| A | B |
|---|
| popular sovereignty | the power in government comes from the people |
| separation of powers | power in government is divided into different branches to prevent tyranny |
| checks and balances | each branch of government has the power to limit the power of the other branches |
| federalism | division of power between the state and national government |
| delegated powers | powers reserved for the national government |
| concurrent powers | powers shared between the state and national governments |
| reserved powers | powers reserved for the state government |
| congressional districts | an area of land that a member of the House of Representatives represents |
| constituents | the people represented by an elected official |
| census | an official count of the population conducted every ten years |
| contiguous | completely connected together |
| gerrymandering | the deliberate arrangement of the boundaries of congressional districts to influence the outcome of elections |
| packing | concentrating people from one political party into a few districts |
| diluting | spreading the strength of one political party out over a number of districts |
| veto | to reject |
| pocket veto | When the president holds a bill for ten days and the Congress is not in session |
| Electoral College | Temporary body set up to elect the president of the United States |
| foreign policy | Plan for guiding our relationship with other countries |
| domestic policy | plan for dealing with our nation's problems |
| electors | individuals chosen to serve in the Electoral College to vote for the president |
| popular vote | the vote of the people |
| absolute majority | over 50% of the total number |
| swing state | a very closely contested state |
| legitimacy | to justify or authorize |
| plurality | having the most votes of any candidate without receiving a majority of at least 50% |
| mandate | an authorization to act |
| bureaucracy | the people that make up the organization of government departments, agencies and offices |
| administration | the team of officials which lead the executive branch and are appointed by each president |
| secretary | leader of an executive department |
| attorney general | leader of the Department of Justice |
| cabinet | a group of close advisors to the president who serve as leaders of the various departments |
| unconstitutional | something that goes against the Constitution |
| judicial review | the power to declare a law or an executive order unconstitutional |
| precedent | an earlier occuance that sets an example or rule for future actions or events |
| amendment | a change to the Constitution |
| jurisdiction | the power to try specific cases. |
| override | to annul, disregard or set aside. |
