PLS 136-2

Interested groups that are not party to a particular case may submit these legal documents in order to influence the court's decision

Amicus curiae briefs

Most governors enter office with

Considerable experience in public affairs

The foundation of our legal system is a body of judge-made law called

English common law

Most governors use this legal authority to veto specific items in an appropriations bill

Line-item veto

What political development "democratized" the nomination process and reduced the power of party bosses?

Primaries

Situations where a voter casts his or her vote for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another is called

Split-ticket voting

Supporters of reorganization of the state executive branch generally recommend

a more centralized state executive branch

The increased influence of the media and single-issue interest groups in the electoral process has contributed to

a rise in candidate-centered elections

Liberal judges tend to be more

activist than are conservative judges

Although most states elect their judges, in practice, many judges come to the bench in these states through

appointment procedures

The allocation of legislative seats to specific populations is defined as legislative

apportionment

Party competition is most likely to produce policy differences when there exists a/n

bimodal distribution of opinion

When governors try to coordinate the state's bureaucracy, oversee the preparation of the state's budget, and supervise major state programs, they are filling the role of

chief administrator

Primary elections that only allow a party's registered voters access to the ballot are considered

closed

The governor's most formidable power and influence over state policy priorities is through

control over the state budget

Those legislators who simply reflect the wishes of their constituents are known as

delegates*

States where one political party controls one or both houses of the legislature and the other political party controls the governorship have a

divided party government

Although the national economy is an important factor in presidential elections, adverse national economic conditions

do less harm to incumbent governors

Appeals from the state supreme courts may go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court if the case contains a

federal constitutional question

_________ refers to the drawing of district lines for political advantage.

gerrymandering

All state legislative districts are supposed to be drawn

in a compact and contiguous manner with fairly equal numbers of voters in each district

The authority of a state court to interpret their state constitution and expand guarantees of civil liberties beyond federal protections is known as

judicial federalism

State party affairs are governed largely by the

laws of the states

Law enforcement is principally a responsibility of

local governments

Party identification has been declining because

more people are not self-identifying with either political party

Coattail effects are not as prevalent in gubernatorial elections primarily because

most of these are off-year elections

The Supreme Court decision Baker v. Carr established the concept of

one person, one vote

"Raiding" is a major concern in what type of primaries?

open

Drawing districts that concentrate a number of partisan voters into a single district in order to give the opposing party an advantage in surrounding districts is called

packing*

The qualifications for membership in a party and the right to vote in the party's primary election are set by

party leader

Those legislators who decide to either vote their conscience or vote with their constituency, depending on the nature of the issue are referred to as

politicos*

In states where governors are weak, the constitutional design likely

provides for multiple, separately elected state executive officials

An electoral process that provides voters the opportunity to remove an elected official before the end of his or her term is called a/an

recall

The function of committees in the legislative process is to

reduce legislative work to manageable proportions by providing for a division of labor among legislators

Drawing districts that divide and dilute a strong minority, in effect denying it the power to elect a representative, is known as

splintering*

Laws with fixed termination dates that call for periodic reexamination by the state legislature are called

sunset laws

The judicial selection method that allows for a nominating commission to make recommendations to the governor and later requires those nominated to face judgment by the electorate is called

the appointment-retention election plan

The constitutional power that allows the governor to spotlight specific issues and pressure the legislature to accomplish something is

the power to call a special session of the legislature

Those legislators who make decisions based solely on their personal convictions and exemplify Burkean representation are classified as

trustees*

The ability of a governor to be politically powerful is

variable throughout the states, depending on differing institutional and informal powers