How are most state legislatures organized?

1
How are most state legislatures organized?

• bicameral, just like congress

2
What person holds the executive power in a state
govt?

• the governor

3
What is the usual term for a governor?

• 4 years

4
What military group do many governors control?

• their state national guard

5
What is an item veto?

• the power to veto just one part of a piece of
  legislation

6
Who is usually the top legal officer in the state
government?

• attorney general

7
Identify two ways that state judges are chosen.

• elected by the people, chosen by the governor,
  Missouri Plan

8
State courts have original jurisdiction in cases
involving what kinds of laws?

• state and local

9
Identify two types of businesses often regulated
by states.

• banks, utilities, insurance companies

10
Name the two types of compensation insurance
states provide for workers.

• unemployment and disability (or workers comp)

11
Identify three ways states protect their
environments.

• food labeling laws, pollution controls,
  conservation of lands

12
Who does the state turn over responsibility for
education to?

• local school districts

13
What are three of the traditional ways candidates
have sought election?

• caucus, nominating convention, primary, petition

14
What is a nominating convention?

• an official public meeting of party delegates

15
What is the most commonly used method of
selecting candidates (or delegates to nominate
candidates)?

• direct primary

16
How are candidates chosen in a direct primary?

• all party members vote to decide which candidate
  they want

17
What groups have been more actively included as
convention delegates since the 1970s?

• women, minorities, and young people

18
What is proportional representation?

• a candidate gets the number of delegates equal to
  the proportion of votes they received

19
What are two common criticisms of the primary
system?

• too long and costly and too focused on image

20
Why is winning the early primaries a huge
advantage?

• you get most of the media attention

21
What is a regional primary?

• when several states agree to hold primaries on
  the same day

22
What is the purpose of the party platform?

• lays down the specific ideas and beliefs of the
  party

23
What is an initiative?

• when state voters vote directly on a
  constitutional amendment

24
Name three of the four basic types of local govt.

• county, township, municipality, and special
  district

25
What group provides the government for most
counties? What 2 types of power do they have?

• county board of supervisors, leg. and exec.

26
Where did the town meeting serve to provide
government?

• the old New England town

27
What type of local govt is T.O.?

• a municipality

28
What is the oldest and most widely used form of
local government?

• mayor-council form

29
In the commission form, what is each commissioner
in charge of?

• a local department (fire, parks, police, finance,
  etc.)

30
What is the local unit of party organization? Who
is its leader?

• precinct, precinct captain

31
Who runs the party in each state? Who leads this
group?

• the party central committee, state chairperson

32
Identify at least three major political party
functions.

• recruiting candidates, educating the public,
  running the govt, dispensing patronage

33
How many electoral votes does a candidate need to
be elected President?

• 270 out of 538

34
In what states is a presidential candidate most
likely to campaign? why?

• Large ones (CA, TX, NY, IL, etc.) because they
  have more electoral votes

35
What is the difference between hard and soft
money? Which needs to be reformed?

• Hard money goes directly to candidate, Soft money
  goes to party for party building purposes, soft

36
What happens to the campaign staffers of winning
candidates?

• They go on to work in the winners administration

37
What kind of person was eligible to vote when the
United States was founded?

• Property holding white men

38
Identify two measures used to keep blacks from
voting even after the 15th Amendment was passed.

• Poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses

39
When were these measures finally abolished?

• 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement

40
What amendment guaranteed the vote for women?
When was it passed?

• 19th, 1920 (after WWI)

41
What amendment changed the voting age from 21 to
18? What election did it first impact?

• 26th Amendment, 1972

42
Identify three things from a voters background
that tend to influence their vote.

• Age, religion, education, race or ethnicity

43
What is the term for someone who always votes the
party line?

• A strong party voter

44
Identify two reasons why some people do not vote.

• Dont meet requirements, lack of faith in govt,
  mobile society keeps them from registering