POL 232 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Nuclear Option, Cloture, Gerrymandering
20 May 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
House of representatives: 435 voting representatives - this size difference means that a greater number of formal rules are needed to govern activity in the house. Stricter time limits on debate compared to the senate & must adhere to elaborate rules. Filibuster: the use of the senate"s tradition of unlimited debate as a delaying tactic to block bills or nominations. Cloture: shuts off debate on a bill, it requires sixteen senators sign a petition requesting it and if, after two days have elapsed, three-fifths of the entire membership (sixty votes, assuming no vacancies) vote for cloture. The nuclear option: it takes sixty senators to invoke cloture. Senate rules, however, can be changed by a simple majority vote. It is possible, therefore, to limit or abolish the filibuster by a majority vote. Such an act has been dubbed the nuclear option. Gerrymandering: the drawing of legislative district boundary lines for the purpose of obtaining partisan advantage.
