[PDF] Americas Electoral College eBook

Author : George C. Edwards III
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 49,9 MB
Release : 2019-08-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0300249659

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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)

Author : Alexander Keyssar
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 545 pages
File Size : 28,7 MB
Release : 2020-07-31
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 067497414X

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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

Author : Jesse Wegman
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 10,56 MB
Release : 2020-03-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1250221986

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“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.

Author : Therese M. Shea
Publisher : The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
Page : 35 pages
File Size : 40,82 MB
Release : 2006-08-01
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 140423358X

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Examines the process of choosing the president.

Author : Norman J. Ornstein
Publisher : A E I Press
Page : 126 pages
File Size : 36,83 MB
Release : 1992
Category : Political Science
ISBN :

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The new edition of this popular guide examines how the electoral college and postelection processes work and includes a short history of contested elections.

Author : Jeff Fleischer
Publisher : Millbrook Press
Page : 185 pages
File Size : 30,94 MB
Release : 2020-03-03
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN : 1541596056

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Every two years, media coverage of American elections turns into a horse-race story about who's leading the polls and who said what when. Give young adult readers clear explanations about how our election process actually works, why it matters, and how they can become involved. Using real-world examples and anecdotes, this book provides readers with thorough, nonpartisan explanations about primaries, the electoral college, checks and balances, polls, fundraising, and more. Updated with facts, figures, and analysis, this edition provides the next generation of voters with essential guidance about the past, present, and future of American elections. "[A] very readable, engaging, and entertaining history of American elections and politics for young people. Highly recommended."—starred, Booklist "Fleischer presents a potentially didactic subject matter in a digestible and organized manner. Recommended for middle to high school students, educators, and others interested in becoming civically informed and engaged."—School Library Journal

Author : Robert William Bennett
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 31,83 MB
Release : 2006
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780804754101

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This book examines the history and weaknesses of the electoral college and proposes reforms that could be made to our electoral process without a constitutional amendment.

Author : Josiah Peterson
Publisher : King's College Press
Page : 49 pages
File Size : 48,51 MB
Release : 2017-08-30
Category :
ISBN : 9780692896952

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The 2016 election triggered criticism of America's Electoral College. Opponents argue that it is time to do away with the Electoral College system, whose creation, they contend, was an accident of history in the first place. This small volume sets the record straight. In fact, the Electoral College was an ingenious creation of our Founders.The Founders designed the College to fit in with the rest of the federal system and preserve the division of powers, the moderating influence of states, and a republican government that respects the consent of the governed. The Electoral College represents a kind of insurance limiting the influence of demagoguery. As this quick, easy-to-read handbook shows, without the Electoral College, America would see more partisan and national grandstanding, not less.

Author : George C. Edwards III
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 31,16 MB
Release : 2023-11-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1009426257

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Employing rigorous analysis and systematic data, this volume shows how the electoral college violates democratic principles and does not provide the benefits its advocates claim. With a new chapter addressing the 2020 election, this remains the definitive book on the unique American election system-and why that system should change.