Glossary

334 terms defined in plain English. Each one links to the latest coverage in the index, and to the tools and guides that use it.

By topic

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287(g) agreement: A program letting ICE deputize local and state law enforcement officers to carry out certain immigration enforcement functions.

A

Absentee ballot: A ballot cast by mail or other means by a voter who will not be at the polling place on Election Day.

Administrative state: A term for the federal agencies that make and enforce rules with binding effect, often seen as a fourth branch of government.

Advice and consent: The Senate's constitutional role in approving the president's treaties and major appointments.

American exceptionalism: The belief that the United States has a distinctive character, rooted in its founding ideals, that sets it apart from other nations.

Amicus brief: A filing by a non-party giving a court information or arguments it believes will help decide a case.

Anti-Federalists: Opponents of the 1787 Constitution who feared a powerful national government and demanded a bill of rights.

Apportionment: The allocation of the 435 House seats among the states according to population counted in each census.

Appropriations: The laws through which Congress grants federal agencies authority to spend money each year on discretionary programs.

Assault weapons ban: A law prohibiting the sale or manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms defined by cosmetic or functional features; the federal ban expired in 2004.

Asylum: Legal protection from removal for people already in or arriving at the U.S. who show a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country.

Austrian economics: A school of economic thought emphasizing individual choice, subjective value, entrepreneurship and skepticism of central planning and central banks.

Authorization bill: A law that creates or continues a federal program and sets policy, usually separate from the law that provides its funding.

Authorization for Use of Military Force: A law in which Congress authorizes the president to use military force, such as the 2001 and 2002 authorizations.

Automatic voter registration: A system in which eligible citizens are registered when they interact with a state agency, such as the DMV, unless they decline.

B

Balanced budget amendment: A proposed constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to balance its budget, usually with exceptions for emergencies.

Ballot harvesting: The collection and delivery of completed absentee or mail ballots by someone other than the voter, regulated differently in each state.

Bellwether: A place or group whose election results have historically matched the national outcome and are watched as an early indicator.

Birthright citizenship: The rule, based on the Fourteenth Amendment, that nearly everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen, regardless of their parents' status.

Blue slip: A Senate Judiciary Committee custom that lets home-state senators block or delay certain judicial nominees from their states.

Brandenburg test: The Supreme Court standard protecting advocacy of illegal action unless it is meant and likely to cause imminent lawless acts.

Broken windows policing: A policing strategy built on the theory that enforcing minor offenses and disorder helps prevent more serious crime.

Budget deficit: The amount by which federal spending exceeds revenue in a given year, financed by borrowing.

Budget reconciliation: A fast-track budget process that lets the Senate pass certain tax and spending legislation by simple majority, without a filibuster.

Burkean conservatism: A conservatism rooted in Edmund Burke's defense of tradition, gradual reform, prescriptive institutions and skepticism of abstract theory.

Byrd rule: A Senate rule that strips from reconciliation bills any provision that is extraneous to the budget or increases deficits beyond the budget window.

C

Cancel culture: The practice of withdrawing support from or publicly shaming people or institutions deemed to have said or done something offensive, a contested label.

Capital gains tax: A tax on the profit from selling an asset such as stocks, real estate or a business for more than its purchase price.

Cashless bail: Reforms that limit or end the use of money bail to hold people charged with crimes before trial, replacing it with release conditions or risk assessments.

Castle doctrine: A legal principle that people may use force, including deadly force, to defend themselves against intruders in their own home without a duty to retreat.

Catch and release: A critics' label for releasing apprehended migrants into the U.S. to await immigration proceedings rather than detaining them.

Caucus: A meeting of party members to choose candidates or delegates, or a group of legislators who share a party or interest.

CBO score: The Congressional Budget Office's nonpartisan estimate of how a bill would change federal spending, revenue and deficits.

Censure: A formal expression of disapproval by a legislative chamber of one of its members, short of expulsion.

Central bank digital currency: A digital form of a country's currency issued directly by the central bank, a proposal opposed by many conservatives on privacy grounds.

Chain migration: A critics' term for family-based immigration, in which citizens and residents sponsor relatives, who may later sponsor others.

Charter school: A publicly funded school operated independently under a charter that frees it from some rules in exchange for accountability for results.

Checks and balances: The constitutional design giving each branch of government ways to limit the others, so that no branch dominates.

Chesterton's fence: A principle, from G.K. Chesterton, that one should understand why an old rule or institution exists before removing it.

Chevron deference: A former rule requiring courts to accept a federal agency's reasonable reading of an ambiguous statute it administers.

Child tax credit: A federal tax credit that reduces what families owe for each qualifying child, partly refundable for some low-income parents.

Citizens United v. FEC: The 2010 Supreme Court ruling that the First Amendment bars limits on independent political spending by corporations and unions.

Civil asset forfeiture: A legal process by which government seizes property it alleges is connected to a crime, without necessarily charging or convicting the owner.

Civil society: The network of voluntary associations, such as families, churches, clubs and charities, that exist between the individual and the state.

Classical liberalism: A political philosophy emphasizing individual liberty, limited government, private property, free markets and the rule of law.

Closed primary: A primary election in which only voters registered with a party may take part in that party's nomination contest.

Cloture: The Senate procedure for ending debate on a measure, normally requiring three-fifths of senators.

Coattail effect: The tendency of a popular candidate at the top of the ticket to boost the vote for other candidates of the same party.

Collective bargaining: Negotiation between an employer and a union representing workers over wages, hours, benefits and conditions, resulting in a binding contract.

Collectivism: The view that the group, whether class, nation or community, takes priority over the individual in setting values and policies.

Commerce Clause: The constitutional grant letting Congress regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states and with Indian tribes.

Communism: A system, or the ideology behind it, aiming for a classless society with common ownership of property, historically led by one-party states.

Compelled speech: The First Amendment principle that the government generally cannot force people to express messages they disagree with.

Conference committee: A temporary panel of House and Senate members that negotiates a single version when the chambers pass different bills.

Congressional Review Act: A 1996 law letting Congress overturn federal agency rules by a simple-majority resolution that is immune to Senate filibuster.

Congressional subpoena: A legal order from a congressional committee compelling someone to testify or produce documents for an investigation.

Conscience clause: A law protecting individuals and institutions from being forced to take part in activities they find morally or religiously objectionable, often in health care.

Consent of the governed: The principle that a government's legitimate authority comes from the agreement of the people it rules.

Conservatism: A political outlook that values tradition, ordered liberty, limited government and gradual change over radical reform.

Constitutional carry: A state law that lets people legally carry a handgun without a permit, usually if they are otherwise eligible to own one.

Constitutional republic: A system in which officials chosen by the people govern under a constitution that limits their power and protects rights.

Consumer Price Index: The government's main measure of inflation, tracking price changes for a fixed basket of goods and services bought by urban consumers.

Contempt of Congress: A finding that a person defied Congress, such as by ignoring a subpoena, which can be punished criminally or enforced in court.

Contingent election: The procedure by which the House chooses the president, one vote per state delegation, when no candidate wins an Electoral College majority.

Continuing resolution: A temporary law that keeps federal agencies funded at existing levels when regular appropriations have not been enacted.

Core inflation: A measure of inflation that excludes volatile food and energy prices to show the underlying trend.

Corporate income tax: A tax on the profits of corporations, set at a 21 percent federal rate since 2018 and applied separately from owners' personal taxes.

Cost-benefit analysis: A method that weighs the estimated costs and benefits of a policy or regulation, usually in dollar terms, to judge whether it is worthwhile.

Court packing: Changing the number of Supreme Court seats so that a president and Congress can add justices sympathetic to their views.

Credible fear interview: An initial screening by an asylum officer to decide if a migrant has a significant possibility of establishing an asylum claim.

Critical race theory: An academic framework, originating in law, that examines how race and racism are embedded in laws and institutions, and a flashpoint in school debates.

Crony capitalism: An economy in which success depends on close ties between business leaders and government officials, not on competition.

Crowding out: The idea that government borrowing raises interest rates or uses resources that would otherwise go to private investment and spending.

D

DACA: A 2012 policy that shields certain people brought to the U.S. as children from deportation and grants work permits, renewed every two years.

Dark money: A label for political spending by groups, such as certain nonprofits, that do not have to disclose the original donors.

Debt ceiling: A statutory cap on the total amount the Treasury may borrow to pay obligations Congress has already approved.

Debt-to-GDP ratio: Federal debt measured as a share of the economy's annual output, used to judge whether borrowing is sustainable.

Deep state: A contested term for a supposed network of unelected officials in government who are said to shape or resist the policies of elected leaders.

Deflation: A sustained decline in the general price level, which raises the real value of money and debts.

Defund the police: A slogan from 2020 calling for reducing police budgets and shifting money to social services, with meanings ranging from modest cuts to abolition.

Democratic socialism: A form of socialism that pursues collective ownership or extensive public provision through elections and democratic institutions.

Deplatforming: The removal or suspension of a person or group from a social-media or online service, often for violating rules on speech.

Deregulation: The reduction or removal of government rules governing business and economic activity.

Discharge petition: A House procedure that lets a majority of members force a floor vote on a bill that committee or leadership has refused to schedule.

Discretionary spending: Federal spending that Congress sets each year through appropriations bills, including defense, transportation and many domestic agencies.

District of Columbia v. Heller: The 2008 Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI): Organizational policies and programs aimed at diversity of people, equitable treatment and inclusion, which have become contested politically.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization: The 2022 Supreme Court decision holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, returning the issue to elected officials.

Double jeopardy: The Fifth Amendment protection against being prosecuted again for the same offense after acquittal or conviction.

Dual mandate: The Federal Reserve's congressionally assigned goals of maximum employment and stable prices (with moderate long-term interest rates).

Duty to retreat: A self-defense rule requiring a person to retreat safely, if possible, before using deadly force outside the home.

Dynamic scoring: A budget-estimating method that accounts for how a policy would change overall economic growth, and thus revenues.

E

E-Verify: A federal online system that lets employers check whether new hires are authorized to work in the United States.

Early voting: A system allowing voters to cast ballots in person at designated sites during a period before Election Day.

Earmark: A provision in legislation that directs federal money to a specific project, recipient or location, often requested by a member of Congress.

Earned income tax credit: A refundable federal tax credit that supplements the earnings of low- and moderate-income workers, particularly those with children.

Education savings account: A state-funded account that parents can use for private school tuition, tutoring, homeschooling costs and other approved education expenses.

Effective tax rate: The share of total income a person or company actually pays in taxes after deductions and credits.

Election certification: The formal, legally required confirmation by officials that vote totals are accurate and final.

Electoral College: The constitutional system in which states' electors, not a direct national vote, formally choose the president and vice president.

Electoral Count Act: The federal law governing how Congress counts electoral votes, revised in 2022 after the January 6 disputes.

Eminent domain: The government's power to take private property for public use after paying the owner just compensation.

Energy independence: The goal of meeting a country's energy needs from domestic sources without relying on imports from other countries.

Entitlement: A government benefit to which people are legally entitled if they meet eligibility rules, such as Social Security and Medicare.

Enumerated powers: The specific powers the Constitution grants to Congress and the federal government, chiefly the list in Article I, Section 8.

Equal Protection Clause: The Fourteenth Amendment guarantee that no state may deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Equality of opportunity: The principle that people should have the same chance to succeed, judged by talent and effort and not by birth, race or connections.

Equality of outcome: The idea that policy should aim to produce similar results, such as incomes or representation, across individuals or groups.

ESG investing: An investment approach that considers environmental, social and governance factors alongside financial returns, which has become politically contested.

Establishment Clause: The First Amendment clause barring Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion.

Estate tax: A federal tax on the transfer of a large estate at death, applying only above a high exemption threshold.

Exclusionary rule: The rule that evidence obtained through an unconstitutional search or seizure generally cannot be used against a defendant at trial.

Executive order: A signed directive from the president that manages the operations of the federal government, carrying legal force within the executive branch.

Executive privilege: The president's qualified power to keep certain internal executive communications confidential from Congress and the courts.

Exit poll: A survey of voters as they leave polling places, used to explain who voted and why rather than to project results alone.

Expedited removal: A process letting immigration officers deport certain noncitizens quickly, without an immigration-judge hearing, unless they claim fear or U.S. status.

F

Faithless elector: A presidential elector who votes for someone other than the candidate they were pledged or expected to support.

Federal funds rate: The interest rate at which banks lend reserve balances to each other overnight, the Federal Reserve's main policy lever.

Federalism: A system dividing governing power between a national government and state governments, each with its own sphere of authority.

Filibuster: The use of extended debate or the threat of it to delay or block Senate action, effectively requiring 60 votes for most bills.

Fiscal policy: The use of government taxing and spending to influence the economy, set by Congress and the president.

Flat tax: An income tax with one rate for everyone, usually paired with a large exemption and few deductions.

Fracking: A drilling technique that injects fluid at high pressure into rock to release oil and natural gas, which fueled the U.S. shale boom.

Free Exercise Clause: The First Amendment clause protecting individuals' freedom to practice their religion without government interference.

Free trade: The exchange of goods and services across borders with few or no tariffs, quotas or other government barriers.

Fusionism: A mid-century conservative synthesis combining traditionalist moral values with free-market libertarian principles and strong anti-communism.

G

Gender-affirming care: Medical and psychological care, from counseling to puberty blockers, hormones and surgery, meant to align a person's body or presentation with gender identity.

Generic ballot: A poll asking voters whether they would vote for a Democrat or a Republican for Congress without naming candidates.

Gerrymandering: Drawing electoral district lines to give one party or group an advantage, typically by packing or cracking opposing voters.

Ghost gun: A firearm assembled from parts or kits and lacking a serial number, making it difficult for law enforcement to trace.

Gold standard: A monetary system in which a currency's value is tied to a fixed amount of gold.

Government shutdown: A lapse in federal appropriations that forces agencies to suspend non-essential operations until funding is restored.

Grand jury: A panel of citizens that reviews evidence in secret to decide whether there is probable cause to bring criminal charges.

Green card: The document showing lawful permanent resident status, which lets a noncitizen live and work in the U.S. indefinitely and later apply for citizenship.

Green New Deal: A 2019 congressional resolution proposing a ten-year national mobilization to cut emissions, create jobs and expand social programs.

Gross domestic product: The total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period, the main measure of economic output.

H

H-1B visa: A temporary work visa for foreign professionals in specialty occupations, capped annually and allocated by lottery.

Habeas corpus: A court order requiring authorities to justify a person's detention, a safeguard against unlawful imprisonment.

Heartbeat law: A state law banning abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, generally around six weeks of pregnancy.

History and tradition test: A method for judging a law by whether it fits the nation's historical practice, used in Second Amendment and some other constitutional cases.

Homeschooling: Education of children at home by parents or tutors rather than in a public or private school, legal in every U.S. state.

House Rules Committee: The House committee that sets the terms of debate and amendment for most major bills before they reach the floor.

Humanitarian parole: Temporary permission, granted case by case, to enter or stay in the U.S. for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

Hyde Amendment: A rider, in place since 1976, that bars federal funds from paying for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or danger to the mother's life.

I

ICE detainer: A request from ICE asking a jail to hold a person for up to 48 extra hours after release so the agency can take custody.

Identity politics: Political activity organized around group identities such as race, gender or religion, a term used both descriptively and as criticism.

Impeachment: The constitutional process by which the House charges a federal official with misconduct and the Senate tries the charges.

Impoundment: A president's refusal to spend money Congress has appropriated, restricted by the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

Incorporation doctrine: The doctrine applying most Bill of Rights protections to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Incumbency advantage: The electoral edge enjoyed by sitting officeholders over challengers, driven by name recognition, resources and other factors.

Individualism: The belief that individuals are the primary unit of moral and political concern, with rights, responsibilities and choices of their own.

Inflation: A sustained increase in the general level of prices, reducing the purchasing power of money.

Inspector general: An independent official inside a federal agency who audits and investigates its programs and reports waste, fraud and abuse to Congress.

Intermediate scrutiny: A middle tier of judicial review requiring a law to substantially advance an important government interest.

J

Johnson Amendment: A 1954 provision of the tax code barring churches and other 501(c)(3) charities from endorsing or opposing candidates for office.

Judicial activism: A critical label for judging that appears to be driven by the judge's policy preferences rather than the law.

Judicial restraint: A judicial philosophy that courts should defer to elected branches and strike down laws only when they clearly violate the Constitution.

Judicial review: The power of courts to strike down laws and government actions that conflict with the Constitution.

K

Keynesian economics: A school of macroeconomics, from John Maynard Keynes, holding that government spending can offset slumps in private demand.

Knowledge problem: The argument that no central planner can gather the dispersed information needed to run an economy as effectively as markets do.

L

Labor force participation rate: The share of the civilian population aged 16 and over that is working or actively looking for work.

Laffer curve: A graph showing that tax revenue is zero at both a 0 and a 100 percent rate, implying some revenue-maximizing rate in between.

Lame-duck session: The period after an election, before newly elected members take office, when departing members may still pass legislation.

Lawfare: Using legal processes, such as prosecutions or lawsuits, as a weapon against opponents; the term is applied by many sides to actions by their adversaries.

Lemon test: A former three-part Supreme Court test for Establishment Clause cases, now said to have been abandoned.

Libertarianism: A political philosophy that makes individual liberty the central value and seeks to minimize coercion, especially by government.

Likely voter: A pollster's estimate of who will actually vote, used to narrow a sample of adults or registered voters.

Limited government: The principle that government power should be restricted by a constitution or law to defined purposes, leaving most matters to individuals and society.

Line-item veto: A power, held by many governors but not the president, to reject individual items in a spending bill while signing the rest.

Little platoons: Edmund Burke's phrase for the small local groups, such as families and neighborhoods, that form the basis of public affection and civic life.

Living constitutionalism: The view that constitutional meaning can and should evolve over time to reflect changing social conditions and values.

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo: The 2024 Supreme Court decision overruling Chevron and requiring courts to use independent judgment in interpreting statutes agencies enforce.

M

Mail-in voting: Voting in which ballots are sent to voters' homes and returned by mail or drop box, instead of cast at a polling place.

Major questions doctrine: A rule that agencies need clear authorization from Congress before deciding issues of vast economic or political significance.

Majority leader: The top floor leader of the majority party in a chamber of Congress, who controls scheduling in the Senate.

Majority-minority district: A legislative district in which racial or ethnic minority voters make up a majority, often created to comply with the Voting Rights Act.

Mandatory minimum sentence: A law setting a minimum prison term that a judge must impose for a specific crime, regardless of circumstances.

Mandatory spending: Federal spending set by permanent law rather than annual appropriations, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Marbury v. Madison: The 1803 Supreme Court decision that established the principle of judicial review of federal law.

Margin of error: A statistic expressing how much a poll's result might differ from the true value because only a sample was surveyed.

Marginal tax rate: The tax rate that applies to the next dollar of income, as distinct from the average rate on all income.

Markup: The committee meeting at which members debate, amend and vote on a bill before sending it to the full chamber.

Marxism: The body of social and economic theory derived from Karl Marx, centered on class conflict and the replacement of capitalism.

Means testing: Limiting government benefits to people whose income or assets fall below a certain level.

Midterm election: The general election held midway through a president's four-year term, in which all House seats and about a third of Senate seats are contested.

Minimum wage: The lowest hourly pay employers may legally offer, set by federal, state and local law.

Ministerial exception: A legal doctrine that bars courts from applying employment-discrimination laws to a religious group's choice of its ministers.

Monetarism: A school of economics, led by Milton Friedman, that holds the money supply is the chief influence on inflation and the business cycle.

Monetary policy: The actions of a central bank, such as setting interest rates, to influence money, credit and economic activity.

Moral relativism: The view that moral judgments are true or false only relative to a culture, group or individual, not universally.

Motion to recommit: A House motion to send a pending bill back to committee, long used by the minority to offer a final amendment before passage.

Motion to vacate the chair: A House motion declaring the office of Speaker vacant, forcing a vote on whether to remove the sitting Speaker.

N

Nanny state: A pejorative for government that is seen as overprotective, regulating personal choices for people's own good.

National conservatism: A current of the right prioritizing the nation-state, cultural cohesion, economic nationalism and government support for family and community.

National debt: The total amount the federal government owes from past borrowing, including debt held by the public and by government accounts.

National Firearms Act: A 1934 federal law that taxes and registers machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, suppressors and other specified firearms.

National Instant Criminal Background Check System: The FBI system used by licensed firearm dealers to check whether a buyer is legally barred from owning a gun.

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact: An agreement among states to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote once enough states join.

National sales tax: A proposed federal tax on retail purchases that would replace income and payroll taxes, usually with a rebate for households.

Nationwide injunction: A court order blocking enforcement of a law or policy against everyone in the country, not only the parties who sued.

Natural law: The view that there is a moral order discoverable by reason that binds all people and against which human laws can be measured.

Natural rights: The idea that people possess certain rights by virtue of their humanity, which exist prior to and independent of any government.

Naturalization: The legal process by which a lawful permanent resident becomes a U.S. citizen, involving tests, an interview and an oath.

Necessary and Proper Clause: The final clause of Article I, Section 8, letting Congress make laws needed to carry out its listed powers and other federal powers.

Negative liberty: Freedom understood as the absence of interference or coercion by others, especially by government.

Neoconservatism: A movement, begun among former liberals, favoring a strong military, promotion of democracy abroad and a limited welfare state.

Net zero: A goal of balancing greenhouse-gas emissions with removals so that the net amount added to the atmosphere is zero.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen: The 2022 Supreme Court ruling striking down New York's discretionary concealed-carry licensing and setting a history-based test for gun laws.

Ninth Amendment: The amendment stating that listing certain rights in the Constitution does not deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.

Noncitizen voting: Voting by people who are not U.S. citizens, which is illegal in federal elections but allowed in some local elections.

Nondelegation doctrine: The principle that Congress may not hand its lawmaking power to agencies or others without clear limits on how it is used.

Nuclear option: A Senate maneuver that changes the effective rules by simple majority precedent, bypassing the usual two-thirds requirement.

O

Occupational licensing: State laws requiring workers in certain jobs to obtain a government license, often involving training, exams and fees, before practicing.

Omnibus bill: A single large bill that combines many separate measures, most often a full set of annual spending bills.

Open primary: A primary election in which voters need not belong to a party to choose which party's ballot they use.

Opportunity zone: A designated low-income area where investors get tax benefits for placing capital gains in local businesses and real estate.

Ordered liberty: The idea that genuine freedom requires moral and legal structure, and that liberty without order or virtue becomes license.

Originalism: A theory that the Constitution should be read according to the meaning its words carried for the public when they were ratified.

P

Paleoconservatism: A strand of the right that stresses tradition, nationalism, restricted immigration, skepticism of foreign intervention and suspicion of the federal government.

Parental rights: The principle that parents hold primary authority over the upbringing, education and health decisions of their children, a recurring issue in schools.

PAYGO: A budget rule requiring that new mandatory spending or tax cuts be offset by spending cuts or tax increases.

Payroll tax: A tax on wages that funds Social Security and Medicare, split between employers and employees.

Pocket veto: A veto that occurs when the president does not sign a bill and Congress adjourns, so the bill dies without a chance of override.

Political action committee: An organization that raises and spends money from members or donors to support or oppose candidates, subject to federal limits.

Political correctness: A term for language and behavior meant to avoid offending particular groups, used both approvingly as courtesy and critically as enforced orthodoxy.

Political question doctrine: The rule that courts will not decide certain issues the Constitution commits to Congress or the president, or that lack judicial standards.

Poll watcher: A person designated by a party, candidate or group to observe election procedures at polling places and counting sites.

Popular sovereignty: The principle that ultimate political authority resides in the people, who delegate it to government.

Populism: A political style that pits ordinary people against a supposedly corrupt or out-of-touch elite, found across the political spectrum.

Positive liberty: Freedom understood as the capacity to act on one's own will and fulfill one's potential, which may require resources or public support.

Postliberalism: A school of thought arguing that liberalism's emphasis on individual autonomy has undermined community, and that politics should aim at the common good.

Preclearance: A former Voting Rights Act requirement that certain jurisdictions get federal approval before changing election laws.

President pro tempore: The Senate's ceremonial presiding officer in the vice president's absence, traditionally the senior majority-party senator.

Price controls: Government-imposed limits on how high or low the price of a good or service may legally be.

Prior restraint: Government action that blocks speech or publication before it occurs, treated by courts as the most disfavored form of censorship.

Private property: The right of individuals and organizations to own, use, exchange and exclude others from assets, a pillar of market economies.

Privileges or Immunities Clause: The Fourteenth Amendment clause barring states from abridging the privileges or immunities of U.S. citizens, largely dormant since 1873.

Pro-life: The position, and movement, that regards unborn human life as deserving legal protection and opposes abortion, with varying views on exceptions.

Procedural due process: The constitutional requirement that government use fair procedures, such as notice and a hearing, before depriving a person of life, liberty or property.

Progressive tax: A tax whose rate rises as the taxpayer's income or wealth rises, so higher earners pay a larger share.

Progressivism: A political tradition that favors using government to promote social reform, economic fairness and expert-led solutions to public problems.

Protectionism: A policy of shielding domestic industries from foreign competition through tariffs, quotas or subsidies.

Provisional ballot: A ballot cast when a voter's eligibility is in question, counted only after officials verify it.

Public choice theory: The application of economic analysis to political behavior, treating voters, politicians and bureaucrats as self-interested actors.

Public forum doctrine: The First Amendment framework that sets how much government may limit speech on public streets, parks and other government property.

Q

Qualified immunity: A judge-made doctrine shielding government officials from personal damages liability unless they violated clearly established law.

Quantitative easing: A policy in which a central bank buys government bonds and other securities in large amounts to lower long-term interest rates and support the economy.

Quorum: The minimum number of members who must be present for a legislative body to conduct official business.

R

Ranked-choice voting: A voting method in which voters rank candidates, and the lowest finishers are eliminated until one has a majority.

Rational basis review: The most deferential test courts use, upholding a law if it is rationally related to any legitimate government purpose.

Recess appointment: A presidential appointment made while the Senate is in recess, which lasts only until the end of the next Senate session.

Recession: A significant, widespread decline in economic activity lasting more than a few months, often marked by falling output and rising unemployment.

Recount: A second count of ballots in a close contest, triggered automatically or on request, to confirm the result.

Red flag law: A law allowing a court to temporarily remove firearms from a person shown to pose a danger to self or others.

Redistricting: The redrawing of electoral district boundaries, usually after each ten-year census, to keep districts roughly equal in population.

Regressive tax: A tax that takes a larger share of income from low earners than from high earners.

Regular order: The traditional process of developing and debating legislation through committees, open amendment and separate votes rather than leadership-written packages.

Regulatory capture: The tendency of a regulatory agency to come under the influence of the industry it is supposed to oversee, serving it more than the public.

Religious Freedom Restoration Act: A 1993 federal law, with state counterparts, that requires the government to justify substantial burdens on religious exercise by meeting strict scrutiny.

Religious liberty: The freedom to hold and practice religious beliefs, protected by the First Amendment and a range of federal and state laws.

Remain in Mexico: A policy, begun in 2019, that sent asylum seekers who crossed the southern border to wait in Mexico while their U.S. cases were decided.

Rent control: Government limits on how much landlords may charge or raise rents on residential housing.

Rescission: A proposal, under the Impoundment Control Act, to cancel previously appropriated funds, with a fast-track vote in Congress.

Right-to-work law: A state law barring contracts that require workers to join a union or pay union fees as a condition of employment.

Risk-limiting audit: A post-election audit that checks a statistical sample of paper ballots to confirm, with high confidence, that the reported winner is correct.

Rule of law: The principle that everyone, including government, is subject to publicly known laws that are applied equally and fairly.

Runoff election: A second election between the top finishers when no candidate wins the required share, usually a majority, in the first round.

S

SALT deduction: A federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes paid, capped at $10,000 from 2018 through 2025 and since raised.

Same-day voter registration: A system letting eligible people register and vote on the same day, including on Election Day in some states.

Sanctuary jurisdiction: A state or local government that limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, often by declining to honor detainer requests.

School choice: Policies that let families use public education funds or tax benefits to select schools beyond their assigned district school.

School voucher: A government-funded certificate that lets a family pay for tuition at a private school, including religious schools, instead of the local public school.

Section 230: A 1996 federal law that shields websites from liability for most user-posted content and protects their good-faith content moderation.

Section 232 tariffs: A trade law letting the president impose tariffs on imports found to threaten national security.

Senate hold: An informal notice by a senator that they will object to unanimous consent to take up a bill or nomination.

Separation of church and state: The principle that government and religious institutions should be kept distinct, whose meaning and limits are contested.

Separation of powers: The constitutional division of government into legislative, executive and judicial branches, each with its own distinct powers.

Sequestration: Automatic, across-the-board cuts to federal spending triggered when budget limits or deficit targets are not met.

Shadow banning: A practice, alleged and sometimes confirmed, of limiting a user's content visibility on a platform without telling the user.

Shadow docket: The Supreme Court's emergency orders issued without full briefing or argument, often critiqued under a name its defenders reject.

Shall-issue and may-issue permits: A permit system in which authorities must grant a carry license to applicants who meet objective criteria, as opposed to discretionary may-issue systems.

Signature verification: The check in which election officials compare the signature on a mail ballot envelope with the one on file for that voter.

Social contract: A philosophical idea that government's legitimacy rests on an implicit agreement among free people to form a political community.

Social Security trust fund: The accounts, holding special Treasury securities, that receive Social Security payroll taxes and pay benefits.

Socialism: An economic and political system in which the means of production are owned or controlled collectively or by the state rather than privately.

Sovereign immunity: The principle that governments cannot be sued without their consent, rooted in common law and the Eleventh Amendment.

Speaker of the House: The presiding officer and top leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected by the full House at the start of each Congress.

Spontaneous order: The idea that complex, orderly social arrangements such as markets and language emerge from individual actions without central design.

Stagflation: A combination of slow economic growth, high unemployment and rising prices at the same time.

Stand-your-ground law: A state law allowing people to use force in self-defense wherever they are lawfully present, without first having to retreat.

Standing: The requirement that a plaintiff show a concrete injury caused by the defendant and fixable by a court before a federal case can proceed.

Stare decisis: The principle that courts should generally follow their prior decisions, giving the law stability and predictability.

Strict scrutiny: The most demanding test courts use, requiring a law to serve a compelling government interest by the least restrictive means.

Subsidiarity: The principle that matters should be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized authority capable of doing so effectively.

Substantive due process: A doctrine holding that the Due Process Clauses protect certain fundamental rights from government interference, not just fair procedures.

Super PAC: A political committee that can raise unlimited sums to support or oppose candidates but may not coordinate with them or give them money.

Superdelegate: A Democratic National Convention delegate who is a party official or elected leader and is not bound to the primary results.

Supply-side economics: An approach holding that lower tax rates and less regulation boost production, investment and growth.

Supremacy Clause: The Article VI provision making the Constitution, federal laws and treaties the supreme law of the land over conflicting state law.

Suspension of the rules: A House shortcut for passing noncontroversial bills quickly with limited debate and a two-thirds vote.

Swing state: A state where neither party has a reliable majority, so presidential outcomes there are competitive and decisive.

T

Takings Clause: The Fifth Amendment provision that private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Tariff: A tax imposed on imported goods, raising their price and generating government revenue or protecting domestic producers.

Tax expenditure: A provision of the tax code, such as a deduction or credit, that reduces tax owed to encourage a behavior, functioning like government spending.

Tax-credit scholarship: A program giving donors a tax credit for contributions to nonprofit organizations that fund private school scholarships.

Temporary Protected Status: A temporary, renewable status that shields nationals of certain countries in crisis from deportation and allows work authorization.

Tenth Amendment: The amendment confirming that powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people.

Textualism: An approach to reading statutes and constitutions that treats the enacted words, read in context, as the controlling evidence of their meaning.

The Federalist Papers: A series of 85 essays from 1787-1788 by Hamilton, Madison and Jay urging ratification of the Constitution.

Title IX: The 1972 federal law banning sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funds, now central to disputes over athletics and gender identity.

Top-two primary: A primary in which all candidates appear on one ballot and the two with the most votes, regardless of party, advance to the general election.

Trade deficit: The amount by which a country's imports of goods and services exceed its exports in a given period.

Tyranny of the majority: The danger that a democratic majority will use its power to override the rights and interests of minorities.

U

Unanimous consent: A Senate procedure in which the chamber agrees to a request when no senator objects, used to organize nearly all of its business.

Unemployment rate: The share of people in the labor force who are jobless and actively seeking work, reported monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Unfunded liabilities: Promised future benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare payments, that are not covered by dedicated funding projected to be available.

Unitary executive theory: The theory that Article II gives the president full control over the executive branch, including the power to direct and remove its officers.

Universal background checks: A proposal requiring a background check for nearly all firearm sales, including private transfers not handled by licensed dealers.

Universal basic income: A proposal for regular cash payments to all citizens or residents, regardless of income or work status.

V

Value-added tax: A consumption tax collected at each stage of production on the value added, widely used abroad but not in the United States.

Veto: The president's power to reject a bill passed by Congress by returning it unsigned with objections.

Veto override: Congress's power to enact a bill over a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Viewpoint discrimination: Government regulation of speech that targets the perspective expressed, treated as an especially serious First Amendment violation.

Visa overstay: Remaining in the United States after a legal visa or authorized period of stay has expired, a major source of unauthorized presence.

Void for vagueness: The rule that a law is unconstitutional if it is so unclear that ordinary people cannot know what it forbids.

Voter ID: A requirement that voters show identification, such as a driver's license or other documents, to cast a ballot.

Voter roll maintenance: The process of updating voter registration lists by removing people who have died, moved or become ineligible.

Voting Rights Act: The 1965 federal law that prohibits racial discrimination in voting and has been amended several times.

W

War Powers Resolution: A 1973 law limiting the president's ability to commit U.S. forces to hostilities without congressional approval.

Wealth tax: A recurring tax on the total net worth of individuals above a threshold, rather than on their annual income.

Welfare state: A system in which government provides or guarantees programs, such as pensions, health care and income support, to protect citizens' basic welfare.

Whip: A party leader in a legislative chamber responsible for counting votes and persuading members to vote with the party.

Woke: A term that began as awareness of racial injustice and is now often used, mostly pejoratively, for progressive cultural and social attitudes.

Writ of certiorari: The order by which the Supreme Court agrees to review a lower court's decision, granted at the justices' discretion.