Terms Bicameral Legislature two parts of congress House Senate Apportionment allocating of House seats to the states after each Census Redistricting drawing new boundaries of congressional districts Gerrymandering drawing boundaries of congressional districts in order to advantage some partisan or political interest President coattails the positive electoral effect of a popular presidential candidate on congressional candidates of that party Descriptive representation if congress looks more like America they will better represent the people because they can relate Substantive representation members of congress passing bills that share the interests of their constituents Trustee model acts for constituents based on constituents interest national considerations and own beliefs about what s right or best Delegate model acts for constituents by carrying out their preferences Fenno s concentric circles practice of representation includes personal primary reelection geographic Cloture ending a filibuster need 60 senators to vote to end a debate Vesting clause named the president the Head of Government and Head of State Unilateral action president changing or making policy without consulting Signing statements president writes his interpretation of a bill often different Congress ex executive orders from what Congress intended Bureaucracy the system of civil servants and political appointees who implement congressional or presidential decisions also known as the administrative state part of the executive branch examples are soldiers postmen national park employees Administrative discretion congress gives agencies ability to go about policies how they interpret it Writ of certification appeals court asks supreme court to see a case Writ of certiorari whoever lost in the lower court files a petition for Supreme Court to hear the case 95 of the time Cases on appeal Congress declares supreme court must hear a case Cert pool law clerks read cases and make recommendations to Supreme Court about taking a case Docket The Court s schedule for that session Strict interpretation what would the founders think today Living interpretation what would the founder s think today Original intent what did the founder s mean when they wrote it Judicial activism court should asset its interpretation of law even if it overrules elected branches Judicial restraint court s role is to interpret laws not make them Court should defer to elected branches Due process 14th amendment government has limits on what it can do Civil Rights rights that guarantee individuals freedom from discrimination De Jure Segregation legal segregation De facto segregation segregation due to private decisions made by individuals Stagflation high inflation high unemployment Keynesian economics spend more and cut taxes to stimulate economy Possible short answers Differences between house senate House Senate District size 750 000 Constituency more homogenous Rural urban urban Term 2 years District size state Constituency more heterogeneous Rural urban rural Term 6 years Types of gerrymandering Incumbent Racial Partisan Why incumbents have an advantage Name recognition If they did well in office Greater resources funding Free use of the mail to reach constituents Talk to the constituents to solve their problems with the federal government Models of congressional representation Descriptive representation Substantive representation Trustee model Delegate model What influences how a legislator will vote Constituents public opinion Political parties Interest groups Own ideology and beliefs Colleagues The president Difference between primaries and general elections Primary Democrats use proportional allocation to divide state s delegates among primary candidates Republicans use winner take al system General election Increased media advertising Presidential debates Voters vote indirectly through the electoral college How does the electoral college work Each state has electors equal to of senators of House seats Electors are pledged to the plurality winner in the state Except in Maine and Nebraska where each district gives out 1 electorate and the overall winner get 2 bonus ones Need 270 electoral votes to win It s the only thing that matters popular vote doesn t decide the president If there s a tie in the electoral college it goes to the U S House of Representatives for a vote Executive branch President is head of state head of government commander in chief Deals with foreign relations Enumerated constitutional powers Make appointments Veto or sign legislation Inform congress at the State of the Union Call a special session of congress Implied powers Executive orders Executive privilege can deny Congress requested information if it Bargain focus on compromise similar to inside lobbying Going public focus on legislators electoral interests similar to outsie must be kept confidential Threat of the veto How do you persuade congress lobbying President s effect on policymaking Unilateral action Signing statements Bureaucracy president and congress What do they do Provide services Research and development Managing and directing Implement regulations People who work for the executive branch to implement decisions by the Examples are soldiers postal service employees employees of contractors U S bureaucracy is small compared to other industrialized democracies What explains the growth in bureaucracy Changed goals or mistakes of government Changes in size of country and population Belief in government fostering progress Changes in science and technology Ambitious administrators Personnel of the Bureaucracy late 1700 s upper class elites 1839 President Jackson and the spoils system appoint many friends and supporters seen as good because it made it easy for president to accomplish his goals meant bureaucrats changed with presidents 1880 s Patronage system no longer appoint friends Pendleton Act of 1882 established a civil service system merit based decisions in hiring and promoting non partisan Modern civil servants must take a civil service exam position and pay are according to qualifications cannot engage in partisan activity They have administrative discretion Checks and balances Congress Senate confirms presidential nominees Congress controls how parts of an agency s budget are Congress can hold hearings to make sure the agency is spent doing its job Public Access to information Elections Federal and state courts Three levels of courts exist at