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

Originally published in 2000, The Right to Vote was widely hailed as a magisterial account of the evolution of suffrage from the American Revolution to the end of the twentieth century. In this revised and updated edition, Keyssar carries the story forward, from the disputed presidential contest of 2000 through the 2008 campaign and the election of Barack Obama. The Right to Vote is a sweeping reinterpretation of American political history as well as a meditation on the meaning of democracy in contemporary American life.

Description: "The Evolution of Democracy A History of U.S. Elections and Voting" is an in-depth exploration of the political development and electoral processes in the United States. This comprehensive guide provides a detailed analysis of the key events, systems, and figures that have shaped American democracy from its colonial beginnings to the contemporary digital era. Chapter 1: Colonial Era to the Founding Fathers Explore the early roots of American democracy, focusing on the colonial era and the influential figures known as the Founding Fathers. Chapter 2: The 19th Century: Expansion, Civil War, and... Delve into the significant events of the 19th century, including territorial expansion, the Civil War, and their lasting impacts on the nation. Chapter 3: The Progressive Era and the Rise of Political... Learn about the Progressive Era and the emergence of political movements aimed at reforming American society and government. Chapter 4: The Electoral College System Understand the origins, function, and ongoing debates surrounding the Electoral College system in U.S. presidential elections. Chapter 5: Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions Gain insights into the primary processes, caucuses, and national conventions that play crucial roles in selecting party nominees. Chapter 6: Campaign Finance and the Role of Money in... Examine the critical issue of campaign finance, exploring how money influences political campaigns and election outcomes. Chapter 7: The History of Voting Rights in the USA Trace the evolution of voting rights in the U.S., from early restrictions to the landmark legislation that expanded suffrage. Chapter 8: Voter Suppression and Gerrymandering Analyze contemporary challenges to voting rights, including practices like voter suppression and gerrymandering. Chapter 9: Voting Systems and Election Security Learn about the various voting systems used in the U.S. and the measures taken to ensure election security and integrity. Chapter 10: The Evolution of Political Parties in the USA Follow the development of American political parties, their transformations, and their impact on the political landscape. Chapter 11: The Role of Interest Groups and Lobbying Understand the influence of interest groups and lobbying on American politics and policy-making processes. Chapter 12: The Impact of Ideology and Political... Explore how political ideologies shape party platforms, policy decisions, and voter behavior. Chapter 13: The Role of the Media in Shaping Public Opinion Investigate the media's crucial role in informing the public and influencing political opinions and election outcomes. Chapter 14: Social Media and the Digital Campaign Discover the growing importance of social media and digital strategies in modern political campaigns. Chapter 15: Fact-Checking and Combating Misinformation Learn about the challenges of misinformation in politics and the efforts to promote fact-checking and truth in public discourse. Chapter 16: The Consequences of Election Outcomes Examine the broader implications of election results on governance, policy direction, and social change. Chapter 17: The Impact of Elections on the Economy and... Explore the interplay between elections and economic policies, including how political changes can affect economic stability and growth. This book is an essential resource for anyone seeking a thorough understanding of the American political system, its history, and the various factors that influence electoral processes and outcomes.

The Founding Fathers who drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 distrusted political parties, popular democracy, centralized government, and a strong executive office. Yet the country's national politics have historically included all those features. In American Political History: A Very Short Introduction, Donald Critchlow takes on this contradiction between original theory and actual practice. This brief, accessible book explores the nature of the two-party system, key turning points in American political history, representative presidential and congressional elections, struggles to expand the electorate, and critical social protest and third-party movements. The volume emphasizes the continuity of a liberal tradition challenged by partisan divide, war, and periodic economic turmoil. American Political History: A Very Short Introduction explores the emergence of a democratic political culture within a republican form of government, showing the mobilization and extension of the mass electorate over the lifespan of the country. In a nation characterized by great racial, ethnic, and religious diversity, American democracy has proven extraordinarily durable. Individual parties have risen and fallen, but the dominance of the two-party system persists. Fierce debates over the meaning of the U.S. Constitution have created profound divisions within the parties and among voters, but a belief in the importance of constitutional order persists among political leaders and voters. Americans have been deeply divided about the extent of federal power, slavery, the meaning of citizenship, immigration policy, civil rights, and a range of economic, financial, and social policies. New immigrants, racial minorities, and women have joined the electorate and the debates. But American political history, with its deep social divisions, bellicose rhetoric, and antagonistic partisanship provides valuable lessons about the meaning and viability of democracy in the early 21st century. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

“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.

Defining Democracy reveals the history of a little-known experiment in urban democracy begun in New York City during the Great Depression and abolished amid the early Cold War. For a decade, New Yorkers utilized a new voting system that produced the most diverse legislatures in the city's history and challenged the American two-party structure. Daniel O. Prosterman examines struggles over electoral reform in New York City to clarify our understanding of democracy's evolution in the United States and the world.

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.