GOV Test 3

Be familiar with the concept of "astroturf lobbying" and what it involves.

Astroturf lobbying is a simulation of grassroots support, usually conducted by specialized lobby firms.

Know what independent political expenditures are, and where the courts stand in regard to them. Know the term for money spent to support a candidate by a nonprofit that does not have to report its sources of funding.

Dark Money

Know the major effects of Texas's "long ballot."

Disadvantages:Voters are overwhelmed at the polling place, vote for offices that appear higher, party line voting(straight-ticket voting)

Be familiar with the major "models" (electoral competition model, responsible party model, etc.) discussed and what they entail.

Electoral competition model, the view that parties make a pragmatic move to the center of the political spectrum as they attempt to win votes, sacrificing the more purely ideological positions.

Be familiar with the status of electronic voting in Texas.

IN 2000, MAJORITY of countries employed optical scanners

Know how turnout levels have been for the two major parties in recent elections.(299)

In 2018 democrats ghad 5.4 percent turnout rate while republican had 7. 8

Know what labor unions and trade associations are, and the examples of each cited in your text.

Labor union seek better pay or working conditions for their membership. EX: Houston professional Fire Fighters Local battled a pension reform plan in texas legislature (pg.327)

Know what (a) litigation and (b) lobbying are, and what they involve.

Litigation- Individual who believes is or her rights have been violated m

Know the name for the type of special district that provides water and sewer services.

MUDs

Know which national elections take place.

Majority election- the winner of the election must receive a majority of the vote-50 percent plus on additional vote

Know what distinguishes a merit or civil service system from other methods of filling government positions.

Merit, people receive gov. jobs based on a set of qualifications and training

Be familiar with the trend in voter registration levels in Texas over recent decades.

The voter registration levels increased to upper 70%.

Know the three basic forms of city governments in Texas, and which form is the most common.

The weak mayor council system, the strong mayor council system, and the council manager system. Most common system is council-manager system ( or commission-manager system)

Know how special districts are created.

They are created when the residents within the proposed boundary of the district petition to create one.

Be familiar with the basic history and functions of county governments discussed in your text.

Under Mexican rule, Tx contained four municipalities, large areas containing a town and surrounding rural areas. The number began to grow. At statehood in 1845, the county system was retained.The confederate constitution of 1861 created 122 counties. Today Texas has 254 counties, more than any other state. County gov. Is essential in Texas bc counties carry out many duties for the state government.

Know what voter turnout is. Know how Texas turns out, relative to the U. S.

Voter turnout is the number of people casting ballots in a given election. Voters turnout tends to be higher in presidential election years than in off-year, midterm elections

Be familiar with the basic requirements for early voting in Texas (who can participate?) and when Texas first adopted the practice. What has been the trend in early voting in Texas since 1996?

Voters had to qualify for an absentee ballot by documenting a specific reason for being absent on Election day, 1988, Early voting has become quite popular in Texas, especially in presidential election years.

Know what "rolloff" is and who it impacts.

Voters mark off only the "more important" offices on a lengthy ballot and leave the country of local office blank.

Know who or what those engaging in electioneering are attempting to influence.

Who is elected to office

Be familiar with the types of issues dealt with by city governments.

Zoning and planning policies

Know the common barriers that were put in place to prevent African Americans from voting, and which were commonly used/not used in Texas. Know the barrier(s) to voting commonly used against Hispanics in Texas.

a grandfather clause- restricting the right to vote to those whose grandfathers had the right to vote.

literacy test

a test of the prospective voter's ability to read and understand aspects of American government.used harder tests for blacks

Instant runoff

a variation of SMDM

Open primary

a voter is not required to declare a party affiliation. Independent voters often prefer open primaries.

Hispanic poll tax

an annual tax that had to be paid before one was allowed to vote

In terms of political party dominance, be familiar with what the general (historical, current, etc.) trend has been in Texas. Know for how long the currently

dominant political party has held the Texas governorship. -in less than 40 years, Texans went from being dominated by democrats to republican.

Responsible party model

each party holds firmly to a consistent, coherent set of politics and has an ideology clearly distinct from that of the other parties.

Cross

filing- a candidate may run simultaneously as a Democratic candidate and as a republican, competing in both parties primaries

Runoff election

if the leading candidate does not receive a majority in the initial election.

Single

interest groups- groups usually organized around one side of a single issue, such as prochoice or antiabortion groups.

Know what (a) economic interest groups, (b) public interest groups, and (c) single

issue interest groups are. Know what intergovernmental lobbying constitutes.-Economic interest groups are organizations that attempt to produce economic benefits for group members.

white primary

limit the voting in party primaries only to party members

Know the primary distinctions between home rule cities and general law cities. Be familiar with the more extensive decision

making powers given to home rule cities.-General law cities- the default status of cities when created is general law.

Be familiar with the basic requirements regarding voter registration in Texas.

must be 18 years old, us citizen, resided in texas for 30 days, a voter registration form must be filled, REGISTRATION AT least 30 days before election

Trade associations

organizations of similar businesses that work together to advance shared goals. EX:Texas hospitality association is a coalition of restaurants and bars that lobby on state laws related to how the food and beverage service does business.

Know the impact that one

party dominance in a state tends to have on electoral competition levels. Pg(308)

Be familiar with the discussion of party competition in Texas. For which races is there a more significant degree of competition between the two major parties?

pg(299) Nominating democratic candidates. The battle to win the primary are hotly.

Public interest groups

pursue noneconomic policies on behalf of the general public.

Know how organized interests are best able to overcome the "free

rider problem."-The provision of selective incentives(benefits exclusively available to members of an organization. Government helps by creating rules and compels citizens to share the burden of the advancement of a common good.

Plurality election

the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of the percentage of the vote received.

Intergovernmental Lobbying

the lobbying that occurs between different levels of government, such as between state and national government or between local and state governments.

Know why the "part

time" nature of Texas government is seen as creating greater openings for organized interests.-

Know the percentage of the vote a political party must receive in a gubernatorial election to be required to hold a primary during the next election cycle.

5% and more but less than 20%

Know the purpose of a city's issuance of municipal bonds.

A certificate of indebtedness issued by by a city that serves as a pledge by.. pg379

Be familiar with the concept of "machine politics."

A system of patronage whereby political organizations, led by local party bosses, disperse city jobs, gov contacts, and other benefits to maintain control of city governance. Know why cities use the tool of annexation.-When a city wishes to expand its borders, the expansion may occur for several reasons. Economic development may be spurred by annexation.pg 374

Know the term for the idea that the national government sets up policy guidelines and then expects the state governments to pay for the programs they create.

Administrative Federalism

Be familiar with some of the types of local governments, besides city and county, that exist in Texas (see the "Special Districts" section near the end of the chapter)

Airport authorities, library districts, MUD's, and community college districts?

Know the source (from where did it originate?) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and its major impacts.

Applied only to attempts to Attempts to disenfranchise African-American voters the renewal of the act in 1975 extended its protection to Hispanic voters in states or counties with a history of low levels of Hispanics voting We're elections were conducted only in English Or where only 5% of the voting-age population was part of a language minority.

Know the attributes of and impact of "chronic minority" status.

Chronic minority is a group destined to rarely win an election or achieve majority status to become activity in politics. - Be familiar with the characteristic of Texas that the scholar V. O. Key identified as impacting the strength of our political parties.

Be familiar with the groups, cited by the textbook's authors, who tend to be burdened by the funding of local government—particularly Texas's heavy reliance on property taxes (see the "Winners and Losers" section).

Citizens.

Regarding party affiliation, know who can participate in an (a) closed primary election vs. who can participate in a (b) open primary election, and the basics of how these primaries work.

Closed primary-restricts the voters who participate in the primary to party loyalists.

Know the basic requirements (specific costs, required number of signatures, etc., aren't necessary!) for getting one's name on the ballot to be a candidate for office in Texas.

Competing in and winning a primary election or by being selected from a party convention. The filing fee is 5,000 for u.s senator and 300 for the state board of education. 5,000 signatures to the number of signatures equivalent to 2 percent.(277)

Know the name of the governing body for counties in Texas.

County Commissioners

Know the name for the type of city election in which voters cast the same number of votes as seats on the council—but can choose to give all of their votes to the same candidate or spread them among several.

Cumulative Voting ?

Be familiar with the major pieces of legislation and court rulings that helped eliminate barriers to voting for African Americans in Texas.

Grandfather clause was eliminated when issued its ruling in Guinn v. United States. The court relied on the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. The literacy test was removed by the Voting Act of 1965. The poll tax in national elections was eliminated by the twenty-fourth amendment.

Know what patronage is.

Is when an elected official rewards supporters with public jobs,appointments, and governor contracts

Be familiar with the basic characteristics of organized interests and how they operate in Texas. (p. 324 discussion (p. 340 in the Fifth Edition)

Organized interest- is any organization that attempts to influence public policy decisions.

Know the basic powers Boards of Trustees are given toward overseeing the schools of their districts.

Oversees by authorizing construction of schools,selling bonds to finance projects, collecting property taxes to fund operations, and providing guidelines for schools.

Know the basis for the idea that local governments exist as an arm of the state government.

Regardless of the type of local government, all local governments are creatures of the state government, a concept known as Dillion's Rule. Dillion's Rule is a principle that local governments have only those powers specifically granted to them by state.

Know what (law, court ruling, etc.) ultimately eliminated the white primary in Texas.

Smith v. Allwright. Declared that the vital function of nominating candidates for office meant that political parties were organizations.

Be familiar with the reasons discussed regarding why individuals join interest groups.

Some Texan's early organized interests were held together by the provision of solidarity benefits, which are social interactions that individuals enjoy from joining a group and from working together for a common cause.

Know a major consequence that has tended to result from the lack of strong political organization in the state.

Texas's geographic They were short-lived organization so they created political coalition based more on personality than policy goals.

Know the major impact of the Help America Vote Act on elections in Texas and the U. S.Know which event helped spur the passage of this legislation.

The act had the effect of standardizing procedures for all elections and in doing so given the national government a degree of control in states' election affairs

Know what "credit claiming" is and its significance.

The advantage derived from incumbents' ability to point to positive outcomes for which they are responsible.

Know what suffrage is.

The legal right to vote in a political election