Why American Elections Are Flawed (And How to Fix Them)
Title | Why American Elections Are Flawed (And How to Fix Them) PDF eBook |
Author | Pippa Norris |
Publisher | Cornell University Press |
Total Pages | 84 |
Release | 2017-04-04 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1501712748 |
The flaws in the American electoral process have become increasingly apparent in recent years. The contemporary tipping point in public awareness occurred during the 2000 election count, and concern deepened due to several major problems observed in the 2016 campaign, worsening party polarization, and corroding public trust in the legitimacy of the outcome.To gather evidence about the quality of elections around the world, in 2012 the Electoral Integrity Project (EIP) was established as an independent research project based at Harvard and Sydney universities. The results show that experts rated American elections as the worst among all Western democracies. Without reform, these problems risk damaging the legitimacy of American elections—further weakening public confidence in political parties, Congress, and the U.S. government, depressing voter turnout, and exacerbating the risks of mass protests.Why American Elections Are Flawed describes several major challenges observed during the 2016 U.S. elections arising from deepening party polarization over basic voting procedures, the serious risks of hacking and weak cyber-security, the consequences of deregulating campaign spending, and lack of professional and impartial electoral management. Pippa Norris outlines the core concept and measure of electoral integrity, the key yardstick used to evaluate free and fair elections. Evidence from expert and mass surveys demonstrate the extent of problems in American elections. She shows how these challenges could be addressed through several practical steps designed to improve electoral procedures and practices. If implemented, the reforms will advance free and fair elections, and liberal democracy, at home and abroad.
Why Elections Fail
Title | Why Elections Fail PDF eBook |
Author | Pippa Norris |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | 320 |
Release | 2015-07-08 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1316368440 |
Too often, elections around the globe are, unfortunately, deeply flawed or even fail. What triggers these problems? In this second volume of her trilogy on electoral integrity, Pippa Norris compares structural, international, and institutional accounts as alternative perspectives to explain why elections fail to meet international standards. The book argues that rules preventing political actors from manipulating electoral governance are needed to secure integrity, although at the same time officials also need sufficient resources and capacities to manage elections effectively. Drawing on new evidence, the study determines the most effective types of strategies for strengthening the quality of electoral governance around the world. With a global perspective, this book provides fresh insights into these major issues at the heart of the study of elections and voting behavior, comparative politics, democracy and democratization, political culture, democratic governance, public policymaking, development, international relations and conflict studies, and processes of regime change.
Will Your Vote Count?
Title | Will Your Vote Count? PDF eBook |
Author | Herma Percy |
Publisher | Praeger |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 2009-04-30 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 031336432X |
Voters in a democratic society should have confidence in the electoral process. Yet, as Americans have witnessed in every election since 2000, voting-the basic act of citizenship—is under assault: technologically complex, subject to manipulation, and fiercely contested on many levels. Documenting the areas of collapse in the American electoral process, this book analyzes ongoing problems in the casting and counting of ballots, as well as new threats: future elections could be compromised by new voting machines that are unreliable, poorly programmed, and prone to tampering. At this critical moment for American democracy, the author issues a call for urgently needed reforms.
Let the People Pick the President
Title | Let the People Pick the President PDF eBook |
Author | Jesse Wegman |
Publisher | All Points Books |
Total Pages | 272 |
Release | 2020-03-17 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1250221986 |
“Wegman combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates America’s ‘core democratic principles’ and should be done away with..." —Publishers Weekly The framers of the Constitution battled over it. Lawmakers have tried to amend or abolish it more than 700 times. To this day, millions of voters, and even members of Congress, misunderstand how it works. It deepens our national divide and distorts the core democratic principles of political equality and majority rule. How can we tolerate the Electoral College when every vote does not count the same, and the candidate who gets the most votes can lose? Twice in the last five elections, the Electoral College has overridden the popular vote, calling the integrity of the entire system into question—and creating a false picture of a country divided into bright red and blue blocks when in fact we are purple from coast to coast. Even when the popular-vote winner becomes president, tens of millions of Americans—Republicans and Democrats alike—find that their votes didn't matter. And, with statewide winner-take-all rules, only a handful of battleground states ultimately decide who will become president. Now, as political passions reach a boiling point at the dawn of the 2020 race, the message from the American people is clear: The way we vote for the only official whose job it is to represent all Americans is neither fair nor just. Major reform is needed—now. Isn't it time to let the people pick the president? In this thoroughly researched and engaging call to arms, Supreme Court journalist and New York Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman draws upon the history of the founding era, as well as information gleaned from campaign managers, field directors, and other officials from twenty-first-century Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns, to make a powerful case for abolishing the antiquated and antidemocratic Electoral College. In Let the People Pick the President he shows how we can at long last make every vote in the United States count—and restore belief in our democratic system.
The Measure of American Elections
Title | The Measure of American Elections PDF eBook |
Author | Barry C. Burden |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | 385 |
Release | 2014-08-11 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 1107066670 |
This book brings leading scholars together to examine the performance of elections across the United States, using a data-driven perspective.
A Badly Flawed Election
Title | A Badly Flawed Election PDF eBook |
Author | Ronald Dworkin |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 344 |
Release | 2002 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 9781565847378 |
Essays by legal scholars examine the historical, political, and ethical ramifications of the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Bush v. Gore.
Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America
Title | Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America PDF eBook |
Author | George C. Edwards III |
Publisher | Yale University Press |
Total Pages | 296 |
Release | 2019-08-20 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 0300249659 |
A new edition of the best-known book critiquing the U.S. electoral college In this third edition of the definitive book on the unique system by which Americans choose a president—and why that system should be changed—George Edwards includes a new chapter focusing on the 2016 election. “As the U.S. hurtles toward yet another election in which the popular vote loser may become president, Edwards’s book is essential reading. It clearly and methodically punctures myths about the Electoral College’s benefits.”—Richard L. Hasen, author of The Voting Wars “Supported by both history and data, George Edwards convincingly argues the Electoral College is anti†‘democratic, anti†‘equality, and anti†‘common sense. We should dismantle it, and soon.”—Kent Greenfield, author of Corporations Are People Too (And They Should Act Like It)