Sanjana's AP Govt Blog

1. Why was it strange for the Democratic candidate to win in the Pennsylvania district? It was strange because Trump won in that district by 20 percentage points. 2. On the chart, what is "Democratic swing"? Democratic swing is the difference between the special election result and the district’s partisan lean. 3. Which special elections so far have had the largest Democratic swing? Alabama U.S. Senate, Kansas 4th, and Pennsylvania 18th have had the largest Democratic swing. 4. How is the generic ballot polling different from the results to far in these special elections? Republicans trail Democrats by  8 or 9 percentage points on the generic ballot, which suggests a close race for control of the House this year that only narrowly favors Democrats. By contrast, the 16- or 17-point average Democratic overperformance in special elections so far suggests that Democrats are gaining lots of support. 5. What is the difference in the Republican and Democratic level...

1. Where do the district court and appellate court fit into the organization of the federal courts? The district court is a trial court within the Ninth Circuit. The appellate court is a step higher overseeing all individual courts. 2. What makes the 9th Circuit stand out from the other circuit courts? It is considered liberal and is prone to left-wing rulings often overturned by the Supreme Court. It is also the largest amongst its peers. 3. What historical cause may make this Circuit Court more liberal than others? Carter's appointment of 15 judges of whom were some of the most liberal may be the cause. 4. Give two examples of very liberal decisions that have come from judges on this court. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the Second Amendment does not recognize an individual right to bear arms, and argued that bans on assisted suicide are unconstitutional. 5. What happens to most appellate court decisions when they reach the Supreme Court? Most decisions by appell...

1. What are the disadvantages for Scott Pruitt of using rule making? The disadvantages of using rule making are that states are trying to sue to break down Pruitt's regulatory changes, and federal judges are forcing him into action. 2. How has the enforcement of environmental regulations changed from the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration? The enforcement of environmental regulations has changed since the agency has greatly slowed its pace of work through Pruitt's inaction and has stopped implementing rules and regulations. 3. What change has Pruitt made to the process for investigating potential violations of environmental regulations?  Pruitt has changed the process by issuing directives to end the sue and settle tactic. 4. How many environmental regulations has Pruitt removed? Pruitt has removed 19 environmental regulations in total. 5. Why are some people critical of having so many environmental regulations? They are critical of the many re...

1. What action (or lack of action) caused the government shut down? The government shut down because Congress failed to pass a new government funding law before the previous one expired. 2. In a shutdown, which government functions continue? Which ones stop? In a government shutdown, military and law enforcement still occur as well as anything deemed essential, but anything deemed not essential like the EPA or WIC is shutdown. 3. How were Democrats able to force Republicans to address the DACA issue? The Democrats forced them to address DACA by withholding their support of the government funding bill. 4. Why were some Democrats eager to end the shut down so quickly? They were eager to end the shut down quickly because many are facing a tough reelection in majority red states and understood that a government shutdown on behalf of DACA was a political loser. 5. In the funding agreement, what changes were made to Children's Health Insurance Program? The program rece...

1.  If the vice president and majority of the cabinet decide the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, what step do they take first? If they decide that the president is unable to do his job, they can express their concern in writing and send it to the Speaker of the House and Senate's president pro tempore.  2. How many people does it take to make the vice president the acting president? It would take nine people, the vice president and eight cabinet secretaries, to make the VP the acting president. 3. What happens if the president disagrees with the VP & cabinet? If the President disagrees then he can dispute and bring Congress to debate and vote. 4. What event led to the passage of the 25th Amendment? The assassination of Kennedy led to the passage of the 25 amendment. 5. Prior to the 25th Amendment, what happened if the VP office was vacant? Prior to the 25th amendment, there was no passage describing what happene...

1. Why did the Trump administration decide to end the Voter Fraud Commission? They decided to end the Voter Fraud Commission because states refused to provide basic information relevant to the inquiry. 2. What claims had Trump made about voter fraud? Trump stated that voter fraud cost him the popular vote in the 2016 election. 3. What rate of voter fraud was found by a Loyola Law School study? The rate of voter fraud was 35 allegations compared to 800,000,000 total ballots. 4. What rate of voter fraud did the North Carolina Board of Elections find? The NC Board of Election found 10 credible cases out of the 620 million total ballots cast. 5. What information does Trump base his claims on? Trump bases his claims on the Pew report. 6. Why do Republicans continue to emphasize the danger of voter fraud? Republicans use the fear of voter fraud as a form of support for voter oppression against African Americans and immigrants.  7.  How has Attorney Gene...