The executive branch
staggered terms
Terms that expire in different years, so no single election or appointment round can replace a whole body at once.
In full
The Senate staggers its classes so only a third is up each cycle; commissions stagger commissioners; many boards and state supreme courts do the same. The effect is institutional memory and continuity, and the deliberate cost is responsiveness: a body with staggered terms changes direction slowly even after a decisive election.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.