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Definition
| a special election in which citizens hold a "vote of confidence" to decide whether or not an elected official should remain in power. |
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| An opportunity for average citizens to propose a law to their fellow voters during an election period instead of waiting for the legislature to do so. |
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| A vote placed before the citizens of a state or nation is which the legislature or executive asks the people to decide if a bill should become law. |
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| Who are the Republican Nominees for President of the United States as of 2/9/2012? |
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Definition
| Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney |
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| Redrawing of state voting districts due to population increase or decrease as based on the US Census Record every ten years. |
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| Why do districts get redrawn? |
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Definition
| population increase or decrease. |
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| How are some ways that redistricting can be abused? |
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Definition
| favoring one party over another/favoring one demographic (group of people based on age, sex, religion, race, ethnicity, etc.) over another |
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| What are the first 10 amendments to the constitution called? |
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Definition
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| which amendment protects your right to speech, assembly and press? |
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Definition
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| change to the constitution |
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Term
| what are the ways in which an amendment can get proposed? |
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Definition
| 2/3rds vote in each house of the legislature or national convention proposed by the congress at the request of 2/3rds of the states |
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| what are the ways in which an Amendment can become law? |
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Definition
| 3/4th of state legislatures approve it or 3/4ths of special state conventions vote to approve it. |
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| Why is the constitution called a living document/ |
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Definition
| we can propose changed to it through amendments. |
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| Describe some INFORMAL CHANGES to the constitution. |
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Definition
1. Changes through law - in which the powers of the branches are enhanced or detracted through laws passed by congress.
2. Through Practice - what the branches do and say. This is also called precedent.
3. Judicial Review - the supreme court can interpret laws to be constitutional or unconstitutional. |
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| Why is the court case of Marbury v. Madison important? |
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Definition
| It gave the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review by declaring a law to be unconstitutional. |
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Term
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| the power of the supreme court to decide if laws are constitutional (legal or illegal). |
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Term
| Why do we use the electoral system to elect a president? |
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Definition
| back in the day (1789)news and opinion were not widely circulated through the press and media the way they are today so states appointed "electors" whose sole job was to stay informed of who was running for president and what their views were. This informed individual would then cast his vote for the person who would best serve theh interests of that particular state they represented. |
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Term
| How many electoral votes are needed to win the presidency? |
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Definition
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Term
| how are a states elctoral votes decided |
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Definition
| every state gets 2 (for the senators) and at least 1 (for the congress). so the total is 2 plus the number of congressmen (based on population) |
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| How many congressmen and women does texas have as of 2012 |
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