make up a majority of the population or electorate

Question 27

professionalized legislatures:

Answer 27

the process of providing legislators with the resources they need to make politics their main career, such as making their positions full-time or providing them with full-time staff

Question 28

plural-executive system:

Answer 28

a state government in which the governor is not the dominant figure in the executive branch but, instead, is more of a first among equals, serving alongside numerous other officials who were elected to their offices rather than appointed by the governor

Question 29

formal powers:

Answer 29

the powers explicitly granted to a governor according to state law 1. to appoint 2. to prepare state budgets 3. to veto 4. to grant pardons 5. to call special sessions

Question 30

informal powers:

Answer 30

the things a governor is able to do based on personality or position, not on formal authority

Question 31

appointment powers:

Answer 31

a governors ability to pick individuals to run state government, such as cabinet secretaries

Question 32

impeachment:

Answer 32

a process by which the legislature can remove executive branch officials such as the governor, or judges from office for corruption or other reasons

Question 33

recall election:

Answer 33

a special election allowing voters to remove an elected official from office before the end of his or her term

Question 34

criminal cases:

Answer 34

legal cases brought by the state intending to punish violations of law

Question 35

civil cases:

Answer 35

legal cases that involve disputes between private parties

Question 36

trial court:

Answer 36

the first level of the court system

Question 37

settlement:

Answer 37

a mutual agreement between parties to end a civil case before going to trial

Question 38

plea bargain:

Answer 38

an agreement in which the accused in a criminal case admits guilt, usually in exchange for a promise that a particular sentence will be imposed

Question 39

appeal:

Answer 39

a request to have a lower court's decision in a case reviewed by a higher court

Question 40

intermediate appellate court:

Answer 40

a court that reviews court cases to find possible errors in their proceedings

Question 41

state supreme court:

Answer 41

the highest level of appeals court in a state

Question 42

precedent:

Answer 42

in law, the use of the past to determine current interpretation and decision making

Question 43

bench trial:

Answer 43

a trial in which no jury is present and the judge decides the facts as well as the law

Question 44

prejudicial error:

Answer 44

an error that affects the outcome of a case

Question 45

En banc:

Answer 45

appeals court sessions in which all the judges hear a case together

Question 46

panel:

Answer 46

groups of (usually) three judges who sit to hear cases ini a state court of appeals

Question 47

pure appointive system:

Answer 47

judicial selection systems in which the governor alone appoints judges without preselection of candidates by a nominating commission

Question 48

merit selection

Answer 48

in a merit system there is a bipartisan committee that gives the governor a list and from the list of candidates the governor must pick somebody

Question 49

spoils system:

Answer 49

a system under which an electoral winner has the right to decide who works for public agencies

Question 50

patronage:

Answer 50

the process of giving government jobs to partisan loyalists

Question 51

neutral competence:

Answer 51

the idea that public agencies should be the impartial implementers of democratic decisions

Question 52

merit selection:

Answer 52

a system used in public agencies in which employment and promotions are based on qualifications and demonstrated ability

Question 53

collective bargaining:

Answer 53

a process in which representatives of labor and management meet to negotiate pay and benefits, job responsibilities and working conditions

Question 54

affirmative action:

Answer 54

a set of policies designed to help organizations recruit and promote employees who are members of disadvantaged groups

Question 55

representative bureaucracy:

Answer 55

the idea that public agencies that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve will be more effective

Question 56

professionalization:

Answer 56

the rewarding of jobs in a bureaucratic agency bases on applicants specific qualification and and merit

Question 57

contracting out:

Answer 57

government hiring of private or nonprofit organizations to deliver public goods and services

Question 58

rulemaking:

Answer 58

the process of translating laws into written instructions on what public agencies will or will not do

Question 59

bureaucracy:

Answer 59

public agencies and the programs and services they implement and manage

Question 60

bureaucrats:

Answer 60

employees of public agencies

Question 61

policy implementation:

Answer 61

the process of translating the express wishes of government into action

Question 62

street-level bureaucrat

Answer 62

a lower-level public agency employee who actually takes the actions outlined in law or policy

Question 63

veto:

Answer 63

a governor’s rejection of legislation passed by legislature

Question 64

prosecutor:

Answer 64

a government official and lawyer who conducts criminal cases on behalf of the people

Question 65

public defender:

Answer 65

a government lawyer who provides free legal services to persons accused of crimes who cannot afford to hire lawyers

Question 66

indictment:

Answer 66

a formal criminal charge

Question 67

grand jury:

Answer 67

a group of between 16 and 23 citizens who decide if a case should go to trial; if the grand jury decides that it should an indictment is issued

Question 68

contract attorneys:

Answer 68

private attorneys who enter into agreement with states, counties, or judicial districts to work on a fixed-fee basis per case or for a specific length of time

Question 69

rocket docket:

Answer 69

court schedule that fast-tracks cases that often have limited, specific deadlines for specific court procedures

Question 70

supermajority:

Answer 70

any vote by a legislative body that must get more votes than a simple majority of voted in order to win approval