Exam 3: State Constitutions

State constitutions are political documents and often have been drafted to protect the rights of special interests, such as public utilities, farmers, timber companies, religious groups and, more recently, to address the most controversial issues in politics.

State constitutions represent the fundamental law of the state, thus

Constitutions represent the fundamental law of a state, superior to statutory law.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has the oldest state constitution in use, although it has been amended more than 100 times.

Localities in some states have to obtain explicit permission from the state legislature before providing a new service, tapping a new source of revenue, or exercising any other authority not specifically granted them by the state.

Following the War of Independence, all states rewrote their constitutions and put them into effect immediately without popular ratification.

Describe the evolution of state constitutions from colonial times through the current era. Discuss the American tradition of written constitutions and how state constitutions were originally shaped by the colonial experience. Discuss the pressures to create a long constitution and the advantages and disadvantages of such a constitution. Include the major developments and trends that have occurred over the past 200 years.

The long ballot refers to having fewer elected officials and more appointed officials under the control of the governor.

Legislative supremacy, or the legislature's dominance of the other two branches, was embedded in early constitutions due to

What drove constitutional change after Reconstruction?

The legislative proposal method of constitutional change is probably BEST suited for which type of revisions?

Which of the following was NOT mechanism that increased gubernatorial power in the 1800s?

One national survey found that 51 percent of Americans were NOT aware that their state had its own constitution.

Before adopting its new constitution in 1982, Georgia's state constitution contained more than 583,000 words-longer than Tolstoy's "War and Peace."

Judicial review evolved at the state level through

At a minimum, all state constitutions must protect and guarantee individual rights and liberties that are

The United States Constitution is an example of which constitutional tradition?

State constitutions today conform less closely to the higher-law tradition and the Model State Constitution than state constitutions of the past.

In 2011 and 2012, all 50 states mandated that voters show a photo ID at the polls.

In order to study an existing constitution and subsequently recommend changes to the legislature or to the voters, states often establish