Reference

Civics glossary

47 terms in plain words. Meanings can vary by state or legal setting.

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A

Amendment: A change to a constitution, law or bill. In a legislature, an amendment is also a proposed change that members vote on before passing a bill.
Appropriation: A law that lets the government spend money from its treasury for set purposes. The US Constitution allows federal money to be spent only “in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”

B

Ballot access: The rules that decide whether a candidate, party or question appears on a ballot. Each state sets its own rules, within limits set by federal law.
Ballot measure: A question that voters decide directly, such as a proposed law or constitutional amendment, instead of choosing a candidate.
Bicameral: Having two legislative chambers. Congress is bicameral, with a Senate and a House of Representatives, while Nebraska has the only one-chamber state legislature.
Bill: A proposal for a new law or a change to an existing law, introduced in a legislature. It becomes law only after it passes and is approved under that government’s rules, usually by the executive’s signature.

C

Caucus: A meeting of members of a political party. In some states, parties use caucuses to help choose presidential nominees, and each party’s members in the US House meet in a caucus or conference to pick their leaders.
Charter: A document, adopted under state law, that sets up a local government’s structure and powers. In Pennsylvania, voters adopt or change a home rule charter by referendum.
Checks and balances: The ways each branch of government can limit the others, such as a presidential veto, Senate confirmation of judges or a court ruling that a law is unconstitutional.
Committee: A smaller group of legislators that studies bills and issues in one subject area. Committees can hold hearings, change bills and recommend them to the full chamber.
Constituent: A person who lives in the area an elected official represents. Each member of the US House represents the constituents of one district.
Constitution: The highest law of a country or state. It sets up the government, divides its powers and protects rights, and the United States and each state have their own.
County: The main local government division in most states. Louisiana calls its county governments parishes, Alaska has boroughs, and Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county governments.

D

District: An area set up for a purpose, such as the area whose voters elect one representative or the area a school district or other special district serves.

E

Electoral College: The process the Constitution uses to elect the president and vice president. It has 538 electors, and a candidate needs a majority of the electors appointed to win: 270 when all 538 are appointed.
Executive order: A numbered, written directive the president uses to manage the federal government. It must rest on power from the Constitution or a law passed by Congress.

F

Federalism: A system that divides power between a national government and state governments. In the United States, each level has its own laws, officials and courts.

G

General election: An election that decides who will hold an office, unlike a primary, which picks or narrows the candidates. Federal general elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
Gerrymandering: Drawing election district lines to give an advantage to a party or group. In Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), the Supreme Court held that federal courts cannot decide partisan gerrymandering claims, though state laws and courts can limit the practice.

I

Impeachment: The process for formally charging an official, such as a president or federal judge, with serious wrongdoing. The House has the sole power to impeach, and the Senate holds the trial, where conviction takes two-thirds of the senators present.
Incumbent: The person who currently holds an office, often used when that person is running for reelection.
Initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens, rather than a legislature, put on the ballot, where state or local law allows it. Voters then approve or reject it.

J

Judicial review: The power of courts to decide whether a law or government action violates a constitution. The Supreme Court first struck down an act of Congress on this basis in Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Jurisdiction: The legal power of a court or government over certain people, places or kinds of cases. Federal courts, for example, hear only the cases the Constitution and Congress allow them to hear.

L

Lobbying: Trying to persuade public officials to act a certain way on laws, rules or other decisions. Under federal law, many paid lobbyists must register with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate.

M

Magistrate: A title for some judges, whose selection and powers vary by court system. Federal district judges appoint federal magistrate judges, while Pennsylvania voters elect local magisterial district judges.
Midterm: A general election for Congress held halfway through a president’s 4-year term. All 435 House seats and about one-third of Senate seats are on the ballot.
Municipality: A local government created for a particular community, such as a city, borough, town or village.

O

Ordinance: A law passed by a local government, such as a city council or county board, using powers that state law gives it.

P

PAC: A political action committee: a group, other than a candidate’s campaign or a political party, that raises and spends money to influence elections. Federal PACs register with and report to the Federal Election Commission.
Preemption: When a valid law from a higher level of government overrides or blocks a lower level’s law on the same subject. Federal law can preempt state law, and state law can limit local law.
Primary election: An election in which voters choose a party’s nominees or narrow the field of candidates before a general election. Who may vote in a party’s primary depends on state and party rules.

Q

Quorum: The minimum number of members who must be present for a body to do business. In the House and the Senate, a quorum is a majority of the members.

R

Recall: A special vote that lets voters remove an official before the term ends, where state or local law allows it. The US Constitution has no recall process for federal officials.
Redistricting: Redrawing the lines of election districts, usually after each 10-year census. It changes which voters choose which representatives.
Referendum: A public vote to approve or reject a law, constitutional amendment or other measure. In Pennsylvania, for example, an amendment to the state constitution takes effect only if voters approve it.
Regulation: A rule issued by a government agency using power a statute gives it. Final federal regulations are published in the Federal Register and collected in the Code of Federal Regulations.
Runoff: A follow-up election between the top finishers, held when no candidate wins the share of the vote the law requires, such as a majority.

S

School district: A local government that runs public schools in a set area. In some places, public schools are run instead by a city, county, town or state agency.
Separation of powers: Dividing government power among separate legislative, executive and judicial branches, so that each has its own roles.
Special district: A local government created to provide one service or a few related services, such as water, fire protection or a hospital.
Statute: A law passed by a legislature, such as Congress or a state legislature. The U.S. Code organizes the general and permanent federal statutes by subject.
Supremacy Clause: The part of Article VI of the Constitution that makes the Constitution, federal laws made under it and treaties “the supreme Law of the Land.” Judges in every state must follow them over conflicting state law.

T

Term: The fixed length of time an official serves in office. A US representative’s term is 2 years, a senator’s is 6 years and the president’s is 4 years.

V

Veto: A president’s or governor’s formal rejection of a bill passed by a legislature. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote of the members voting in each chamber.

W

Ward: A division of a city or borough used to organize elections and, in some places, to elect local officials.
Winner-take-all: A rule that gives all of a state’s presidential electors to the candidate who wins the state’s popular vote. Most states use it, while Maine and Nebraska use a variation.