POLLS 1101 Exam 2
Court's protection of unenumerated constitutional rights
involves rights that are not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the text of the Constitution. Protected by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Strike
is a collective decision by many people to refuse to work in order to dramatize a situation or force those who are adversely affected to make concessions,
Boycott
is a collective refusal to purchase in particular good or service
Incorporation (enumerated)
is about those rights explicitly listed in the text of the Constitution in the Bill of Rights.
Dual Federalism/Layer Cake Federalism
marked by a clear and distinct division of authority and responsibility between federal and state governments. The different functions of federal and state government were separate and demarcated like different layers of a cake. Form used before FDR, Federal government mostly limited to managing foreign affairs, peacekeeping between states and coordinating infrastructure.
What is civil disobedience? Be sure to know and understand some examples of civil disobedience.
refers to the intentional breaking of the law to make a political point. Does not include actions that directly harm individuals. Assassination is not an act of civil disobedience nor is bombing the building. Sometimes civil disobedience does involve damage to property but more commonly includes: Trespassing on government or corporate property. Minor crimes against public order such as disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, unlawful assembly, or obstruction a vehicular traffic. Refuses to pay taxes or perform military service. Interference with public officials' performance of official duties
What does it mean that public opinion is focused on a target population?
opinions held by specific groups of people (specific group = population)
Memorize this phone number (the letters are fine): 1-866-OUR-VOTE. What are some of things people can help you with if you call that number?
1-866-687-8683, these experts who are usually lawyers can answer any question you have about any aspect of the voting process, from registering to vote, to voting by mail, to voting in person, to everything in between. If you feel you or someone else is voting rights are not fully respected, you can call them for advice and assistance.
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, what part of the U.S. Constitution is violated if state or local governments deprive same sex couples of the right to marry?
14th Amendment due process clause
Beginning with Roe v. Wade (1973), what part of the Constitution has the Supreme Court claimed to be the source of protection for the right to privacy?
14th Amendment due process clause
What is the Lemon Test and why is it associated with the Establishment Clause?
3-prong test for determining whether a law violates the Establishment Clause. If the conditions are not met, then it violates the Establishment clause. (1. The law must have secular legislative purpose, 2. The law must not result in an excessive government entanglement with religious affairs, 3. The law must neither advance nor inhibit religious practice.)
The first step in the voting process is to register to vote. How many days prior to Election Day must you register to vote in Georgia to be eligible to vote in that election?
30 days prior
Be sure to know and understand the Eighth Amendment and how it came to be interpreted throughout Supreme Court history.
8th amendment: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Purpose was to prevent government from aggrandizing its power by using torture and other forms of cruelty to terrorize the people into submission. Prohibits punishments such as drawing, quartering, burning at the stake. Can be traced to the British bill of rights of 1689. The omission of this right was criticized by anti-federalist during the ratification debate in 1787-1788. Incorporated in the 14th amendment due process clause in 1962. Liberalists agree with the 1958 supreme court declaration that punishments considered to be in violation on 8th amendment should change over time according to society's evolving sense of decency. 1972 capital punishment was unconstitutionally cruel and unusual procedures must be in place to determine when it was imposed1976 unconstitutional to require death sentences must go through trails. 1987 the court held that a proven record of racial bias in sentencing decisions in Georgia could not render a particular death sentence unconstitutional unless actual racial bias in that case could be demonstrated
What is meant by "progressive income tax"
? A tax structured such that those who make higher incomes pay a higher rate than those who make lower incomes
What is the Necessary and Proper Clause?
A clause the last of Article I Section 8 of the Constitution that grants Congress authority "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution all other powers granted by the Constitution. Clause states: the congress shall have power to make laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the U.S. Means Congress has authority to make laws that are necessary and proper for executing the enumerated powers.
According to the textbook, on what basis have six million American citizens over the age of 18 been disenfranchised?
A felony conviction
What is meant by "the bandwagon effect"?
A phenomenon in which individual decide to support cause or candidate simply because polls demonstrate the popularity of the cause or candidate
What is principled federalism? According to the textbook, is either political party committed to principled federalism today? If so, which one?
A preference for a particular allocation of authority between the national and state governments that one consistently adheres to even if one dislikes the policy outcomes that will likely result from that allocation. Neither political party is committed to principled federalism.
What are the two important principles found in the Tenth Amendment
A provision in the US Constitution that establishes 1. The authority of the federal government is limited to only those legal powers that are delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution. This means that the federal government although supreme within its sphere of authority has limited scope. 2. Unless the U.S. Constitution prohibits a state from exercising a particular power, the state's government is presumed to have authority to exercise that power. Unlike with federal government. States are not limited to powers delegated to them in the U.S. Constitution.
What was the "Great Society"? Which president proposed it?
A public policy agenda proposed by Lyndon Blaine Johnson seeking to wage a war on poverty by providing job training for and direct income to support the poor, improve access to quality education, medical care, and transportation for low-income Americans. Provide funds for legal service for the poor and promote racial equality.
How does the textbook define a representative sample? Be sure to know and understand what it means to say a sample is demographically representative.
A representative sample is one which proportionately affects the relevant diversity of opinions in the population from which it is drawn. Demographically representative that is proportionally reflects the racial ethnic religious gender and class diversity of a population.
Among other things, changes in how the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution beginning in 1937 paved the way for the modern welfare state. What is meant by "welfare state"? How has it impacted American federalism?
A set of federal government programs that seek to promote the economic security, health and well-being of citizens, especially those in financial or social need, which began to develop in the United States in the 1930s. Welfare state cause for FDR to specify 8 socioeconomic rights that the federal government had a responsibility to secure.
What is meant by "sample"?
A small subset of individuals drawn from a population
Fostering Democratic Citizenship
A strong state government increases the number of opportunities for the practice and development of skills, habits, and dispositions essential for democratic self-government,
What are categorical grants? And what kind of impact did they have on the growth of the federal government?
A type of federal grant-in-aid that provides relatively strict and specific guidelines on how the state or local government receiving the money must spend it. Accepting the funds of categorical grants in the 1960s states allowed federal government to define and oversee the implementation of many aspects of public policy that has previously been carried out with little or no federal government involvement.
How does Georgia compare to other states in the extent to which it provides voters with convenience voting options (below average, average, or above average)
Above Average
How do proponents of gun rights differ from proponents of gun control in how they interpret the Second Amendment?
According to gun rights proponents this means the constitution protects the rights of individuals person to own and carry gun for their own self-defense and perhaps even for recreational activities like hunting and target shooting. Second Amendment says the people have a right to keep and bear Arms and it shall not be infringed in the second part. For proponents of gun control the Second Amendment refers to a well regulated militia. The Second Amendment shows the amendments purpose is solely to assure citizens are bale to bear Arms when serving in a well-regulated militia in the first part.
Did civil liberties listed in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution apply to actions taken by state governments prior to the Civil War? Did they apply to actions taken by the federal government prior to the Civil War?
All civil liberties in the bill or rights applied to action of federal government only prior to Civil War.
How does the textbook define public opinion?
An aggregated measure of beliefs and to judgments or preferences of population over matters of public concern.
Rational choice model of voting
An individual would choose to vote if the expected benefits of voting exceed the costs. By this basic model, the benefits of voting depend on the probability that one will cast the deciding vote. The downs model predicted that individuals will only vote if the cost of voting are even closer to zero than are expected benefits.
What is meant by standards of review? What are the three standards?
Analytical framework for reviewing the constitutionally of laws that appear to infringe on civil rights. 3 standards of review: strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, rational basis
What does "reserved" power entail in terms of state authority in the U.S. federal system?
Areas of public policy over which only state governments have authority.
Where in the Constitution are most of Congress' enumerated powers listed?
Article I Section 8 of the Constitution
To accurately measure public opinion professional pollsters, go to great to meet three conditions:
Ask questions in a way that accurately measure the opinions of a sample. Take the sample that is a representative of the population from which it is drawn. Make sure the sample size is sufficiently large to yield deceptive margin of error
Judicial review
Authority of courts to decide whether a act of government is constitutional or unconstitutional.
Police Power
Authority of government to make laws and regulations in order to promote the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the people. In the U.S. it is understood that the police power is reserved to state governments.
Over the past decade, have African American citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or approximately the same rate as white Americans (i.e., non-Hispanic whites)?
Average turn out among non Hispanic white and black voters has been relatively high and essentially the same over the past decade
What are block grants? How are these terms related to Richard Nixon and the conservative backlash against the liberal federalism of FDR and LBJ?
Block grants: Federal grant-in-aid that provides states and local government significant freedom to decide how to spend money. Created by Richard Nixon to replace categorical grants. Nixon created general revenue sharing which the federal government distributed billions of dollars in block grants to state and local governments which they were free to spend for any use. The point of replacing categorical grants with both kinds of block grants initiatives was to slow the growth of federal spending while giving more freedom to state and local governments to decide how funds were spent.
In what case did the Supreme Court declare that the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place in public education?
Brown v. Board of Education
What, according to your textbook, does Article X of the Georgia Constitution require for an amendment to the Georgia Constitution to be ratified (i.e., does it need to be a general or primary election, even or odd year, referendum or other)?
Can be ratified only after being placed on a ballot as a referendum item in general election in an even-numbered year.
Civil rights and civil liberties are both types of legal rights. How are they different from each other?
Civil liberties are legal rights focused on protecting individuals from abuse of power by government. Civil rights are focused on equality. Can apply to discrimination by private actors (such as business owners) as well as government.
The textbook highlights three acts of Congress that were the most influential acts of civil rights legislation of the 1960s. What were those three acts?
Civil rights act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Fair housing Act of 1968
Is it liberals or is it conservatives who tend to favor gun rights more than gun control?
Conservatives for gun ownerships/rights. Liberals favor tighter gun control
Six guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls
Consider the Reputation and Possible Motives of the Organization Conducting the Poll, Examine Question Wording,Check the Target Population and Sampling Method,Assess the Sample Size and Margin of Error,Compare Across Polls and Look at Poll Aggregators,Be Realistic in Your Expectations
Do constitutions protect civil liberties against infringement by private individuals (or businesses) or do constitutions only protect against infringement by government?
Constitution only protects free speech from government. Georgia can only protect from Georgia government not Alabama or federal etc
In Georgia, are elections administered by a single centralized agency, or are they administered by each county in the state?
Coordinated and overseeing by the Elections Division of the Georgia Secretary of State Office.
What is intermediate scrutiny? How is it different from strict scrutiny? To what form(s) of discrimination is intermediate scrutiny applied?
Court's middle -level standard of review that says a law is presumed to be unconstitutional unless the government can demonstrate it is substantially related to the promotion of an important government interest. Differs from strict scrutiny in that goal of the law must be merely important rather than compelling and it need only be substantially related to serving that important goal rather than narrowly tailored to doing so. The court applies this to sex-based discrimination. It is not explicitly applied to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but lower federal courts have.
According to critics of voter ID laws, what impact do voter ID requirements have on the cost of voting for the young, the poor, and racial minorities?
Critics contend that such laws either intentionally or unintentionally increased the cost of voting for groups already underrepresented in the process: the young the poor and racial minorities. These are groups that are less likely to have drivers licenses which is the most convenient form of photo ID. One study found that only 55% of African American eligible voters had a driver's license.
What is meant by "heteronormativity"? How does this relate to homophobia and the oppression of LGBTQ+ people?
Defined as the culturally reinforced belief that only natural and appropriate form of sexual relationship are heterosexual and between cisgender persons. Heteronormativity can be oppressive because it leads to homophobia which can lead to verbal abuse, bullying, and other acts of violence. It can also lead to discrimination by government and in the private sphere. Heteronormativity can also be oppressive because it leads LGBTQ+ persons to feel a sense of guilt, revulsion, or shame. It could lead to internalized homophobia. Leading to higher rates of depression and suicide. Social isolation and rejection by society and family.
What resource does the textbook recommend for checking your voter registration status in Georgia and for registering to vote?
Department of Motor Vehicle or My voter page (www.mvp.sos.ga.gov)
On what ground did the U.S. Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), declare unconstitutional a Texas statute that made it a crime to engage in sodomy "with another individual of the same sex."
Discrimination, right to privacy, consenting adults. Established that the constitutional right to privacy is violated when laws seek to regulate sexual activity engaged by consenting adults in the privacy of their own home.
The European conquest of North America, in particular, decimated the indigenous peoples' populations by 90%. How did the long-term effects of this extreme population loss impact the rise of the American Indian Movement?
Diseases brought by European colonists swept through indigenous communities across the entire continent. There was an up to 90% mortality rate with the indigenous population dropping from 60million to 6 million between 1492-1592.
Prouionisst Arguments on being United vs Disunited
Disunited: makes it more difficult for governments to resolve conflicts peacefully. They relate to each other diplomacy or military force. Pro-unionists also point to the numerous difficulties separate governments face in seeking to forge fair and mutually beneficial economic arrangements, immigration policies, and environmental pollution controls. The government can better achieve these goals when together in a political union than when disunited United: they relate to each other through political and legal processes. Less prone to violence and noncooperation. Easier to forge fair and mutually beneficial
Why Americans tend to have low levels of political knowledge
Due to the logic of rational ignorance Americans do not become informed about politics because they are predisposed toward being highly interested in politics or to strongly identifying with one of the two major political parties.
Why, after three decades of decline, did the national debt double during the 1980s (when Reagan was president)
During Regan administration it is estimated that spending on grants to the state and local government declined by 33% during Reagan's time in office. Converting categorical grants to black grants directly increases state government authority to decide how funds are spent. These were successes in an effort to curb the size and influence of the Federal government.The tax cuts did not lead the government to reduce overall spending nearly as much as Reagan and other proponents of the starve the beast strategy had hoped. The tax cuts significantly reduced revenue to the federal government but spending increased. His policies led to an explosion in the debt during his time in office.
What happened during the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906?
During this five day (September 22-26) rampage which occurred within blocks of the present location of the Atlanta campus of GSY an estimated 10000 whites stormed through Atlanta beating every black person in sight. These white mobs killed an estimated 22-25 Americans, injured over a hunted more, and burned black homes and business to the ground.
What are the two primary forms of convenience voting?
Early voting & Absentee Voting
What is the resource model of voting and how does it relate to the rational choice model?
Emphasizes the importance of inequality and resources particularly money time and the knowledge gained from formal education include creating inequalities in the cost of voting. This can influence how difficult it is for a voter to navigate the voting process and to decide how to vote
Laws prohibiting openly LGTBQ+ from serving in the military
Ended via executive order issued by Obama in 2011
What is meant by "poll aggregators"?
Entity that tracks and aggregates by averaging the results from multiple polls in an effort to gain a more accurate estimate of a population value.
According to the textbook, what is the most important provision of the U.S. Constitution with respect to civil rights?
Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment
What is the name of the first two clauses of the First Amendment that are the constitutional basis of religious freedom in the United States?
Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause
What is no-excuse absentee voting? Does Georgia have this?
Everyone is eligible to vote absentee-you do not like in a lot of states need an excuse like being sick or out of the county. Georgia has absentee voting
What is meant by the "funnel of causality"? How does it relate to socialization?
Explains environment on political attitudes. The idea that over the course of a lifetime, the factors that influence us become fewer in number and more limited in impact.
What, according to the textbook, is the most influential agent of socialization on children?
Family
What is the concept of reparations? And what does it have to do with the racial wealth gap in the U.S.?
Federal, state and local governments should Compensate should be given to African American citizens today for the deprivation of intergenerational wealth accumulation they suffered on account of slavery and discrimination in the past. The wealth gap is due to the discriminatory issues the African Americans suffered.
Examine Question Wording
Find how a question is worded and look for the kinds of question-wording mistakes.
Delegate
First duty of representatives is to follow the opinions of their constituents, The people who vote for representatives are the ones who should exercise judgment over questions of public policy, If representatives do not follow their lead, they deserve to be voted out of office in the next election, Based on a preference for a government that is highly responsive to majority public opinion
What is convenience voting?
Flexible opportunities to vote besides traditional in-person voting at the polls on Election Day.
What did Congress do in 1988 to compensate Japanese Americans for their internment during World War II?
Formally apologized, and paid $20,000 compensation to each survivor of the internment.
When (in even-numbered years or odd-numbered years) do elections occur for the following offices?
Georgia Senate : even numbered. Georgia House of Representatives: even numbered. U.S. House of Representatives even numbered (every). U.S. President: even numbered (every 4 years). Major Georgia executive branch offices, such as Governor and Lieutenant Governor even numbered (midterm election). Atlanta Mayor: odd-numbered years. Atlanta City Council: odd-numbered years
In what state did the most lynchings occur between 1877-1950? How many lynchings occurred across the nation during this period?
Georgia and over 4000 lynchings occurred
What is meant by "content-neutral regulations" and what do they entail?
Government regulations that has the effect of restricting freedom of expression but that does so without being directed at any particular speaker or message and is resonable. According to the Supreme Court such regulations are constitutional so long as they are reasonable restrictions based on time, place and manner.
Selective incorporation
Gradual process which the supreme court which civil liberties from the bill of rights to incorporate through 14th amendment due process. The court uses selective incorporation.
While the LGBTQ+ community is diverse, what common goals hold the coalition together?
Groups face cultural, social, and legal oppression on account of their sexuality or gender identities.
The textbook discusses two forms of expression that are protected by the U.S. Constitution (as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court) but that are not constitutionally protected in other democratic countries. What are those two forms of expression?
Hate Speech and Political Expression(spending money on political campaigns)
Why, according to Jason Brennan, would it be better than a democratic system in which those who currently vote at low levels start voting at higher levels?
He believes only highly informed people should vote he believes uninformed voters having moral duty to abstain from the electoral process.
What is strict scrutiny? It is applied to "suspect classes."
Highest standard of review, it makes the most difficult for a law to be deemed constitutional. When applying this standard, the court presumes a law to be unconstitutional unless the government can make a convincing case that the law is narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest.
Do highly educated Americans and less-educated Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one education-level group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Highly educated Americans tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than less educated Americans
At the same time, have Hispanic (Latino / Latina) citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or approximately the same rate as African Americans
Hispanics tend to vote lower than African Americans
Total Corporation
Idea that all of the civil liberties protected by the bill of rights should automatically be incorporated into Due process clause all at once.
Assess the Sample Size and Margin of Error
If a margin of error is reported, consider the max and min estimates based on it.
Benefiting from "Foot Voting"
If individuals or businesses dislike the package of policies enacted by their state or city governments, they can vote with their feet by moving to states or cities with policies they find more acceptable.
Protecting Liberty
If power were to be fully centralized in the national government, the government would become highly oppressive. If state governments do not retain a certain amount of independence and autonomy, then they cannot serve as a check on the power and influence of the national government.
What does judicial review have to do with how civil liberties are enforced in practice?
If someone feels their civil liberties are subject to unconstitutional law they can try to get the law changed to unconstitutional through judicial review.
What does it mean to say, "if you are not at the table, you are on the menu"? What implication does this have for the argument that it would be good to increase voter turnout among those who currently vote at disproportionately low rates?
If you are not somehow a part of the process of making laws and public policy, you are at serious risk of being on the losing end of that process. You can be at the table either directly by getting elected to office or indirectly by influencing elected officials. Implies that more people should vote.
Peonage
Illegal method of re-enslavement by which individuals were forced or deceived into signing labor contracts that obligated them to work for no pay with demeaning labor conditions in exchange for their employer pay off their debt. Mad illegal in 1867 and practiced until 1940s. Applied to one-third of farm workers on large plantations.
Legal environment allowing landlords, house sellers, and private lenders to discriminate against LGBTQ+ persons in access to housing and mortgages.
Illegal under state law in 23 states & Washington D.C. Due to supreme court decision in 2020 federal fair housing act protects LGBTQ+ person from discrimination.
What has the impact of the progressive income tax been in the U.S. since 1894?
In 1894 Congress enacted a new 2% tax on the income of the highest earners. This was intended to shift the tax burden from falling hardest on low-income Americans to falling hardest on those earning the highest income. In a case in 1895 the Supreme Court declared the progressive income tax unconstitutional. Congress responded by proposing an amendment that would allow it to enact progressive income taxes which was ratified as the 16th Amendment in 1913.
Are there instances when the death penalty cannot be applied?
In 2008 court affirmed that appalling crimes involving sexual assault of young children cannot be punished by the death penalty unless the crime results in the death of the victim. The court also held that the 8th amendment prohibits certain kinds of defendants from being executed most notably people under the age of 18 at time of alleged murder or who unable to rationally understand the reason for their execution due to insanity, dementia or being significantly intellectually disabled.
How does Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution protect the territorial independence of states? Why does this render the United States a federal system rather than a unitary national government?
In Article IV Section 3 makes it clear that no current states geographic boundaries can be altered without the consent of the state's legislature. The U.S. Congress does not have the authority to change the jurisdiction of state governments whenever it pleases.
According to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, does the Second Amendment protect a right for individuals to own firearms for self-defense? Or does it only instead protect the right for persons to own guns for purposes of serving in a "well-regulated militia"?
In a landmark 5-4 decision in 2008 the Supreme Court broke with its prior decisions and declared for the first time that the Second Amendment protect an individual person right to own a firearm for self-defense.
How does social desirability bias impact the accuracy of opinion polls?
Inaccurate measure of a samples aggregated opinion do too survey respondents answering questions inaccurately
What is "Incorporation"? What does it have to do with the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment?
Incorporation: When the Supreme Court holds that a civil liberty from the Bill of rights applies to state governments rather than federal through the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause's command that no state deprive any person of liberty without due process of law. The civil liberty is protect from abuse by the state through the 14th amendment.
What is meant by the term "heuristics"? How does it apply to individuals that are not informed about politics?
Information shortcuts used for making decisions. People rely on this information to guess or infer what their opinion would be if they had time to become better informed.
Check the Target Population and Sampling Method
Is the sample appropriate for the target population?
What impact has same-day registration been shown to have on voter turnout? How does the rational choice model of voting explain this?
It is estimated that when states adopted same day voter registration voter turnout increase on average of 5% and by its much is 7%. The requirement of registering to vote days or even weeks prior to Election Day contributes to a lower turn out rate by increasing the complexity and therefore cost of the voting process
What does "reasonable expectation of privacy" have to do with how the Supreme Court has interpreted the 4th Amendment?
It is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment to conduct a search and seizure without a warrant anywhere that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy unless certain exceptions apply.
What standards were set by the Supreme Court's 1993 ruling on sexual harassment lawsuits?
It was not necessary for a plaintiff in asexual harassment case to show "severe psychological injury. It is enough that the work environment would be perceived by a reasonable person as being hostile or abusive.
Protecting Minority Rights
James Madison offered analysis of how a large democratic government is more likely to respect and protect minority rights than smaller democratic governments. State governments established an oppressive system of racial segregation through Jim Crow which ignored basic human rights of African Americans. Strong national government affect minority rights by being more likely to respect and protect minority rights than states.
How did the Supreme Court rule on the male-only military draft?
Justice William Rehnquist stated that the exclusion of women from the draft was not an accidental by-product of a traditional way of thinking about women. Rehnquist's view, men and women are simply not similarly situated for purposes of a draft or registration for a draft.
What is strict scrutiny? What does it have to do with the Sherbert Test?
Label given to the most stringent approach taken by courts when reviewing potentially unconstitutional government actions. When applying a court makes presumption that the government action in question is unconstitutional. The action is ruled constitutional only if the government can prove the action in question was in furtherance of a compelling government interest and the least restrictive option available to the government for pursing that compelling government interest. The courts apply strict scrutiny through Phase 2 of the Sherbert Test.
Preventing Races to the Bottom
Large business corporation routinely use the threat of relocation to different states to try to lead state and local governments to enact laws and policies the businesses want, such as special tax breaks and favorable regulatory standards. These threats are difficult for state and local government to resist because state and local economies (along with politicians' reelection prospects) can be severely damaged if large corporation decide to relocate their headquarters or large manufacturing factories to other states. The U.S>. is not caught up in the competition across states within the U.S> that leads to intranational races to the bottom. Thus is is better positioned than states to enact socially optimal regulations Upholds higher standards than states facing competition are able to.
Are there any constitutional limits on the police power of the state governments?
Legal Authority on Federal given by 10th Amendment: no inherent police power, only has authority via constitution. Legal Authority on State given by 10th Amendment: has inherent police power, authority only limited by Constitution. States may enact laws to promote health, safety, welfare and morals of the people but they may not in process violate constitutionally protected civil liberties or civil rights.
Civil Liberties
Legal rights designed to protect individuals from abuse of power by government.
How does the textbook define "civil rights"?
Legal rights that aim at eliminating form of unequal treatment in American society particularly discrimination against as race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion and disability.
What do the different letters of "LGBTQ+" stand for?
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, queer, intersex, asexual, polygamous/polyamorous, kink
Generally speaking, how do liberals and conservatives tend to differ in how they interpret civil liberties pertaining to the criminal justice system?
Liberals: Concerned with protecting the rights of criminal suspects and convicts. View these liberties as providing strong protections for criminally accused. Conservatives: Concerned with empowering government to prevent and punish criminal activity. View these liberties as providing modest protection.
What is meant by "rational basis"?
Lowest standard of review it make its easiest to declare a government action constitutional. By this standard the court presumes a law to be constitutional unless it is shown that the law is not rationally related to a legitimate government interest. Involves discrimination based on age, disability, and economic status.
The "marriage law doctrine of coverture" is just one example of historical barriers faced by women in the U.S. What does this term mean? And what are some other examples of historical barriers faced by women according to the textbook?
Marriage law doctrine which women sacrificed most of their rights and very legal existence to their husband upon being wed. in this doctrine married women could not own property, enter into contracts, or earn a salary in their own name. Denial of access to professions and degrees, no custody of children granted in divorce, little to no protection from domestic violence or rape by husband, coverture marriage law
What test has the Court established for determining whether expression is obscene?
Miller Test: The average person applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest. The work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law. The work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
Why, according to the textbook, is the incorporation of criminal justice rights under the 14th Amendment "especially important"?
Most law enforcement activities are conducted by state and local police departments and most criminal trials take place in state courts and pertain to state criminal law. Mean the Constitution guarantees protection for the criminally accused at the level of state and local government where most law enforcement activities and criminal legal proceeding occur.
Major source for federal government implied powers
Necessary and proper clause and amendment-enforcing provisions.
If someone goes a full year after being charged with a crime before having a trial, would this necessarily result in charges being dropped on account of the person being deprived of their right to a speedy trial?
No, The court has interpreted the word speedy in a permissive way. Some cases holding delas of multiple years are still speedy enough for the 6th amendment.
According to the Supreme Court, which of the following forms of expression are entitled to less First Amendment protection than ordinary forms of political expression:
Obscenity, expression that promotes, and is likely to incite or produce, imminent lawless action; libel(written) of public figures (defamation and slander(Spoken))
Nonresponse bias
Occurs when individuals with certain characteristics are less likely to respond to surveys than others resulting in a sample that underrepresents those who are likely less to respond
Do younger Americans and older Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one age group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Older Americans tend to vote significantly higher than younger Americans
What does Oliver Wendell Holmes' notion of a "marketplace of ideas" have to do with the Court's insistence that content-based restrictions are almost always in violation of the constitutional right to free expression?
Oliver Wendell Holmes marketplace of ideas agree with the content-based restrictions because it offers a counter measure that the government should not suppress expression of unpopular ideas but let the different viewpoints complete for social acceptance. This doctrine had led Supreme Court to strike down several content-based restrictions on free expression even when the restricted content was highly unpopular.
Be Realistic in Your Expectation
One mistake is to expect polls to be perfectly accurate measure of public opinion. Second mistake is to assume polls have nothing useful to tell us.
What are some potential solutions provided by the textbook to reduce the costs of voting related to election timing and location?
One solution for cost created by election timing is reliance on convenience voting. Georgia allows for both early voting and no excuse absentee voting. Another solution is to move All state and local elections to even number years so that the elections coincide with federal elections.
Has the power and authority of the national government increased or decreased over time?
Over the course of history the federal government has gained a great deal of authority and power over state governments and individual citizens.
Do wealthier Americans and poorer Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one economic group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
People with higher income levels will at higher rates than those with lower income levels
There are two phases in the Sherbert Test. Which questions are asked are in each phase?
Phase 1 questions: The person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief/The government action is an actual burden on the person's ability to act on that belief Phase 2 questions: The government interference with religious practice is the result of pursing a compelling government interest / There is a way for government to pursue the compelling government interest that would have place less of a burden on the free exercise religion.
Compare Across Polls and Look at Poll Aggregators
Poll aggregators gather and average the result of multiple polls.
Literacy tests, poll taxes, and the white primary were three ways that African Americans were disenfranchised despite the 15th Amendment. How were these used to deter African Americans from voting?
Poll tax forced poor blacks to pay for registration on voting, literacy test forced black to demonstrate sufficient knowledge even if they were illiterate, white primary only stated white could vote in primary elections
Implied Powers
Powers not explicitly granted to Congress but rather are implied by the letter and spirit of the text of the Constitution.Primary source of implied powers is Necessary & proper clause. Amendment-enforcing provisions are a source.
What is meant by "political predispositions"?
Pre-existing attitudes values beliefs and social identities that condition how one formulates opinions about public affairs
Five arguments made by proponents of greater national government authority
Preserving the Union,Reducing Compliance Costs Through Standardization and Uniformity of Rules,Providing National Public Goods and Reducing Negative Externalities, Protecting Minority Rights,5. Preventing Races to the Bottom
What is the main difference between primary and general elections?
Primary elections are held to determine parties' nominees. General elections Candidates from opposing political parties run against each other for public office.
What is meant by the "state action doctrine"?
Principle that the constitution protections for civil rights do not apply to private conduct but rather only apply to government actions.
Be sure to understand what public accommodations are. (Remember, they are privately owned, and thus discrimination by them is private discrimination.)
Privately owned hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and other business that are essential for living as a free and equal member of the community.
What is meant by "political socialization"? How does it relate to political predispositions?
Process by which our social environment leads us to develop attitudes, values, beliefs and social identities that shape our orientation towards government and politics. AT the same time that our beliefs and attitudes are forming during childhood we are being socialized.
Devolution
Process of the federal government returning functions and powers to state and local governments.
What is meant by "affirmative action"?
Programs by employers or schools aimed at favoring individuals belonging to groups with history of discrimination.
Providing National Public Goods and Reducing Negative Externalities
Proponents of a strong national government contend that the national government is more likely to identify and provide nationwide public goods. The states according to this argument are too limited in their views or too selfish in their motives to overcome the temptation to free ride. Point out that the reduction of negative externalities is a type of public good. Strong national government affects the provision of public goods and services by reduces negative externalities like pollution or infectious diseases across state lines and identified and provides nationwide goods without the temptation to free ride.
Representing the Diversity of Local Community Values and Interests
Proponents of state government authority argue that the diversity of local community values and interest around the country can often make uniform national standards undesirable. According to this argument since there is much diversity in values and interests throughout the country, it can be better to allow decisions to be made at the most local level possible.
What, according to the textbook, is "the primary purpose" of the 4th Amendment?
Protect citizens from unjustified government interference when law enforcement officials search for evidence of criminal activity.
Five arguments made by proponents of a greater state government authority.
Protecting Liberty,Representing the Diversity of Local Community Values and Interests,Learning from Policy Experimentation ("Laboratories of Democracy") 1932,Benefiting from "Foot Voting",Fostering Democratic Citizenship
What are "amendment-enforcing provisions"?
Provisions of 6 constitutional amendments 13th, 14th, 15h, 19th, and 23rd, and 26th that grant Congress authority with appropriate legislation to enforce the rights guaranteed by the amendments.
What is meant by the terms "public discrimination" and "private discrimination"?
Public discrimination by government Private: discrimination by private non-government individuals or entities
Which kind of discrimination (public or private) is prohibited by the Constitution? Which kind can only be prohibited by laws passed by legislatures or regulatory agencies?
Public discrimination is made illegal by either constitutions or legislative statute. Private discrimination is only made illegal by legislative statutes
What is a referendum and how is it different from a citizen ballot initiative?
Referendum: called a legislative referral, is a proposed law placed on a ballot by a legislative authority. Ballot initiatives are like referenda expect instead of being placed on ballots by a legislative authority. They are placed on ballots by citizens who gather a requisite number of signatures on petitions.
How did Ronald Reagan try to reign in the size and influence of the federal government? Were these measures successful??
Regan set out to starve the beast, which mean reducing taxes and thereby forcing the federal government to cut spending. During Reagan's presidency the highest marginal income tax rate owed by the highest earners was reduced from 70% to 29% Second, he sought to reduce federal government spending on grants-in-aid. Part of this involved converting more categorical grants to block grants than had Nixon. But Reagan also ended Nixons general revenue sharing program which left states with the choice of either ending the programs that had been financed by those grants or financing them with their own state tax revenues.
What act of Congress requires the federal government to pass the Sherbert Test whenever it passes laws or enacts policies that infringe on religious activities?
Religious Freedom Restoration Act(RFRA)
Trustee Models of Representation
Representatives should not be strictly bound by the opinions of their constituents, The role of the representative is to act according to their own best judgment of what is just or what will promote the public good, Based on the belief that it allows elected officials to specialize in public affairs and thereby develop the knowledge and broad perspective necessary for making just decisions that promote the public good
Unless something is changed, the national debt will continue to grow. How are Republicans and Democrats currently differing in their approaches to this challenge?
Republican: opposition to tax increases of any kind Democrats: insisted on a mix of moderate spending cuts and significant tax increases (particularly on wealthier Americans)
What is epistocracy?
Rule By the knowledgeable
What is the exclusionary rule? What is its purpose? Why are a growing number of constitutional scholars, lawyers and judges questioning its wisdom?
Rule that if government acquires evidence through unconstitutional methods, then evidence may not admit into court. This is used to enforce both Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and the 5th amendment right to remain silent when police custody. Requires evidence to be thrown out even if the evidence proves someone guilty of a crime. The rule allows a guilty person to escape punishment simply because police did not follow proper procedures when gathering evidence.
Laws prohibiting same-sex sodomy (but allowing it for heterosexuals)
Ruled unconstitutional as a violation of the right to privacy in Lawrence v. Texas(2003)
Laws prohibiting same-sex marriage and the associated government-guaranteed spousal rights and benefits
Ruled unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges(2015)
In 1896, in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court established the doctrine of separate but equal. What was this doctrine? What was its significance for the Jim Crow system of segregation?
Separate but equal: The idea was that whites and blacks could be legally required to be separate from each other without depriving African Americans of the equal protection of the laws. But the real purpose of the separation was to enforce a racial hierarchy with whites at the top and African Americans at the bottom. Facilities were highly unequal, with white only schools and public accommodations systematically receiving more resources. Became the constitutional justification for all other forms of government mandated segregation in the Jim Crow era.
What is the difference between the concepts of "separation of church and state" and "accommodationism"?
Separation of church and state: Justice on the left/ View endorsed by liberal Supreme Court designed to reduce or eliminate the role of religion in government affairs altogether Accommodationism: Requires no one be forced to participate and government cannot promote or endorse one religion over another. /Preferred by justices on the right Shared: States and federal government are prohibited from establishing a religion. Prohibits government from passing laws requiring people to attend or pay money to religious institution.
What was FDR's New Deal? How did the Supreme Court initially react to FDR's efforts?
Set of polices created by Franklin D Roosevelt and his fellow democrats in congress during the great depression. The over 25 polices aimed at providing immediate relief for those suffering from the depression, stimulating economic recovery and reforming the economic regulatory system s that another depression would not occur. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with business and declared the policies unconstitutional due to their involvement with economic production.
What is meant by the term "patriarchy"?
Social Order in which men are predominant in status, authority, and power. Ideas, structures and institutions that can be traced back for thousand of years around the world.
Enumerated
Specific legislative powers explicitly granted to Congress in the U.S. Constitution. Most are provided in Article I section 8
What is the "actual malice standard" and what is its relevance for speech that allegedly defames public figures?
Standard used for determining whether defamatory statements made about elected officials or other public figures are protected by the First Amendment. For someone to be legally liable for a defamation suit it must be proven not merely that they made a false statement but rather that they knew the statement was a false or demonstrated reckless disregard for the truth in making the statement. Provides a higher standard of proof to defamation suits brought by elected officials or public figures.
To which level of government (local, state, national) does the U.S. Constitution give primary responsibility for regulating and administering elections for federal office?
State level
What is the main difference between a strike and a boycott?
Strike: people refuse to work. Boycott people refuse to buy goods and services
And what is the easiest way to overcome social desirability bias in terms of survey administration?
Surveys administered anonymously over computers have the great advantage of avoiding social desirability bias.
What examples of suspect classes are discussed in the textbook?
Suspect classes are race, skin color, ethnicity, religion, and national origin
What is meant by "compulsory voting"? What impact has it been shown to have on voter turnout?
System in which citizen spay a fine or receive some other punishment if they abstain from voting. If citizens are legally required to vote and can expect to pay a fine or suffer some punishment if they do not vote turn out will be high. Currently 13 countries around the world acquire as well citizens to vote and turn out is higher on average in those countries than in countries without compulsory voting
Convict-leasing system
System of re-enslavement by which black men were arrested and convicted with forced labor for minor crimes or made-up charges, given long prison sentences and then leased like property by state governments to private industrial companies that ruthlessly drove them to do backbreaking work under extremely dangerous conditions. The system developed a loophole in the 13th amendment.
What did the Supreme Court declare about the 6th Amendment right to an attorney in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)? What specific impact (discussed by the textbook) did this decision have on the criminal justice system?
The 6th amendment requires government to provide an attorney to any criminal defendant who request one and cannot afford one. This decision forced state governments to employ over 15000 public defenders who private legal counsel to millions of criminal defendants who cannot afford their own attorneys.
Why do pollsters generally not use samples sizes as large as 4,500?
The bigger the sample size the lower the margin of error
What impact did this have on voting in the South?
The black voting rate in the south in presidential elections dropped from an estimated 75% in 186 to 40% in 1900 and to less than 20% in 1922. By the late 1930s less than 5 percent of African Americans in the south were registered to vote.
According to the Supreme Court, what exactly is required by the 6th Amendment command that criminal trials must be by an "impartial jury"?
The court has held that the pool of potential jurors must be drawn randomly from the population so that they closely resemble the community from which they are drawn. Considered constitutional right in Britain in Magna Carta 1215 Cannot excludes jurors based on race or sex/gender
When expressed as a formula, what does the D-Term variable represent?
The d-term represents all direct benefits from voting I from the act of voting
What did the Supreme Court declare about the right of self-incrimination in Miranda v. Arizona (1966)? Specifically, according to the Court in Miranda, what must police tell criminal suspects before they question them?
The declared that the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination requires police to tell suspects about their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney, and to warn suspects about the potential consequences of choosing to waive those rights. ("You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?) When a suspect is held in custody
Since 1937, the Supreme Court has applied the "substantial effects doctrine" for interpreting the Commerce Clause. This has greatly expanded the federal government's authority to regulate the economy and society more broadly. What is this doctrine?
The federal government may regulate any economic activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce.
Using the power of the purse, how has the federal government influenced state governments?
The federal government used it greater spending power as a way encourage state governments to implement national programs that the federal government could not feasibly implement on its own.
Is income tax a major revenue source for the federal government or is it less important?
The federal governments reliance on income taxes is important because these taxes proved to be a bountiful source of revenue for the federal government.
Religious Freedom
The freedom to develop and live according to one's own religious beliefs insofar as doing so does not interfere with the same freedom of others.
What does police power have to do with the constitutional law of American federalism?
The idea that the federal government only has those powers delegated to it by the Constitution has been interpreted as affirming that the federal government does not have inherent police power. The federal government only has the authority delegated to it explicitly or implicitly by the Constitution. The idea that the states have reserved powers have been interpreted as meaning that the states do have inherent police power. The states are not limited to the powers delegated to them in their constitutions. So long as states do not violate a legal limit placed on them by the U.S. Constitution or their state constitutions the states may do whatever they choose to promote health, safety, welfare and morals of the people.
key differences between a federal system and unitary national government
The key difference is the existence or status of member states. In a federal system, it does not have unilateral authority to alter the legal powers or geographic jurisdiction of member state government. In a unitary government there are not separate member states, the central government can alter the authority, or geographic jurisdiction of member states at will
What is margin of error?
The margin of error is the amount within a specified level of confidence typically 95% or higher that a measured sample value can be expected to deviate from the true population value
In 1996, the Supreme Court heard a case regarding admission into the Virginia Military Institute. What was decided in this case? What was the impact of that decision?
The military college had to accept women as cadets. Court rejected VMI special character argument as not an exceedingly persuasive justification. The rulings was the final nail in the coffin for male-only public institutions of higher education in the U.S.
What is meant by social desirability bias?
The propensity to answer questions inaccurately to put oneself in the best light possible
What does the "right to privacy" have to do with "unenumerated constitutional rights"?
The right to privacy for an individual isn't stated in the constitution but is understood to be present for everyone. It isn't explicitly listed
How does sample relate to the population?
The scientific study of public opinion involves making estimates about the opinions of large populations based on polls conducted on small samples from those populations
What caused the Supreme Court to adopt a new interpretation of the federal government's constitutional authority from 1937 onwards?
The threat of FDR plan of court-packing which FDR requested six new seats to the Supreme court so he could appoint justice who consistently voted to declare new deal programs constitutional.
Key feature of confederacy
They claim authority over governments and not over individuals.
Why, according to the concept of rational ignorance, do these two factors influence levels of knowledge: interest in politics and party identification?
They have little to gain personally by putting in the time and effort necessary to become informed about politics and public affairs.
How did the NAACP help end the peonage system?
They raised awareness and fought for federal action to end convict -leasing and peonage systems. Through circular NO. 3591 in 1941 Biddle ordered the department of justice to aggressively prosecute peonage cases which finally brought the illegal and unjust practice to an end.
What role did white supremacist terror organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan, play in perpetuating the Jim Crow system?
They were to intimidate blacks by murdering and lynching if they strayed away from their place
Perspective on FDR'S New Deal/Conservatives
Think parts of the New Deal were beneficial and necessary but they tend to lament the fact that it put the federal government on a long-term path to the modern welfare state.
Perspective on FDR'S New Deal/Libertarians
Think the whole thing is unnecessary, ineffective, improper, and harmful.
paradox of voting
This is created because despite the fact that the probability of casting a decisive vote is nearly zero people still incur cost to cast a vote
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the Supreme Court replaced the "trimester framework" (from Roe v. Wade) with something called the "undue burden standard"? What according to the textbook did the "undue burden standard" open the door for pro-life leaders to successfully implement?
Tighter restrictions on abortion at the state level
Which act of Congress (passed in 1964) bans discrimination by public accommodations? Is discrimination by public accommodations prohibited by the U.S. Constitution or by legislative statutes?
Title II of the civil rights act and legislative statutes
Civil liberties pertaining to criminal justice establish rules and procedures that the executive and judicial branches must follow when investigating, accusing, convicting, and punishing criminal suspects and convicts. What, according to the textbook, is the purpose (or "aim") of these rules and procedures?
To empower government to prevent and punish crime while also leading government to respect the rights of the innocent, the accused, and even to some extent the guilty.
What were the goals of the Chicano Movements of the 1960s and how do they relate to the UFW?
To gain civil rights towards right to organize labor and voting rights, enfranchisement, and an end to discrimination and racism at the state and federal levels. A labor organizer help create this labor union which organized strikes among latinx farmworkers to force growers to concede to better working conditions in the fields, leading to an ultimately successful California grape strike from 1965-197. Bolstered political movements in other civil rights areas
How big is a typical sample in opinion polls conducted today?
Today samples typically range in size from 500 to 1500 individuals
How does the voter turnout rate in U.S. presidential elections compare with the rate in major national elections in other OECD countries (i.e., is the U.S. rate above average or below average among those countries)? .
Turn out in American presidential elections is low compared to turned out to other country major national elections.
Is voter turnout generally higher or lower in Presidential election years or in midterm election years? Is it generally higher in federal elections or in local elections? How about in even-numbered years versus odd-numbered years?
Turnouts tend to be much higher in presidential election years and lower in midterm years. Turnouts tend to be even lower in local elections seen in Georgia and many other states often occur an odd number of years and does not coincide with either presidential or midterm elections
Learning from Policy Experimentation ("Laboratories of Democracy") 1932
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis states: Denial of the right to experiment may be fraught with serious consequences to the nation. It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizen choose serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country. Federalism allows states to conduct their own policy experiments, and this allows everyone to learn what works best and what does not work. Federalism promotes progress toward better approaches to public policy by allowing us to learn from the state laboratories of democracy.
Reducing Compliance Costs Through Standardization and Uniformity of Rules
Uniform national rules and standards can reduce the cost associated with complying with laws and regulations. The national government is best positioned to create these uniform national rules to reduced compliance costs.
How many weeks prior to Election Day does the early voting period last in Georgia? Do any states have longer early voting periods than this?
Up to three weeks before election day. 40 states and Washington D.C. allow for early voting. Some states allow early voting only a few days before election day and some allow it for an entire month prior to election day.
Consider the Reputation and Possible Motives of the Organization Conducting the Poll
Use good common sense. If a political poll is commissioned by an interest group or political party that should be a red flag
how the Article VI Supremacy Clause help to define American federalism.
VI- This clause establishes that all federal laws—including those of the U.S. Constitution, congressional statutes, executive orders, and treaties—are supreme over state and local laws.
Are election laws mostly the same from state to state or do they tend to vary markedly across states? Why?
Vary from state to state. Amendments to the constitution and federal laws establish general standards but states otherwise have wide discretion to run elections as they see fit
What is "My Voter Page"? What kind of information can you get there? What voting-related tasks can you perform there?
Voting resource hosted by the office of Georgia Secretary of State. Through this website you can register to vote, check your registration status, update registration information, request an absentee ballot, check the status of your absentee ballot, find out where and when to vote, and look at all the issues and candidates that will be on your ballot prior to voting in person.
According to the textbook, what are the central issues today surrounding the deportation of illegal immigrants?
What to do with children of illegal immigrants in the U.S.
How does the state of the economy influence how people feel about the government and politicians?
When economy slows down an unemployment goes up, the public on average expresses lower approval for the president, congress, and the political party of the president.
Preserving the Union
When states are allowed to have too much independent authority and power, they can threaten the stability of the union. union is the basis of peace, prosperity, cooperation
Why has judicial review been important for the development of federalism over time?
When the U.S. Supreme Court declares a government action or law unconstitutional all lower courts and government officials in the country are understood to have a duty to abide by that ruling.
What does sample size have to do with the margin of error?
When the margin of error is higher public opinion estimates based on samples are less precise
Perspective on FDR'S New Deal/ Liberal
Wise and Proper though some regret it did not go further in securing what FDR called the Second Bill of Rights.
Do men and women currently vote at approximately the same rate, or does one sex tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?
Women tend to vote higher than men since 1980
Has the U.S. Supreme Court incorporated the Second Amendment under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Yes in a 5-4 landmark decision in 2010
According to the textbook, is there evidence to suggest that governments tend to systematically serve the interests of those who vote and disserve those who do not vote?
Yes, Your interests are more likely to be represented, policy makers pay more attention to voters or registered voters
Leading questions
a question that is worded in a way that it sways the respondent towards one side of an argument
Grants-in-aid
are grants in the form of money or land provided by the federal government to state and local governments on the condition that the funds be used for purposes defined by the federal government.
The Establishment Clause
establishes there can be no official or mandatory government religion in the United States.
Ordering effects
form of survey measurement error in which to order those questions are asked influence responses
In what kind of election—a general election or primary election—can the party identification of candidates potentially be a helpful heuristic for deciding how to vote?
general election
Double-barreled questions
in a double-barreled question respondent are asked to about more than one issue but are only allowed to give one answer
A baseline rule of the Supreme Court's approach to the freedom of expression is
that government may not (with a few clearly defined exceptions) enact "content-based restrictions" on expression (especially if the expression is political).
The contrast of confederacy vs federalism and unitary national government
the central government claims direct authority over individual persons.
Cooperative Federalism/Marble Cake Federalism:
the federal and state governments cooperate, and their roles and functions are intermingled., Categorical grants, federal government incentivizes states to implement national policy priorities.
Why are population aging and the rising costs of healthcare increasingly putting pressure toward greater federal government spending?
the reason for this is partly our aging population (i.e., an increasingly high percentage of the population older than retirement age) and partly the rising cost of healthcare. Government health insurance programs (e.g., Medicare) account for such a large percentage of the federal budget because healthcare is so expensive in the United StatesConsequently, reducing the debt (or at least halting its growth) will require reducing spending and/or increasing taxes.One way to reduce the burden of healthcare costs on the federal budget is for the federal government to take on a greater role in health insurance.
