AP Government definitions Essay

AP Government definitions Essay AP Government definitions Essay AP Government Vocabulary 1. Democracy: free and equal representation of people. 2. Direct Democracy: A democracy in which the power to govern lies directly in the hands of the people rather than being exercised through their representatives. 3. Direct Primary: a primary election in which the candidates who will seek office as nominees of a political party are chosen directly by popular vote. 4. Initiative: a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote. 5. Referendum: a vote by the whole of an electorate on a specific question or questions put to it by a government or similar body. 6. Recall: A vote to remove someone from their political position. 7. Representative Democracy: a variety of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. 8. Constitutional Democracy: a system of government based on popular sovereignty in which the structures, powers, and limits of government are set forth in a constitution. 9. Constitutionalism: government by constitution: the principles or practice of government regulated by a constitution. 10. Majority rule: control by majority: control of an organization or institution according to the wishes or votes of the majority of its members. 11. Plurality rule: the excess of votes received by the leading candidate, in an election in which there are three or more candidates, over those received by the next leading candidate. 12. Theocracy: government by a god or by priests. 13. Electoral college: a select body of people who elect somebody to an office on behalf of a larger group 14. Federalism: a political system in which several states or regions defer some powers. 15. Writ of mandamus: a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a superior court, to any government subordinate court, corporation, or public authority- to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from doing). 16. Writ of Certiorari: an order a higher court issues in order to review the decision and proceedings in a lower court and determine whether there were any irregularities. 17. Writ of Habeas Corpus: a court order that requires a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court. 18. In forma pauperis: not liable for court costs because of being identified as a poor person. 19. Amicus curiae briefs: someone who is not a party to a case who offers information that bears on the case but who has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. 20. Bureaucracy: an administrative system, especially in a government, that divides work into specific categories carried out by special departments of nonelected officials. 21. Cloture: the process of closing a debate in the Senate by calling for a vote. 22. De facto segregation: segregation that happens in fact although not required by law. 23. De jure segregation: segregation that is imposed by law. 24. Ex post facto law: a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law. 25. Stare decisis: the principal that the precedent decisions are to be followed by the courts. 26. Delegated powers: expressed powers given to one branch of the government by the Constitution. They are assigned to another government agency with consent of the first. 27. Implied powers: a power that in not specifically authorized in writing, but is assumed because of similar powers which have already been granted in writing. 28. Express powers: powers that congress has that are specifically listed in the Constitution. 29. Reserve powers: a political power that a constitution reserves exclusively to the jurisdiction of a particular political authority. 30. Concurrent power: a political power exercised independently in the same field of legislation by both federal