Political System
The U.S. political system is based on the
U.S. Constitution, which has a safe-guard feature against the
abuse of power, with a separation of powers between the Executive
Branch (the President), the Judicial Branch (the U.S. Supreme Court),
and the Legislative Branch (the House and the Senate).
Each State in the Union is governed by its own
State Constitution, which is modeled after the U.S. Constitution.
For instance, the State of Washington's government structure,
as in the United States’s government structure, is based on the
constitutional separation of powers: a Legislative branch, an Executive
branch, and a Judicial branch.
The Legislative Branch: Washington's Legislative Branch consists of
the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 98
representatives, and the Senate has 49 senators. The term for a House
member is two years. The term for a Senate member is four years. The
State of Washington is divided into 49 legislative districts. Each
district elects three legislators to represent them: two to the House
of Representatives, and one to the Senate.
The Executive Branch: The Executive Branch is the Office of the
Governor. The Governor has the power to veto any legislation that
the Legislature passes. The governor has the power to veto legislation
in whole, or in part as in sections. The Legislature can override a
governor's veto by a 2/3 vote of both the House and the Senate.
The Judicial Branch: The Judicial Branch in Washington represents the
nine justices of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court interprets the
laws based on state and federal constitution. Thus, the Supreme Court
can overturn any legislation that is unconstitutional.
In addition to the three main branches of government, there are
administrative agencies: such as the Department of Social and Health
Services and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. These
agencies cannot pass law, but they do pass regulations which carry
the weight of law. The combined regulations passed by the agencies
make up the Washington Administrative Code. This regulatory power of
these state agencies is sometime a source of conflict with the
Legislature.
However, the U.S. Constitution is not always upheld as evident by the
violations of Human Rights and the
economic inequity. By its own admission, Section E of the U.S.
Report to the United Nations on Racial Discrimination listed the
factors affecting implementation of U.S.laws against racial discrimination.
The following links are useful:
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
List of members
in the U.S. Senate
The White House
Legislative Information on the Internet
