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Reforming the Electoral Process in America

Author: Brian L. Fife

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2010-06-16

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13:

Calling for increased civic engagement, this book makes a compelling case for reforms that will democratize American elections and provide more power to the people. Quick-fix plans to "restore democracy" are a dime a dozen. Happily, Reforming the Electoral Process in America: Toward More Democracy in the 21st Century offers a more nuanced approach, emphasizing the value of civic engagement in a democratic society. Author Brian L. Fife situates our current plight in the context of the growth of democracy, from the Founding Fathers through the Jackson era, the enfranchisement of blacks after the Civil War, women's suffrage, and the Voting Rights Act of the 1960s. He reflects on the work of the Framers as it pertains to voting and elections, compares voting laws and voter turnout in the various states, and offers an analysis of the impact of money in American elections. Ultimately, Fife proposes a blueprint for reform that includes national same-day voter registration, elimination of punch card and mechanical voting machines, reconsideration of felons' voting rights, regional primaries, and the abolition of the Electoral College.

Campaign and Election Reform

Author: Glenn H. Utter

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2008-06-10

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1598840703

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This handbook provides a sweeping overview of U.S. campaign and election reform efforts, past and present, from the introduction of the secret ballot to touch-screen voting. Emphasizing the major electoral reforms since 2000, this second edition of Campaign and Election Reform investigates the development of the American electoral system from colonial times to the present. It chronicles efforts to expand suffrage, reform campaign financing, and prevent vote fraud, and traces the development of election technology from the paper ballot to the lever voting machine, from the punch-card ballot to the optical-scan and touch-screen systems. The book also explores alternative voting systems, such as preference voting and proportional representation, and compares the U.S. electoral process with the voting systems of selected European democracies. Campaign and Election Reform, Second Edition is essential reading for any citizen who wants to understand the U.S. electoral system, what's wrong with it, and how it might be fixed.

Reforming the Republic

Author: Todd Donovan

Publisher: Prentice Hall

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13:

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This book offers a general discussion of a wide range of political reforms by addressing how the American political system would be different if various reforms were adopted. Advocating a wide menu of proposals and weighing their good and bad effects, this book does not attempt exhaustive analysis of a single topic. Rather, it gives general introductions to each issue. It examines some of the most important rules that shape America's electoral landscape, assembling the best evidence available to anticipate what would happen if certain rules were changed. Designed to make readers think and analyze the current electoral status quo in the U.S., this book covers electoral reform and American politics, the public's attitudes, problems with congressional elections, electing the Congress and the President, ballot selection, campaign finance, and the mechanics of running an election. An appropriate and thought-provoking book for any reader who wonders about the current electoral process in the U.S., and is interested in learning about the possible effects of the current reform movement.

Parties and Elections in America

Author: Sandy L. Maisel

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2009-11-16

Total Pages: 564

ISBN-13: 1442201037

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This book covers all elements of parties and the electoral process, including local, state, and national party organizations; American party history and party systems; state and local nominations; state and local elections; presidential nominations; and presidential elections. Separate chapters are devoted to the important subjects of the media in the electoral process and campaign finance. The role of political parties in representative democracy_and their contributions to it_are examined critically. This post-election update includes complete data from 2008 and an updated chapter on campaign finance.

Democracy in the States

Author: Bruce E. Cain

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2011-06-01

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0815701470

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Democracy in the States offers a 21st century agenda for election reform in America based on lessons learned in the fifty states. Combining accessibility and rigor, leading scholars of U.S. politics and elections examine the impact of reforms intended to increase the integrity, fairness, and responsiveness of the electoral system. While some of these reforms focus on election administration, which has been the subject of much controversy since the 2000 presidential election, others seek more broadly to increase political participation and improve representation. For example, Paul Gronke (Reed College) and his colleagues study the relationship between early voting and turnout. Barry Burden (University of Wisconsin–Madison) examines the hurdles that third-party candidates must clear to get on the ballot in different states. Michael McDonald (George Mason University) analyzes the leading strategies for redistricting reform. And Todd Donovan (Western Washington University) focuses on how the spread of "safe" legislative seats affects both representation and participation. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously observed that "a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country." Nowhere is this function more essential than in the sphere of election reform, as this important book shows.

To Assure Pride and Confidence in the Electoral Process

Author: Jimmy Carter

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2004-05-26

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0815798636

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In 2000 the American electoral system was tested by a political ordeal unlike any in living memory. Not since 1876-77 has the outcome of a national election remained so unsettled for so long. The past election¡¯s recount conundrum shook the nation¡¯s faith in the mechanisms that support the democratic process. Led by former Presidents Ford and Carter, the National Commission on Federal Election Reform undertook a study of the American electoral system. The resulting report describes where and what went wrong during the 2000 election, and makes clear and specific recommendations for reform, directed at state government, Congress, news organizations, and others. This volume also includes the full text of the Task Force Reports from the Commission.

Helping America Vote

Author: Martha Kropf

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-06-17

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 1135203857

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A repeat of the Florida debacle in the 2000 presidential election is the fear of every election administrator. Despite the relatively complication-free 2008 election, we are working with fairly new federal legislation designed to ease election administration problems. The implementation of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) raises the question, how effective have reforms been? Could another Florida happen? Helping America Vote is focused on the conflict between values of access and integrity in U.S. election administration. Kropf and Kimball examine both what was included in HAVA and what was not. Widespread agreement that voting equipment was a problem made technology the centerpiece of the legislation, and it has remedied a number of pressing concerns. But there is still reason to be concerned about key aspects of electronic voting, ballot design, and the politics of partisan administrators. It takes a legitimacy crisis for serious election reforms to happen at the federal level, and seemingly, the crisis has passed. However, the risk is still very much present for the electoral process to fail. What are the implications for democracy when we attempt reform?

Electoral College Reform

Author: Thomas H. Neale

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010-11

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13: 1437925693

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Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Competing Approaches: Direct Popular Election v. Electoral College Reform; (3) Direct Popular Election: Pro and Con; (4) Electoral College Reform: Pro and Con; (5) Electoral College Amendments Proposed in the 111th Congress; (6) Contemporary Activity in the States; (7) 2004: Colorado Amendment 36; (8) 2007-2008: The Presidential Reform Act (California Counts); (9) 2006-Present: National Popular Vote -- Direct Popular Election Through an Interstate Compact; Origins; The Plan; National Popular Vote, Inc.; Action in the State Legislatures; States That Have Approved NPV; National Popular Vote; (10) Prospects for Change -- An Analysis; (11) State Action -- A Viable Reform Alternative?; (12) Concluding Observations.

Election Reform

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Rules and Administration

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 592

ISBN-13:

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Race, Reform, and Regulation of the Electoral Process

Author: Guy-Uriel E. Charles

Publisher:

Published: 2014-05-14

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 9781139010153

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This book offers a critical re-evaluation of three fundamental and interlocking themes in American democracy: the relationship between race and politics, the performance and reform of election systems, and the role of courts in regulating the political process. This edited volume features contributions from some of the leading voices in election law and social science. The authors address the recurring questions for American democracy and identify new challenges for the twenty-first century. They not only consider where current policy and scholarship is headed, but also suggest where it ought to go over the next two decades. The book thus provides intellectual guideposts for future scholarship and policymaking in American democracy.