- appropriations process
- the process by which governments decide how they will spend money
- bicameral
- describes a legislature with two chambers, usually an upper chamber and a lower chamber
- cloture motion
- a vote to end a filibuster and force a vote; typically requires a supermajority to enact
- coalition
- two or more different parties that decide to cooperate in order to form a majority in a legislative chamber
- constituents
- the people whom a legislator represents
- delegate
- a model of representation in which a legislator acts based on the preferences of their constituents
- descriptive representation
- a type of representation in which the representative shares demographic characteristics with the people they represent
- Duverger’s law
- a principle that states that electoral systems with plurality systems of voting and single-member districts will have two main political parties
- executive dominance
- a phenomenon in which leaders expand their powers beyond their prior limits and are able to justify those expanded powers so that they are seen by many as legitimate and acceptable
- filibuster
- a set of parliamentary rules designed to extend debate to delay or stop legislation from receiving a vote
- hearings
- sessions in which members of a legislature talk to and question a panel of people, likely made up of experts and bureaucrats, about a particular issue or piece of legislation
- legislative committees
- groups of lawmakers who work together on a particular policy area
- legislative deference
- a phenomenon in which legislatures cede power to another branch of government, either by refusing to take action or by approving anything the other branch wants
- legislative delegation
- a system of cooperation between members of the same political party for when a legislator must vote on an issue outside their areas of expertise; rather than doing additional research, the legislator can rely on the opinions of members on the relevant policy committee
- legislature
- a deliberative body that is granted the authority to create laws that govern a society
- majority party
- the party that holds more than 50 percent of seats in a chamber
- majority rule
- the idea that the support of more than 50 percent of a voting body is required to come to any decision
- minority party
- any party that does not hold more than 50 percent of seats in a chamber
- mixed systems
- electoral systems that combine features of proportional representation and plurality election systems
- multimember districts
- legislative districts that are represented by multiple legislators
- nonprofessional legislatures
- legislatures that meet for limited periods of time and provide members only limited pay, reflecting the part-time nature of the job
- oversight
- the process of regularly monitoring and reviewing the actions of agencies or other political actors
- parliamentary procedures
- the rules that are followed in a political system to structure and guide debate
- parliamentary system
- a political system in which the executive, often a prime minister, is also a part of the legislature
- partisan representation
- a model of representation in which legislators are expected to vote with their political party
- plurality
- an electoral system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins the election
- polarization
- the division of people or groups between two extremes on an issue or position
- politico
- a model of representation in which a legislator seeks a balance between delegate and trustee approaches
- presidential system
- a political system in which the executive, often a president, is separate from the legislature
- professional legislatures
- legislatures that meet year-round, have professional staff, and pay legislators a professional wage so that legislating is their primary job
- proportional representation
- an electoral system in which the relative support that political parties receive from the population is reflected in the makeup of the legislature
- public laws
- laws governing the relationship between a government and individuals that apply to all people
- semi-presidential systems
- political systems that have some characteristics of presidential systems and some characteristics of parliamentary systems
- single-member district
- a legislative district that is represented by only one legislator
- specialization
- the idea that individual legislators will focus on one or two policy areas to develop expertise on those issues, rather than learning about all issues
- sponsor
- a legislator who introduces a piece of legislation and who is often instrumental in its passage
- substantive representation
- a type of representation in which a representative shares policy and ideological beliefs with the people they represent
- supermajority
- a given proportion of a voting body greater than 50 percent that is required to agree in order to come to a decision; typically reserved for especially important or consequential decisions
- trustee
- a model of representation in which a legislator relies on their own judgment when it differs from that of their constituents
- unicameral
- describes a legislature with a single chamber