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A second primary election held between the top two candidates if no candidate received a majority of the votes in the first primary |
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A type of election used in Louisiana in which candidates from all political parties run in the same primary and the candidate who receives the majority of the vote obtains the office |
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The process of adjusting the number of the house seats among the states based on population shifts |
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A method of selecting representatives in which more than one person is chosen to represent a single constituency |
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A method of selecting representatives in which more than one person is chosen to represent a single constituency |
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the drawing of district lines in such a way as to help or hinder the electoral prospects of a specific political interest |
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A situation in which the distribution of legislative seats does not accurately reflect the distribution of the population |
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The 1962 supreme court case in which the supreme court overturned the political question doctrine, holding that legislative apportionment was a justiciable issue that the courts had jurisdiction to hear and decide |
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An issue or topic over which the courts have jurisdiction to hear and decide |
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The 1964 case in which the supreme court invalidated unequal congressional districts, saying that all legislative districts must contain about equal numbers of people. This ruling is known as 1 person, 1 vote. |
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the idea, arising out of the supreme court decision of wesberry v sanders that legislative districts must contain about the same number of people |
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majority-minority districts |
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Districts in which the majority of the population is composed of ethnic or racial minorities |
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descriptive representation |
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The view of representation that calls for the racial and ethnic makeup of congress to reflect that of the nation |
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substantive representation |
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the concept of representation that states that officeholders do not have to be minorities to accurately represent minority interests |
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the tendency for congressional incumbents to be overwhelmingly successful when they run for reelecetion due to the nature of congressional districts, resources, and relations with constituents among other reasons |
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Government sponsored projects that bring economic benefits to a congress members state or district. this is a pejorative term, first used in the 19th cenury to describe projects viewed as a waste of tax dollars that serve no purpose other than to aid the reelection of a single incumbent |
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the benefits and support activities that members of congress receive in order to help them perform their job |
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the activities of members of congress (such as sending out newsletters or visiting the district) designed to familiarize the constituency with the member |
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the efforts by members of congress to get their constituents to believe they are responsible for the positive government actions |
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public statements made by members of congress on issues of importance to the constituency |
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legislative seats for which there is no incumbent running for reelection |
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a deliberative council that has the authority to make and repeal laws. In representative democracies, ordinary citizens elect legislators to represent them |
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An electoral system in which the party holding the majority of seats in the legislature selects the chief executive |
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A political system in which the chief executive and the legislature are elected independently |
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legislative oversight of administration |
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A variety of tools congress uses to control administrative agencies including creating or abolishing agencies assigning program responsibilities providing funds and confirming presidential appointments |
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the relationship between elected officials and the people who put them in office involving the extent to which officials are responsive to the people |
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the amount of agreement between the people represented and their elected officials on policy issues |
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representation that takes the form of the tasks legislators perform based on the requests and needs of their constituents. |
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activities of members of congress to act as intermediaries and help private individuals who are having problems with the administrative agencies in the executive |
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allocation responsiveness |
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representation that takes the form of members of congress ensuring that their district gets a share of federal benefits |
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government expenditures and programs that concentrate benefits in specific geographical areas such as states or congressional districts for which the costs are spread across the entire population |
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A congressional members efforts to use political symbols to generate trust and support among the votes |
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the way a member of congress behaviors explains his or her legislative actions and presents himself or herself in the home district |
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geographical constituency |
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everyone and everything within the geographical boundaries of a congressional members house district |
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the people within a congress members house district who can be counted on for support. |
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a member of congress's strongest mostly partisan supporters |
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a small number of intimate friends advisors and confidants who support a member of congress |
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a representative who uses his or her judgement to make decisions promoting the best interests of the nation as a whole with the particular interests of constituents remaining a secondary concern |
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A representative who makes legislative decisions based on the interests and views of his or her constituents regardless of personal preference |
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a representative whose philosophy of representation is a mix of both delegate and trustee. |
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the refusal of congress to seat any candidate who wins election but does meet the constitutional requirements to hold congressional office |
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the ejection of a member of congress from office |
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verbal condemnations of a member of congress by the house or senate, intended to punish bad behavior by expressing the public disapproval of the members colleagues |
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members representational allowance (MRA) |
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An allowance of about $1 million per year that members of congress receive to pay for official duties of representation and lawmaking(office functions, official travel, and staff) it cannot be used of personal or campaign expenses |
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the ability of members of congress to send mail to their constituents free of charge by substituting of their signature in place of a stamp |
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a legislature with two chambers |
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