National Constitution Week: Election & Voting Policies

This Handbook offers comprehensive coverage of the various theoretical approaches to the study of American elections and political behavior. The chapters are thoughtful and creative, providing broad overviews of intellectual developments and challenges, as well as incisive commentary on the accomplishments of, and challenges facing, scholars of American politics. Substantively, the Handbook includes chapters focusing on various approaches and issues in research design, political participation, vote choice, presidential and non-presidential elections, and issues, interests, and elites as influences on individuals' political behavior. Each of the chapters offers a working research bibliography, as well as retrospective evaluations of research and discussions of fruitful paths for future research. The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics is an eight-volume set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the current state of scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. General Editor for The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics: George C. Edwards III

Guide to U.S. Elections 6th edition NOW AVAILABLE!For basic information on the electoral process, in-depth analysis on specific political eras and issues, and everything in between, Guide to U.S. Elections has no competition.This renowned reference includes thorough historical coverage of every major aspect of federal and gubernatorial elections in the United States. Infused with new data, analysis, and discussion of issuesrelating to elections from 2006 to 2008, the sixth edition ofthe Guide is as up to date as it is comprehensive. Topics fromthe 2008 elections include: Analysis of the campaigns for presidency, from the primaries through the general electionData on the candidates, winners/losers, and election returnsDetails on congressional and gubernatorial contests supplemented with vast historical data

The election fraud that changed the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater fraud in 2006, and now looms as an unbridled threat to the 2008 election.

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.

The right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy. To millions around the world who have fought for that right, it is considered a privilege. Yet the magnitude of nonvoting in America is staggering. More than 91 million Americans did not vote in 1988, putting voter turnout at barely half of the voting-age population. This situation has stirred much comment and debate across the political spectrum, raising several questions: Why is voter turnout generally so low? Why has it declined steadily over the past three decades? Does low and declining turnout significantly bias the nature of contemporary U.S. politics? And what, if anything, can be done to increase voter participation? In this book, Ruy Teixeira addresses each of these question in detail in an effort to provide policymakers and the general public with a clearer view of the problem and possible solutions. The author's interpretations and recommendations are both provocative and firmly based on currently available data. Teixeira includes an assessment of current registration reform legislation and shows why a combination of registration reform and political reform is necessary to fully reverse the nonvoting trend and move to substantially higher turnout levels. He points out that while it is unlikely U.S. voter turnout will ever approach levels in Sweden, Australia, and Belgium--which are about 90 percent--with a thorough reform program, levels of around 70 percent, such as those in Japan and Canada, may be attainable.

The most important element in every election is getting voters to the polls--these get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts make the difference between winning and losing office. With the first two editions of Get Out the Vote, Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber broke ground by introducing a new scientific approach to the challenge of voter mobilization that profoundly influenced how campaigns operate. Get Out the Vote has become the reference text for those who manage campaigns and study voter mobilization. In this expanded and updated edition, Green and Gerber incorporate data from more than 100 new studies, which shed new light on the costeffectiveness and efficiency of various campaign tactics, including door-todoor canvassing, email, direct mail, and telephone calls. Two new chapters focus on the effectiveness of registration drives and messaging tactics. The new Get Out the Vote will be available as the country gears up for the 2016 presidential campaign. This readable, practical guide on voter mobilization is sure to be an important resource for consultants, candidates, and grassroots organizations, as well as a valuable teaching tool in courses on campaigns and elections. Praise for Previous Editions: "Green and Gerber have studied turnout for years. Their findings, based on dozens of controlled experiments done as part of actual campaigns, are summarized in... Get Out the Vote, which is bound to become a bible for politicians and activists of all stripes." --Alan Krueger in the New York Times " Get Out the Vote shatters conventional wisdom about GOTV." --Hal Malchow in Campaigns and Elections "Green and Gerber's recent book represents important innovations in the study of turnout." -- Political Science Review "Green and Gerber have provided a valuable resource for grassroots campaigns across the spectrum." -- National Journal

The unique way in which Americans elect their public officials is explored in this volume, from financing campaigns, to registering voters, to the function of the electoral college. Articles also examine the two-party system, the nomination and convention process, and issues particular to the 2004 election.

The right to vote is the foundation of democratic government; all other policies are derived from it. The history of voting rights in America has been characterized by a gradual expansion of the franchise. American Indians are an important part of that story but have faced a prolonged battle to gain the franchise. One of the most important tools wielded by advocates of minority voting rights has been the Voting Rights Act. This book explains the history and expansion of Indian voting rights, with an emphasis on seventy cases based on the Voting Rights Act and/or the Equal Protection Clause. The authors describe the struggle to obtain Indian citizenship and the basic right to vote, then analyze the cases brought under the Voting Rights Act, including three case studies. The final two chapters assess the political impact of these cases and the role of American Indians in contemporary politics.

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) is a landmark federal law enacted in 1965 to remove race-based restrictions on voting. It is perhaps the country's most important voting rights law, with a history that dates to the Civil War. After that conflict ended, a number of constitutional amendments were adopted that addressed the particular circumstances of freed slaves, including the Fifteenth Amendment that guaranteed the right to vote for all U.S. citizens regardless of ""race, color, or previous condition of servitude."" This book provides background information on the historical circumstances that led

Policymaking in the realm of elections is too often grounded in anecdotes and opinions, rather than in good data and scientific research. To remedy this, The Measure of American Elections brings together a dozen leading scholars to examine the performance of elections across the United States, using a data-driven perspective. This book represents a transformation in debates about election reform, away from partisan and ideological posturing, toward using scientific analysis to evaluate the conduct of contemporary elections. The authors harness the power of newly available data to document all aspects of election administration, ranging from the registration of voters to the counting of ballots. They demonstrate what can be learned from giving serious attention to data, measurement, and objective analysis of American elections.

With the increasing demands for changes in how we vote, the authors analyze the complications of race tied to these proposed policies through historical and contemporary challenges. Why does race play such a discursive role when it comes to the "right to vote"? Lawmakers are continuing to propose changes to voting rights policies that directly impact African Americans and the emerging Latino electorate. Ranging from issues like voter identification laws, accusations of voter fraud, and voting rights for convicted felons, this single-volume provides an in-depth analysis regarding the various racial dimensions embedded in cases of public policy. By highlighting the origination and evolution of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Voting Rights under Fire: The Continuing Struggle for People of Color demonstrates the still-prevalent issues around voting and people of color. This work will provide readers an accessible, interdisciplinary book that interconnects past and present issues involving political debates, public policy, and court decisions pertaining to race and voting rights in America. Highlights the racial dimensions tied to the historical development of voting rights in the United States Illustrates how contemporary voting rights developments are connected to the goal of minimizing or suppressing the African American and Latino vote Presents the way voting rights laws continue to retrogress at the hands of lawmakers Demonstrates the increasing salience that race plays within public policy, especially pertaining to political power