Broken Ballots

Broken Ballots PDF Author: Douglas Jones
Publisher: Center for the Study of Language and Information Publica Tion
ISBN: 9781575866369
Category : Elections
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
For many of us, the presidential election of 2000 was a wake-up call. The controversy following the vote count led to demands for election reform. But the new voting systems that were subsequently introduced to the market have serious security flaws, and many are confusing and difficult to use. Moreover, legislation has not kept up with the constantly evolving voting technology, leaving little to no legal recourse when votes are improperly counted. How did we come to acquire the complex technology we now depend on to count votes? Douglas Jones and Barbara Simons probe this question, along with public policy and regulatory issues raised by our voting technologies. Broken Ballots is a thorough and incisive analysis of the current voting climate that approaches American elections from technological, legal, and historical perspectives. The authors examine the ways in which Americans vote today, gauging how inaccurate, unreliable, and insecure our voting systems are. An important book for election administrators, political scientists, and students of government and technology policy, Broken Ballots is also a vital tool for any voting American.

Broken Ballots

Broken Ballots PDF Author: Douglas Jones
Publisher: Center for the Study of Language and Information Publica Tion
ISBN: 9781575866369
Category : Elections
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
For many of us, the presidential election of 2000 was a wake-up call. The controversy following the vote count led to demands for election reform. But the new voting systems that were subsequently introduced to the market have serious security flaws, and many are confusing and difficult to use. Moreover, legislation has not kept up with the constantly evolving voting technology, leaving little to no legal recourse when votes are improperly counted. How did we come to acquire the complex technology we now depend on to count votes? Douglas Jones and Barbara Simons probe this question, along with public policy and regulatory issues raised by our voting technologies. Broken Ballots is a thorough and incisive analysis of the current voting climate that approaches American elections from technological, legal, and historical perspectives. The authors examine the ways in which Americans vote today, gauging how inaccurate, unreliable, and insecure our voting systems are. An important book for election administrators, political scientists, and students of government and technology policy, Broken Ballots is also a vital tool for any voting American.

Democracy Has Prevailed

Democracy Has Prevailed PDF Author: Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510767592
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
Celebrate democracy and the inauguration of America's 46th President, Joe Biden, by reliving his inaugural speech, along with an introductory speech by Senator Amy Klobuchar, the Inaugural Address of President Barack Obama, and the full text of both the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence. January 20th, 2021 will be remembered by all Americans as the day of the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. His inauguration, and the powerful declaration in his speech—"Democracy Has Prevailed!"—marked the start of a new time of hope and potential change at the end of a dark four years marred by political unrest, economic and social turmoil, and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, readers can remember and relive this incredible day with Democracy Has Prevailed. Presenting the full text of President Biden's inaugural speech, as well as Senator Amy Klobuchar's introductory speech, the Inaugural Address of President Barack Obama, and the full text of both the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence, this commemorative edition is perfect for Biden voters, history fans, and anyone with an interest in US politics and society.

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? PDF Author: Alexander Keyssar
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 067497414X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
A New Statesman Book of the Year “America’s greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy—the electoral college...A brilliant contribution to a critical current debate.” —Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don’t Represent Us Every four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this master class in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence. After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar outlines the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South’s long history of restrictive voting laws. By revealing the reasons for past failures and showing how close we’ve come to abolishing the Electoral College, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change. “Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will.” —Michael Kazin, The Nation “Rigorous and highly readable...shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford.” —Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary Supplement

Who's Counting?

Who's Counting? PDF Author: John H. Fund
Publisher: Encounter Books
ISBN: 1594036187
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Argues that voter fraud is an actual problem and that the United States needs more anti-voter fraud legislation to increase public confidence in the election process.

Making Votes Count

Making Votes Count PDF Author: Gary W. Cox
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521585279
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Popular elections are at the heart of representative democracy. Thus, understanding the laws and practices that govern such elections is essential to understanding modern democracy. In this book, Cox views electoral laws as posing a variety of coordination problems that political forces must solve. Coordination problems - and with them the necessity of negotiating withdrawals, strategic voting, and other species of strategic coordination - arise in all electoral systems. This book employs a unified game-theoretic model to study strategic coordination worldwide and that relies primarily on constituency-level rather than national aggregate data in testing theoretical propositions about the effects of electoral laws. This book also considers not just what happens when political forces succeed in solving the coordination problems inherent in the electoral system they face but also what happens when they fail.

Let the People Pick the President

Let the People Pick the President PDF Author: Jesse Wegman
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1250221986
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
“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.

Does Your Vote Count ?

Does Your Vote Count ? PDF Author: Tiano Bey
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781716077579
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description
"Every 4 years the interest in politics surges due to the election for the president of the United States. Everybody wants change on one hand, while others seek preservation... In this Mini Book I will shed light on the truth about voting. The history and knowledge of what voting truly encompasses, may leave you questioning if your vote really counts... "

Your Vote Matters: How We Elect the US President

Your Vote Matters: How We Elect the US President PDF Author: Rebecca Katzman
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 1546116710
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
This engaging and comprehensive illustrated guide will answer all kids' questions about how the president is elected! There's never been a timelier moment for kids to learn the importance of voting. Your Vote Matters walks readers through all the ins and outs of voting in America -- and more specifically, voting in presidential elections. This easy-to-understand guide explains every step in the presidential election process -- from who is eligible to run for president to what the president does once they are sworn into office. Learn about campaigning and debates, the difference between caucuses and primaries, and how the Electoral College works, plus information about who is eligible to vote; the many different ways citizens can vote on (and leading up to) Election Day; what happens after the final ballots are cast; and tips on what to consider when deciding which candidate should get your vote. Each page of this nonfiction guidebook also features full-color artwork, including photographs, maps, illustrations, charts, and infographics aimed at making the information inside as accessible and kid-friendly as possible. Your Vote Matters is the perfect book to not only help kids understand how elections work -- but why it's important to participate in every single one.

Does Your Vote Count?

Does Your Vote Count? PDF Author: Paul Kemp
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 1459718534
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
As Canadians, we grow up believing that we live in a democracy. In school we are taught about the importance of exercising our right to vote, and that the politicians we elect to the House of Commons are there to be our representatives - to give voice to the concerns of their constituents and to give ordinary citizens a say in how the country is governed. Does Your Vote Count? demonstrates just how far Canadian government has strayed from this democratic ideal. Using excerpts from interviews with current and former politicians, civil servants, and academics, author Paul Kemp argues that, in many important ways, our vote does not count. In reality, only one person holds almost all of Ottawa's decision-making power: the prime minister. Backbench MPs, and even many Cabinet ministers, have little or no influence over government policy. Moreover, party discipline is so strictly enforced that MPs rarely express opinions or viewpoints that differ from the party line, either in House debates or in parliamentary committees. Perhaps most alarming, the ability of Parliament to scrutinize government spending has been severely limited. Does Your Vote Count? challenges us to take a closer, more critical look at how well our government and electoral system are serving us as Canadian citizens. We may still have the right to choose who sits in the House of Commons, but how meaningful is this right if the people we elect into office have been stripped of all power and influence?

Securing the Vote

Securing the Vote PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030947647X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
During the 2016 presidential election, America's election infrastructure was targeted by actors sponsored by the Russian government. Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy examines the challenges arising out of the 2016 federal election, assesses current technology and standards for voting, and recommends steps that the federal government, state and local governments, election administrators, and vendors of voting technology should take to improve the security of election infrastructure. In doing so, the report provides a vision of voting that is more secure, accessible, reliable, and verifiable.