The Disappearing American Voter

Author : Ruy A. Teixeira
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2011-10-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0815723202

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The Disappearing American Voter by Ruy A. Teixeira Pdf

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.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 127 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 1990
Category : Elections
ISBN : OCLC:25457864

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The Disappearance of the American Voter Revisited by Anonim Pdf

Author : Alan Abramowitz
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2010-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300162882

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The Disappearing Center by Alan Abramowitz Pdf

Renowned political scientist Alan I. Abramowitz presents a groundbreaking argument that the most important divide in American politics is not between left and right but rather between citizens who are politically engaged and those who are not. It is the engaged members of the public, he argues, who most closely reflect the ideals of democratic citizenship--but this is also the group that is most polarized. Polarization at the highest levels of government, therefore, is not a sign of elites' disconnection from the public but rather of their responsiveness to the more politically engaged parts of it. Though polarization is often assumed to be detrimental to democracy, Abramowitz concludes that by presenting voters with clear choices, polarization can serve to increase the public's interest and participation in politics and strengthen electoral accountability.

Author : William D. Schreckhise
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 476 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2018-03-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781442261952

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Evaluating American Democracy and Public Policymaking by William D. Schreckhise Pdf

This book examines how well the American political systems performs by using multiple criteria, including the level of trust the public has towards the institutions of government, the abilities of the institutions to make good public policy, the extent to which policy is responsive to public opinion, and the extent to which public policy is fair.

Author : Brian L. Fife
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2010-06-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780313372285

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Reforming the Electoral Process in America by Brian L. Fife Pdf

Calling for increased civic engagement, this book makes a compelling case for reforms that will democratize American elections and provide more power to the people. Quick-fix plans to "restore democracy" are a dime a dozen. Happily, Reforming the Electoral Process in America: Toward More Democracy in the 21st Century offers a more nuanced approach, emphasizing the value of civic engagement in a democratic society. Author Brian L. Fife situates our current plight in the context of the growth of democracy, from the Founding Fathers through the Jackson era, the enfranchisement of blacks after the Civil War, women's suffrage, and the Voting Rights Act of the 1960s. He reflects on the work of the Framers as it pertains to voting and elections, compares voting laws and voter turnout in the various states, and offers an analysis of the impact of money in American elections. Ultimately, Fife proposes a blueprint for reform that includes national same-day voter registration, elimination of punch card and mechanical voting machines, reconsideration of felons' voting rights, regional primaries, and the abolition of the Electoral College.

Author : Morgan E. Felchner
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 758 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2008-06-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780275998059

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Voting in America by Morgan E. Felchner Pdf

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.

Author : Thomas E. Patterson
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2009-09-09
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780307548672

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The Vanishing Voter by Thomas E. Patterson Pdf

From the award-winning author of Out of Order—named the best political science book of the last decade by the American Political Science Association—comes this landmark book about why Americans don’t vote. Based on more than 80,000 interviews, The Vanishing Voter investigates why—despite a better educated citizenry, the end of racial barriers to voting, and simplified voter registration procedures—the percentage of voters has steadily decreased to the point that the United States now has nearly the lowest voting rate in the world. Patterson cites the blurring of differences between the political parties, the news media’s negative bias, and flaws in the election system to explain this disturbing trend while suggesting specific reforms intended to bring Americans back to the polls. Astute, far-reaching, and impeccably researched, The Vanishing Voter engages the very meaning of our relationship to our government.

Author : Eric R. A. N. Smith
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 1989-10-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0520909755

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The Unchanging American Voter by Eric R. A. N. Smith Pdf

Have the American people grown more politically sophisticated in the past three decades, or do they remain relatively ignorant of the political world? Did a "great leap forward" take place during the 1960s in which our citizenry became involved and adept voters? In this important book, Eric Smith addresses these and other provocative questions that have long befuddled political scientists and policymakers. Much of the current wisdom about American voters derives from an argument advanced in a volume entitled The Changing American Voter, written by Nie, Verba, and Petrocik. In this work, the authors contend that the electorate made a "great leap forward" in political sophistication and ideological thinking between the 1960 and 1964 elections. They argue that people changed in response to a shifting environment, and that, in particular, the surge of protest and ideological rhetoric between 1960 and 1964 engendered a new political savvy and sophistication. In their view, people learned to understand politics better, to relate the issues to the candidates more accurately, and to cast more informed, intelligent votes. In The Unchanging American Voter, Smith takes issue with this portrait of an engaged American citizenry and replaces it with a quite different picture of the voters of this nation. He posits a more bleak political landscape in which the typical voter knows little about politics, is not interested in the political arena and consequently does not participate in it, and is even unable to organize his or her attitudes in a coherent manner. To support this view, Smith demonstrates how the indices by which Nie, Verba, and Petrocik measured levels of sophistication during the 1960s were methodologically flawed and how a closer examination of supposed changes reveals only superficial and unimportant shifts in the ways voters have approached the ballot box since the 1950s. The Unchanging American Voter is an intelligent and original work that provides a new perspective of the American citizenry. It is sure to engender discussion and debate about the dynamics of voting in postwar America.

Author : Jody C Baumgartner,Peter L. Francia
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2019-11-12
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781538129173

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Conventional Wisdom and American Elections by Jody C Baumgartner,Peter L. Francia Pdf

During every election cycle, political observers generate a seemingly limitless supply of theories, opinions, and predictions. Unfortunately, many of these assertions oversimplify complex subjects or overhype the latest political fads. Inevitably, some misinformation becomes part of the conventional wisdom about American elections. The objective of Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions is to bring clarity to several of these subjects. For example, it is now commonplace for commentators to emphasize the negative tactics and practices of the campaigns of presidential candidates. In 2016, some commentators suggested that the presidential campaign was the “nastiest” ever, with the campaigns of President Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and their supporters, going to “new extremes” of negativity. However, these claims are not new. Dating as far back as the presidential election of 1800, critics of Thomas Jefferson stated that his potential victory would bring about legal prostitution and the burning of the Bible. In 1824, opponents of Andrew Jackson charged that he was a murderer and that his wife was a bigamist. Perhaps most scurrilous of all, Jackson’s opponents even accused his dead mother of being a prostitute. In total, Conventional Wisdom and American Elections identifies eleven widely held myths and misconceptions about elections in the United States. The conclusions drawn throughout the book are based on the most current political science research. In some instances, the literature is clear in debunking popular myths about American elections. On other issues, research findings are more mixed. In either case, Conventional Wisdom and American Elections clarifies the issues so that readers can discern between those in which scholars have largely resolved and those in which honest debate remains.

Author : Michael S. Lewis-Beck,Helmut Norpoth,William G. Jacoby,Herbert F. Weisberg
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 514 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2009-12-18
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780472025138

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The American Voter Revisited by Michael S. Lewis-Beck,Helmut Norpoth,William G. Jacoby,Herbert F. Weisberg Pdf

Today we are politically polarized as never before. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 will be remembered as two of the most contentious political events in American history. Yet despite the recent election upheaval, The American Voter Revisited discovers that voter behavior has been remarkably consistent over the last half century. And if the authors are correct in their predictions, 2008 will show just how reliably the American voter weighs in, election after election. The American Voter Revisited re-creates the outstanding 1960 classic The American Voter---which was based on the presidential elections of 1952 and 1956---following the same format, theory, and mode of analysis as the original. In this new volume, the authors test the ideas and methods of the original against presidential election surveys from 2000 and 2004. Surprisingly, the contemporary American voter is found to behave politically much like voters of the 1950s. "Simply essential. For generations, serious students of American politics have kept The American Voter right on their desk. Now, everyone will keep The American Voter Revisited right next to it." ---Larry J. Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of A More Perfect Constitution "The American Voter Revisited is destined to be the definitive volume on American electoral behavior for decades. It is a timely book for 2008, with in-depth analyses of the 2000 and 2004 elections updating and extending the findings of the original The American Voter. It is also quite accessible, making it ideal for graduate students as well as advanced undergrads." ---Andrew E. Smith, Director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center "A theoretically faithful, empirically innovative, comprehensive update of the original classic." ---Sam Popkin, Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego Michael S. Lewis-Beck is F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa. William G. Jacoby is Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. Helmut Norpoth is Professor of Political Science at Stony Brook University. Herbert F. Weisberg is Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University.

Author : Raffaele Romanelli
Publisher : Kluwer Law International B.V.
Page : 470 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 1998-08-19
Category : Law
ISBN : 9789041110121

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How Did They Become Voters?:The History of Franchise in Modern European Representation by Raffaele Romanelli Pdf

This work contains the updated papers presented at the Conference "How Did They Become Voters? The History of Franchise in Modern European Representational Systems", which was organized under the auspices of the European University Institute and held on 20-22 April 1995 in Florence. It examines the basic mechanisms regulating electoral processes in many countries, both in Europe and the rest of the world, in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Author : Elizabeth A. Theiss-Morse,Michael W. Wagner,William H. Flanigan,Nancy H. Zingale
Publisher : CQ Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2018-01-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781506367743

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Political Behavior of the American Electorate by Elizabeth A. Theiss-Morse,Michael W. Wagner,William H. Flanigan,Nancy H. Zingale Pdf

The 2016 elections took place under intense political polarization and uncertain economic conditions, to widely unexpected results. How did Trump pull off his victory? Political Behavior of the American Electorate, Fourteenth Edition, attempts to answer this question by interpreting data from the most recent American National Election Study to provide a thorough analysis of the 2016 elections and the current American political behavior. Authors Elizabeth Theiss-Morse and Michael Wagner continue the tradition of Flanigan and Zingale to illustrate and document trends in American political behavior with the best longitudinal data available. The authors also put these trends in context by focusing on the major concepts and characteristics that shape Americans’ responses to politics. In the completely revised Fourteenth Edition, readers will explore get-out-the-vote efforts and the reasons people voted the way they did, as well as the nature and impact of partisanship, news media coverage, and other issues in 2016—all with an eye toward understanding the trends that led up to the historic decision.

Author : Alexander Keyssar
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 496 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2009-06-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9780465010141

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The Right to Vote by Alexander Keyssar Pdf

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.

Author : Ruy Teixeira,Joel Townsley Rogers
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 250 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2008-01-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780465011810

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America's Forgotten Majority by Ruy Teixeira,Joel Townsley Rogers Pdf

A powerful look at the real America, dominated by America's "forgotten majority"-white working-class men and women who make up 55 percent of the voting population

Author : Robert E. DiClerico
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2004-05-25
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781576079324

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Voting in America by Robert E. DiClerico Pdf

A thorough examination of the people, forces, and events that have shaped the right, opportunity, and value of the vote in America from 1715 to the present. Despite the successful struggles of women, blacks, soldiers, and other minorities to secure suffrage, voter turnout in America is among the lowest in westernized countries. Voting in America: A Reference Handbook surveys the history of voting, examining how it has evolved since Colonial times. This book focuses on how various legal, constitutional, and social barriers such as the Voter Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, the Motor Voter Act, and the 23rd Amendment have impacted the right to vote. It also focuses on what controversies, such as the two-party monopoly and financial influence, still remain. The only book to consider the rise in voting opportunities for Americans also explores factors affecting the value of the vote, such as redistricting, term limits, and low voter turnout.