Changing How America Votes is an edited volume comprised of 15 short substantive chapters on various specific reform topics that examine how electoral democracy in the United States might be improved. Editor Todd Donovan has organized the readings around three themes: changing who votes, changing how we vote, and the roles of parties and money.
Preface
1. Evaluating American Elections: Are They Working Well?, by Todd Donovan
Part I: Voting and Participation: Changing Who Votes
2. Compulsory Voting and the United States, by Shane P. Singh
3. Race and the Right to Vote: The Modern Barrier of Voter ID Laws, by Hannah Walker, Gabriel Sanchez, Stephen Nuño, and Matt Barreto
4. Provisional Votes: An Election Reform to Count More Votes, by Martha Kropf and Holly Whisman
5. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Curious Case of Immigrant Voting Rights, by Ron Hayduk
Part II: Electoral Rules and Systems: Changing How We Vote
6. Changing How America Votes for President, by Caroline J. Tolbert and Kellen Gracey
7. Redistricting and Representation: Searching for "Fairness" between the Lines, by Vladimir Kogan and Eric McGhee
8. Ranked Choice Voting: A Different Way of Casting and Counting Votes, by David C. Kimball and Joseph Anthony
9. The Impact of Electoral Rules on Minority Representation, by Jason P. Casellas and Kenicia Wright
10. The Fair Representation Act for Congress, by Rob Richie and Drew Spencer Penrose
Part III: Changing the Roles of Parties and Money
11. What's Rules Got to Do with It? Parties, Reform, and Selection in the Presidential Nomination Process, by Jason S. Byers and Jamie L. Carson
12. Signature Requirements and Ballot Access for Non-Major Party Candidates, by Barry C. Burden and Jordan Hsu
13. Third Parties and the Fight for Electoral Reform, by Brian Brox
14. Campaign Finance in U.S. Politics: An Era without Limits, by Lonna Rae Atkeson and Wendy L. Hansen
15. When Do Election Rules Change?, by Todd Donovan
References
Index
Contributors
Todd Donovan is professor of political science at Western Washington University, where he conducts research and writes about elections, representation, and electoral reform. He was recently elected to the non-partisan Whatcom County Council, after being elected to the County's Charter Review Commission. Donovan has worked as an expert witness on election matters in federal courts and in several states.