Political Science Question & Answer

1.      Explain the principle of checks and balances in our government and provide three examples.

The principle of checks and balances refers to how one government branch is prevented from gaining too much power which may lead to domination over other departments by using different mechanisms. The checks and balances have powers over each other. They include; the president who proposes and administers the laws, the Congress who writes the law and the supreme court which interprets the constitution. Each of these branches restrains the other two in various ways. For example, the president may decide to veto a law the Congress may have passed. However, the Congress can override the veto by a vote of two-thirds in both houses. In this case, the president’s decision is null and void. The supreme court may check the legislature who is the Congress by declaring the law they passed unconstitutional in which case the law does not become law in the country. It is the same case for the supreme court and the president, each of these is supposed to have a balance of power and with which they use to make decisions concerning the citizens.

2.      What is filibuster, and which chamber holds this power? How can it be stopped?

The filibuster is a term that refers to a technique used to amend, resolve or block a bill from getting to the final vote for it to become a law. Filibuster give extreme powers to senators in which they use to maximize their influence to the president. The Filibuster takes place only in the Senate since very few limits on opportunities in the process of the legislature and on senator’s rights are placed by chamber’s rules of debate. A cloture motion is the only way through which senators can stop a filibuster, and this needs three-fifths votes by a majority. The cloture motion should be presented by at least 16 senators for consideration and wait for the second day after the motion is made. After the end of the filibuster, 30 more hours are allowed to debate on the bill in question.

3.      What is reapportionment? How does it relate to the concept of “Gerrymandering”?

Reapportionment is the process by which the United House of Representatives redistributes the seats following the constitutional census that is decennial mandated among the fifty states. The relationship between reappointment and gerrymandering is that both look forward to a large number of representatives in the state and districts respectively.

4.      What was the Fairness Doctrine and why was it repealed?

The Fairness Doctrine was a policy by the Federal Communications Commission that believed public trust was built through broadcast licenses and that the licensees should provide a fair and balanced controversial coverage of issues. The broadcasters were required to provide equal opportunities by the law to all political candidates who were legally qualified in any office given a chance at the station. The fairness doctrine was repealed as it didn’t take into consideration the interest of the public and was not mandated by statute.

5.      Where is the right to privacy found? What key issues surround this right?

The right to privacy refers to the issues surrounding the public and personal information. The concept is about people being denied the right to private information. The statutory offers protection for the right to privacy. The right to privacy is cited in the 14th Amendment. Some of the issues that surround the right to privacy include; abortions, pornography and personally identifiable information.