Citizenship (Civics) - Middle School

Vote for vocabulary! Learn these words associated with citizenship as you explore the rights and responsibilities of American citizens. You'll review state government, elections, juries, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ballot
    a document listing the alternatives that is used in voting
  2. Bill of Rights
    a statement of fundamental freedoms and privileges
  3. candidate
    a politician who is running for public office
  4. citizen
    a native or naturalized member of a state
  5. citizenship
    membership in a state with rights and duties
  6. city council
    a group of people who govern an urban area or town
  7. constituent
    a citizen who is represented in a government by officials
  8. constitution
    law determining the fundamental principles of a government
  9. district
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
  10. elect
    choose by a vote for an office or membership
  11. election
    a vote choosing the winner of a position or political office
  12. electoral college
    the body that formally selects the United States president
  13. federal
    of or relating to the central government of a state
  14. general election
    a vote conducted at the national or state level
  15. governor
    the head of a state authority
  16. grand jury
    a panel to determine if a case should be brought to trial
  17. green card
    a document identifying someone as a permanent U.S. resident
  18. income tax
    a charge by the government on someone's annual earnings
  19. incumbent
    the official who holds an office
  20. jury
    a body of citizens sworn to give a verdict in a court of law
  21. jury duty
    the civic obligation to pass a verdict in a legal trial
  22. legislation
    the act of making or enacting laws
  23. mass medium
    a technology that publicly transmits to a large audience
  24. mayor
    the head of a city government
  25. naturalization
    the proceeding whereby a foreigner is granted citizenship
  26. nomination
    the act of officially naming a candidate
  27. opinion poll
    an inquiry into public opinion conducted by interviewing a random sample of people
  28. ordinance
    an authoritative rule
  29. petition
    a formal request that something be submitted to an authority
  30. petit jury
    the group that decides the outcome of a legal trial
  31. political party
    a group that tries to run the government
  32. polling place
    a site where voters go to cast their votes in an election
  33. President
    the person who holds the office of head of state of the United States government
  34. press
    the print media responsible for publishing news
  35. primary election
    an election to choose a candidate for the general election
  36. property tax
    a capital tax on property imposed by municipalities
  37. recall
    the act of removing an official by petition
  38. referendum
    a legislative act referred for approval to a popular vote
  39. representative
    related to government in which citizens elect officials
  40. responsibility
    the social force that binds you to a course of action
  41. right
    an abstract idea of that which is due by law or nature
  42. sales tax
    a tax based on the cost of the item purchased and collected directly from the buyer
  43. secret ballot
    a voting system in which each person's vote is private
  44. senator
    a member of a legislative assembly
  45. state government
    the government of a state in the United States
  46. state senator
    a member of a state senate
  47. statute
    an act passed by a legislative body
  48. tax
    a charge that a citizen pays to support government programs
  49. term
    a limited period of time during which something lasts
  50. third party
    a political group opposed to others in a two-group system
  51. voter turnout
    the total number who cast ballots in an election
Created on Thu Dec 22 09:52:36 EST 2016 (updated Fri Mar 31 11:52:30 EDT 2017)

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