Introduction

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In the run-up to the election, months are spent considering candidates, positions, and political parties, but it really all comes down to a single moment for each voter. The actual act of voting almost becomes an afterthought after the hoopla of the general election, but as the 2000 Election demonstrated, voting practices, efficiency, and accuracy can be incredibly important.

Fortunately, we have numerous books that explore problems with our electoral system and offer solutions. In a landmark book, The Democracy Index, Heather Gerken argues for a ranking of election practices. These rankings would “grade” districts on things like how long voters waited on line, if polling locations were adequately staffed, and whether their votes are accurately counted and making these rankings public would encourage districts to adopt best practices and improve elections. In Electronic Elections, R. Michael Alvarez & Thad E. Hall show how e-voting can work in the United States and why making it work right is essential to the future vibrancy of the democratic process.

Other books remind us that candidates aren’t the only things that appear in the voting booth (Voting the Agenda by Stephen P. Nicholson) and that elections don’t only happen on a nation-wide, or even state-wide, scale (Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy by J. Eric Oliver).

–Chuck Myers, group publisher in social sciences and editor in political science

Exclusive Excerpt

Click here to download an article on Democracy as a National Value

Excerpted from The Concise Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History.

Featured Book

The Democracy Index
Why Our Election System Is Failing and How to Fix It
Heather K. Gerken

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