AP GOV STUDY GUIDEEE UNIT 2

Rule of law
The principle in which the law applies to government officials as
much as to ordinary citizens.
Single member district
An electoral district in which only one candidate is elected to
each office.
Selective exposure
Individuals choosing to access media with which they agree or
avoiding media with which they disagree
What happens if no candidate gets the majority of electoral votes?
The House chooses among the top three candidates, each state
delegation has one vote
Political Know-Nothings
People who are rarely interested in politics or public affairs and
seldomly vote
Prospectivity
Laws should apply to the present and the future, not punish
something someone did in the past
Who determines the method for choosing Electoral Congress votes?
Each state legislature is free to determine how it selects
its electors
Random Sample
A polling technique in which everyone in the universe has an
equal chance of being selected
Most Americans support which economic system?

How does political culture influence politics?

Political culture determines what people believe and how
they vote/behave
Electoral vote determined by what?
Each state has as many electors as it has representatives
and senators
Generality
Laws should be stated generally and not single out anyone
Gerrymandering
To draw a districts boundaries to give an unfair advantage of a
party or group
Ethnocentrism
Belief in the superiority of ones nation or ethnic group
Open-ended Questions
Allows respondents to answer in their own words rather than by
choosing responses from set categories
Right to private property in regards to capitalism
Belief that the owners have the right to decide how to use their
property
Coattail effect
The situation occurring when voters cast their ballots for
congressional candidates of the presidents party because they
support the president
Candidate visibility

BCRA banned what type of campaign funding?

Soft money: money raised in unlimited amounts for
party-building

Party platform
A statement of a political partys principles, beliefs, and positions
on vital issues
Criticisms of conservatives
Fail to endorse policies that deal with racism and sexism
Urge more government when it serves their needs
Hostility to regulation
Salience
An individuals belief that an issue is important or relevant to him
Political Predisposition
A characteristic of individuals that is predictive of political
behavior, despite individual differences
General elections
Elections in which voters elect officeholders
Demography
The study of the characteristics of populations
Libertarian platform
Cherishes individual liberty, insists on sharply limited government
Oppose nearly all government programs, repeal any laws that
regulate personal morality
Reinforcing cleavages
Divisions within society that reinforce one another, making
groups
more homogenous or similar, often making political conflict more
intense & society more polarized
Socialism
An economic & governmental system based on public ownership
of the means of production and exchange

Criticism of liberals
Forget that limited government serves our best interests
Will eventually destroy individual initiative, entrepreneurial spirit,
and the very engine of economic growth
What % of African Americans live in the suburbs?
Slightly less than 40%
Elections for congress members are when?
The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
of even numbered years
What % of Senate is up for election at a time?
of senators
What amendment limited presidents to 2 terms?
22nd Amendment
What % of the US population are immigrants?
12.5% (pg 83)
What year did women officially gain the right to vote?
1920: Nineteenth Amendment
Well educated people are more likely to do what?
Vote
What is the most powerful socializing agent?
Families