Political Dictionary 10

Prepared by Damaris Toma

1.      Term – Two-year period of time during which Congress meets. SIG- During this term is when a lot of crucial things are discussed in Congress which really have an important role in our government.

2.      Session – period of time during which, each year, Congress assembles and conducts business. SIG- like mentioned before it is a crucial part for our country because laws are passed during this time and also important decisions are made.

3.      Adjourn – when congress suspends until next session, each regular session as it sees fit. SIG- when Congress has discussed all that was needed then it is appropriate for a session to be adjourned until something else that comes up and will need involvement from Congress.

4.      Prorogue – same as adjourn; when congress suspends until next session, each regular session as it sees fit. SIG- This really does relate more to the president and his power to adjourn or prorogue a session.

5.      Special Session – a meeting to deal with some emergency situation. SIG- when something important comes up that really needs to be taken care of and dealt with a special session is called to take care of any issue that is significant for our country.

6.      Apportion – distribute, as in seats in a legislative body. SIG- this relates to the distribution of representatives according to size and population.

7.      Reapportionment – redistribute the seats in the house after a each decennial census. SIG- just like apportion this is done with a census or according to population as to better represent states in Congress. 

8.      Off-year Election – Congregational elections that occur in the non-presidential years, that is between presidential elections. SIG- elections such as those for state representatives or others that don’t really involve the president and his election.

9.      Single Member District – electoral district from which one person is chosen by voters for each elected office. SIG- the voters in each district elect on the State’s representatives from among a field of candidates running for a seat in the House from that district.

10. At-large – elected from the State as a whole rather than from a particular district. SIG- this usually happens in a state with a small population where the representation does not need to be that huge.

11. Gerrymander - The drawing of electoral boundaries in a way which gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections. Named after Governor Gerry of Massachusetts (1812) who approved a rigged boundary shaped like a salamander, hence the term 'gerrymander'. SIG - A gerrymander is a deliberate arrangement of electoral boundaries to favor a particular political party.

12. Continuous Body – all of its seats are never up for election at the same time. SIG- this occurs in the senate when the term expires and new ones need to be reelected.

13. Constituency - the body of voters who elect a representative for there are. SIG- A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. It can be used to describe a business's customer base and shareholders, or a charity's donors or those it serves. The most common meaning of constituency occurs in politics and means the group of people or geographical area that a particular elected representative or group of elected representatives represents.

14. Colleague – coworkers of the members in the House. SIG- An associate who, through the application of specific knowledge or effort, provides information or assistance in the development of an idea, in this case for Congress.

15. Trustee - The word trustee is a legal term that rrefers to a member of a trust, which can be set up for any of a variety of purposes, and is entrusted with the administration of property on behalf of others. With respect to most private trusts, the trustee holds legal title to the trust property, is the representative of the trust, and has the capacity to sue and be sued on behalf of the trust. SIG- (1) a person to whom the title of property has been conveyed for the immediate or eventual benefit of another. (2) the legal title holder and controller of funds in a trust account established under a trust agreement for the benefit of another.

16. Partisan - A person who supports a political partyy or cause over other parties or causes. SIG- partial to a particular party or person, often political in nature. One criticism of federal politics, especially regarding Congress, is that some politicians spend more time and effort trying to promote their party's platform than trying to develop laws and policies which serve the American people.

17. Politico – combines the basic elements of the trustee, delegate and partisan roles. SIG- these three are often balanced for best results.

18. Oversight Function – the process by which congress, through its committees, checks to see that the various agencies in the executive branch are working effectively and acting in line with the policies that Congress has set by law. SIG- this is a very important process because it does check to see if congress is acting and doing things constitutionally. 

19. Franking Privilege – a well known benefit that allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their facsimile signature for the postage. SIG – this relates to the members running for congress who have served before and now have a staff who is given privileges such as this one.