About the Book
The three volumes of Voting in America offer the most comprehensive, authoritative, and useful account of all aspects of voting in America ever assembled. This set surveys the legal foundations, historical development, and geographic diversity of voting practices at all levels of government in the United States. It marshals the demographics of voter participation and party affiliation in the 21st century by age, occupation, location, region, class, race, and religion, and parses the roles of interest groups, hot-button issues, and the media in mobilizing voters and shaping their decisions. Finally, the set anatomizes the critical voting debacles in the 2000 and 2004 elections and assesses the proposed remedies, including online voting and electronic voting machines.
The host of chapters penned for this magisterial set by an unprecedented assemblage of academics, practitioners, and pundits includes such lively topics as: the Electoral College, prisoner disenfranchisement, obstacles and options for American voters abroad, the rise of ballot initiatives, the elusive youth vote, the battle for the swing vote, local issues trends, Wisconsin voter fraud, waiting in line in Ohio, the provisional ballots mess, and partisanship in voting companies.
Table of Contents:
Volume 1: How America Votes: Law, Process, and Voter Participation
Foreword
Preface
Introduction: The History and Tradition of U.S. Voters: How Laws and External Factors Impact Turnout
Part I How America Votes
Chapter 1: Decoding the Electoral College: The History and Controversy of Selecting the President
Chapter 2: Old Enough to Vote: Voting Age in the United States
Chapter 3: Women in Politics: From Fighting for Suffrage to Fighting for Votes
Chapter 4: African Americans and the Right to Vote: A Look at the Voting Rights Act Then and Now
Chapter 5: Registering to Vote and Getting Your Vote Counted
Chapter 6: The Disenfranchisement of Felons
Chapter 7: Where We Vote: Polling Place Location and the Impact on Elections
Chapter 8: Absentee Voting in the Twenty-first Century
Chapter 9: Americans Abroad and Voting at War
Chapter 10: Presidential Nomination Voting: The Caucus versus the Primary
Chapter 11: Casting Votes by Mail: Will Other States Follow Oregon's Lead?
Chapter 12: The Rise of Ballot Initiatives
Chapter 13: The Unglamorous Elections: Getting People to the Polls for Down-Ballot Races
Chapter 14: Navigating the Maze of Election Law Changes: Campaign Finance Laws and the United States Constitution
Part II Who Can Vote?
Chapter 15: Trends in Voter Participation: A Primer on National Electoral Turnout and Comparison of Recent National Participation
Chapter 16: Voter Participation in the United States versus Other Democracies
Chapter 17: Why We Vote: Civic Duty vs. Voter Apathy
Chapter 18: The Urban/Rural Divide: Understanding Voter Participation by Location
Chapter 19: Mobilizing the Registered: Tactics for Improving Voter Turnout
Chapter 20: Educating the Public about Elections: The Role of Civic Education in Politics
Chapter 21: The Elderly and Voting: The Group's Impact on Elections
Chapter 22: The Elusive Young Voter: How to Break into the Group
Chapter 23: The Typecast Voters: Soccer Moms, Seniors, and the Young
About the Editor and Contributors
Index
Volume 2: What Influences the American Voter: Interest Groups, Issues, and the Media
Foreword
Preface
Introduction: Personal Politics: The Issues that Influence Voters
Part I The Sure Thing
Chapter 1: Women as the Swing Vote
Chapter 2: Blacks and the Democratic Party
Chapter 3: The Democratic Party and Unions: The Partnership Continues
Chapter 4: The Republican Party and the Religious: Courting Evangelicals as the Way to Victory
Chapter 5: The Fight Continues: Hispanics and the Battle for Their Votes
Chapter 6: The Battle for the Middle: The Rise of the Moderate in Future Elections
Part II Big Voting Groups
Chapter 7: Substantial Endorsements and Influential Report Cards: The Impact on Interest Groups on Voting in America
Chapter 8: Evangelical Voters and Church Leaders Impact on Elections
Chapter 9: Unions and GOTV: The Long-Lasting Relationship
Part III The Issues
Chapter 10: Immigration in 2006 and Beyond
Chapter 11: Roe v. Wade Politics: Abortion and Voting in the United States
Chapter 12: Gay Marriage: How State Amendments and Passionate Voters Are Influencing Elections
Chapter 13: The Politics of Hope, Health, and Morality: Stem Cell Research as a Reason for Voting
Chapter 14: The Economics of Voting: Pocketbooks Issues in U.S. Elections
Chapter 15: Keeping the Country Healthy: Health Care as a Campaign Issue
Chapter 16: The Politics of Fear: Terrorism and National Security in Post-9/11 Elections
Chapter 17: All Politics Isn't Local, It's Personal: Local Issue Trends in Politics
Part IV The Media
Chapter 18: Buying Time: Twenty-first Century Campaigns and Political Advertising
Chapter 19: The Old Guard: Mainstream Journalism Outlets' Impact on Elections
Chapter 20: The New Guard: Entertainment Talk Shows and the Not-So-Fake News
Chapter 21: What Changed It All: Online Media and Elections
Chapter 22: Following the Leader: The Impact of Endorsements on Presidential Nomination Contests
Chapter 23: The Social Web: Social Networking and Online Activism in U.S. Politics
About the Editor and Contributors
Index
Volume 3: American Voting Systems in Flux: Debacles, Dangers, and Brave New Designs
Foreword
Preface
Introduction: The Past and Future of Political Technology: The Most Controversial Issues of the Past Election Cycles
Part I Voting in the Presidential Elections of 2000 and 2004
Chapter 1: The First Major Sign of Trouble: Florida in 2000
Chapter 2: The New Era of Politics: Recounts and Getting It Right the Next Time
Chapter 3: Voter Fraud in Wisconsin: A Recent History
Chapter 4: The Unknown Threat: Improperly Trained Poll Workers Lead to Election Day Problems
Chapter 5: Waiting in Line, Verifying the Vote: Ohio Elections in 2004 and 2006
Chapter 6: The Exit Poll Controversy
Chapter 7: Uncertain Insurance: The Ambiguities and Complexities of Provisional Ballots
Chapter 8: Voting and People with Disabilities
Chapter 9: Waiting to Vote: Coping wi
About the Author :
Morgan E. Felchner is Deputy Assistant Managing Editor for Politics at U.S. News & World Report, Contributing Editor for PoliticsOnline, and a member of the National Press Club. She is a prominent on-air political commentator, regularly appearing on television shows on Fox News, CSPAN, CNN, CanadaTV, and local network affiliates. She serves on the Young Women Leaders Board at American University and on the Advisory Board for the University of Minnesota Institute for Law and Politics. She is the former editor of Campaigns & Elections magazine.
Review :
Flechner, an editor at U.S. News & World Report, has assembled a group of academics—political science and law professors, pollsters, and a few journalists—for this wide-ranging look at American elections.
In a recent replication of the classic The American Voter (Angus Campbell et al., 1960), Michael S. Lewis and his colleagues (The American Voter Revisited, CH, Feb'09, 46-3522) discovered that Americans who cast ballots for presidential candidates in 2000 and 2004 behaved very much like the voters of the 1950s. While voter behavior may be relatively stable over time, the environment associated with US elections has changed dramatically. Virtually all aspects of this changed context are examined in this three volume set. The editor--Felchner (politics editor, US News & World Report)--has organized 62 essays written by 70 authors who are either political activists, pundits, consultants, pollsters, or academics. Their common task was '… to examine the nuances of voting (in order) to understand how the electoral process in the United States has changed over time.' The first volume lays out the legal foundations and historical developments associated with voting, primarily in terms of legislation expanding the electorate. Volume 2 continues with an examination of the demographics and rationales associated with voting. Attention is given to the role of issues, interest groups, and the media in mobilizing voters and influencing preferences. Volume 3 is the most innovative. Since the passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, reform efforts have tried to make voter registration and the act of voting itself easier, more secure, and more reliable. Finally, there is the paper ballot versus electronic voting debate concerning how votes can be effectively and accurately counted… Recommended. All readership levels.
