The Unicameral Legislature

The Unicameral Legislature PDF

Author: Alvin Walter Johnson

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Published: 1938

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Unicameral Legislature was first published in 1938. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.Here is a concise discussion of the movement for one-house legislatures, which began in Ohio and Oregon in 1912, took new impetus when Nebraska adopted the reform in 1934, and grew to striking proportions in 1937 when forty amendments proposing single chambers were considered in twenty-one states.Professor Johnson describes the historical process by which the two-house form was established in America following early experience with a single house, and he discusses the problems that have given rise to current dissatisfaction with the established system.There is a review of unicameralism in England, Canada, and other countries. This volume offers suggestive information on more phases of the subject than can be found in any other book.

One House

One House PDF

Author: Charlyne Berens

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780803213203

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

When Nebraskans voted to trade in their bicameral, partisan legislature for a one-house, nonpartisan body in 1934, it was a revolutionary decision. The people of the state listened to George Norris, their U.S. senator, when he argued that the new institution would be more open, more efficient, more responsible, and more responsive to the people it was meant to serve. An ardent progressive, Norris convinced his fellow Nebraskans that a nonpartisan unicameral would take power from the elites and return it to ?the people.? One House examines the magnetic and driven personalities at work behind the unicameral?s creation and chronicles the lawmakers? struggles to remain true to the populist, progressive vision of its founders and the people of Nebraska. Using historical research, surveys of Nebraskans and of current and former state senators, as well as in-depth interviews with senators and legislative observers, Charlyne Berens examines whether the promises that Norris and his fellow unicameral promoters made have held up over the years. Garnering a great deal of support and some criticism from the citizens of Nebraska, the one-house legislature remains a unique experiment in American democracy as well as a powerful symbol of Nebraskans' identity. ø

Election Systems and Gerrymandering Worldwide

Election Systems and Gerrymandering Worldwide PDF

Author: Steve Bickerstaff

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-05-30

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 3030308375

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book explores the similarities and differences among national election systems around the globe and sheds light on how election systems are susceptible to gerrymandering, which is the process by which an incumbent or a political party attempts to manipulate the boundaries of electoral districts for their own advantage. Presenting research showing that some of the worst electoral-system manipulation occurs in the oldest established democracies, the book explores how nations have modified the form of government to meet local conditions and how democracy is threatened by gerrymandering.