| 9632125347 | Amicus Curiae Brief | Friend of the court brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision. | | 0 |
| 9632125348 | Appellate Jurisdiction | Authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court. | | 1 |
| 9632125349 | Balancing the Ticket | Occurs when a presidential nominee chooses a vice presidential running mate who has different qualities in order to attract more votes for the ticket. | | 2 |
| 9632125350 | Blanket Primary | Election to choose candidates that is open to independents and that allows voters to choose candidates from all the parties. | | 3 |
| 9632125351 | Block Grant | Money granted by the federal government to the states for a broad purpose (e.g., transportation) rather than for a narrow purpose (e.g., school lunch program). | | 4 |
| 9632125352 | Categorical Grant | Money granted by the federal government to the states for a narrow purpose (e.g., school lunch program) rather than for a broad purpose (e.g., transportation). | | 5 |
| 9632125353 | Checks and Balances | System in which each branch of government can limit the power of the other two branches, e.g., presidential veto of a congressional law. | | 6 |
| 9632125354 | Clear and Present Danger Doctrine | Judicial interpretation of the First Amendment that government may not ban speech unless such speech poses an imminent threat to society. | | 7 |
| 9632125355 | Closed Primary | Party election to choose candidates that is closed to independents. Voters may not cross party lines. | | 8 |
| 9632125356 | Cloture | Senate motion to end a filibuster that requires a 3/5 vote. | | 9 |
| 9632125357 | Commerce Clause | Gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states, with foreign nations, and among Indian tribes. Granted through Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution. | | 10 |
| 9632125358 | Conference Committee | Works out a compromise between differing House-Senate versions of a bill. | | 11 |
| 9632125359 | Cooperative Federalism | System in which both federal government and state governments cooperate in solving problems. | | 12 |
| 9632125360 | Direct Election | Election of an official directly by the people rather than by an intermediary group such as the Electoral College. | | 13 |
| 9632125361 | Direct Primary | Election in which the people chose candidates for office. | | 14 |
| 9632125362 | Divided Government | Government in which one party controls the presidency while another party controls the Congress. | | 15 |
| 9632125363 | Elastic Clause | States that Congress can exercise those powers that are "necessary and proper" for carrying out the enumerated powers, e.g., establishment of the first Bank of the United States. | | 16 |
| 9632125364 | Elite Theory | Theory that upper class elites exercise great influence over public policy. | | 17 |
| 9632125365 | Entitlements | Federal benefit payments to which recipients have a legal right, e.g., Social Security. Also known as uncontrollables. | | 18 |
| 9632125366 | Establishment Clause | Provision of the First Amendment that prohibits Congress from establishing an official state religion. This is the basis for separation of church and state. | | 19 |
| 9632125367 | Exclusionary Rule | Supreme Court guideline that excludes the use of illegally obtained evidence in a criminal trial. | | 20 |
| 9632125368 | Executive Agreement | An agreement between the President and another head of state that, unlike a treaty, does not require Senate consent. | | 21 |
| 9632125369 | Executive Order | Presidential rule or regulation that has the force of law. | | 22 |
| 9632125370 | Factions | Term used by Madison to denote what we now call interest groups. | | 23 |
| 9632125371 | Federalism | Constitutional sharing of power between a central government and state governments. | | 24 |
| 9632125372 | Federalist Papers | Group of 85 essays written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay for the purpose of persuading the people of NY to adopt the Constitution. | | 25 |
| 9632125373 | Filibuster | Nonstop Senate debate that prevents a bill from coming to vote. | | 26 |
| 9632125374 | Franking Privilege | Allows members of Congress to send mail postage free. | | 27 |
| 9632125375 | Gender Gap | Difference in voting patterns for men and women, particularly in the greater tendency of the latter to vote for Democratic presidential candidates. | | 28 |
| 9632125376 | General Election | Election in which the officeholders are chosen. Contrast with a primary election, in which only the candidates are chosen. | | 29 |
| 9632125377 | Gerrymandering | Redrawing of district lines to favor one party at the expense of the other. | | 30 |
| 9632125378 | Horse Race Coverage | The tendency of the media to report on an election campaign as if it were a horse race, i.e., who is ahead, who is behind, who is gaining ground. | | 31 |
| 9632125379 | Impeachment | House action that formally charges an official with wrongdoing. Conviction requires a 2/3 vote from the Senate. | | 32 |
| 9632125380 | Impoundment | Refusal of a President to spend money that has been appropriated by Congress. | | 33 |
| 9632125381 | Incorporation | Applying the Bill of Rights to the states. | | 34 |
| 9632125382 | Total Incorporation View | The states must obey all provisions of the Bill of Rights because of the due process of the 14th Amendment. | | 35 |
| 9632125383 | Selective Incorporation View | The Bill of Rights is to be applied to the states in a more gradual manner on a case by case basis. | | 36 |
| 9632125384 | Incumbent | An officeholder who is seeking reelection. | | 37 |
| 9632125385 | Independent Leaners | Voters not registered with a political party but tend to vote for candidates of one particular party. | | 38 |
| 9632125386 | Iron Triangle | An informal association of federal agency, congressional committee, and interest group that is said to have heavy influence over policy making. | | 39 |
| 9632125387 | Judicial Activism | Philosophy that the courts should take an active role in solving problems. | | 40 |
| 9632125388 | Judicial Restraint | Philosophy that the courts should defer to elected lawmakers in setting policy, and should instead focus on interpreting law rather than making law. | | 41 |
| 9632125389 | Judicial Review | Power of the courts to review the constitutionality of laws or government actions. | | 42 |
| 9632125390 | Legislative Veto | Process in which Congress overturned rules and regulations proposed by executive branch agencies. Struck down in 1983. | | 43 |
| 9632125391 | Line Item Veto | Power of most governors (and President Clinton for only a few years) to delete or reduce funding in a bill on a line by line basis. | | 44 |
| 9632125392 | Lobbying | Attempting to influence policy makers. | | 45 |
| 9632125393 | Mandates | Requirements imposed by the national government upon the states. Some are unfunded mandates, i.e., they are imposed by the national government, but lack funding. | | 46 |
| 9632125394 | Miranda Warnings | Warnings that must be read to suspects prior to questioning if responses are to be used in a criminal trial. Suspects must be advised that they have the rights of silence and counsel. | | 47 |
| 9632125395 | Open Primary | Election to choose candidates that is open to independents, and in which voters may choose candidates from any one party. | | 48 |
| 9632125396 | Original Jurisdiction | Authority of a court to first hear a case. | | 49 |
| 9632125397 | Party Identification | A sense of affiliation that a person has with a particular political party. | | 50 |
| 9632125398 | Pluralism | Theory that policy making is a result of interest group competition. | | 51 |
| 9632125399 | Plurality Elections | Such as those for Congress are one by the person with the most votes, regardless if he/she has a majority. | | 52 |
| 9632125400 | Plurality | More votes than anyone else, but less than half, e.g., Clinton won plurality (43%) of popular votes in 1992, but not a majority. | | 53 |
| 9632125401 | Political Action Committee (PAC) | An interest group that raises funds and donates to election campaigns. | | 54 |
| 9632125402 | Political Culture | The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government. | | 55 |
| 9632125403 | Political Socialization | Process in which one acquires his/her political beliefs. | | 56 |
| 9632125404 | Prior Restraint | When a court stops expression before it is made, e.g., prohibiting a demonstration by a radical group because the assembly is likely to become violent. Presumed to be unconstitutional. | | 57 |
| 9632125405 | Pure Independents | Voters who have no consistent pattern of party voting. | | 58 |
| 9632125406 | Realigning (Critical) Election | An election in which there is a long term change in party alignment, e.g., 1932. | | 59 |
| 9632125407 | Redistricting | Redrawing of congressional district boundaries by the party in power of the state legislature. | | 60 |
| 9632125408 | Reserved Powers | Powers held by the states through the 10th Amendment. Any power not granted to the US government is reserved for the states. | | 61 |
| 9632125409 | Rule of Four | The Supreme Court will hear a case if four Justices agree to do so. | | 62 |
| 9632125410 | Rules Committee | The traffic cop of the House that sets the legislative calendar and issures rules for debate on a bill. | | 63 |
| 9632125411 | Senatorial Courtesy | Tradition in which the President consults with the senators within a state in which an appointment is to be made. | | 64 |
| 9632125412 | Shays Rebellion | 1786 revolt by Massachusetts farmers seeking relief from debt and foreclosure that was a factor in the calling of the Constitutional Convention. | | 65 |
| 9632125413 | Single Member District System | System in which people elect one representative per district. With a winner-take-all rule, this system strengthens the two major parties and weakens minor parties. | | 66 |
| 9632125414 | Standing Committees | The permanent congressional committees that handle legislation. | | 67 |
| 9632125415 | Ways and Means Committee | House committee that handles tax bills. | | 68 |
