The democracy index : why our election system is failing and how to fix it
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The democracy index : why our election system is failing and how to fix it
Princeton University Press, c2009
Available at 12 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Despite howls for reform, the only thing separating us from another election disaster of the kind that hit Florida in 2000, and that almost struck again in Ohio in 2004, may simply be another close vote. In this lucid and lively book, Heather Gerken diagnoses what is wrong with our elections and proposes a radically new and simple solution: a Democracy Index that would rate the performance of state and local election systems. A rough equivalent to the U.S. News and World Report ranking of colleges and universities, the Index would focus on problems that matter to all voters: how long does it take to vote? How many ballots get discarded? How often do voting machines break down? And it should work for a simple reason: no one wants to be at the bottom of the list. For a process that is supposed to be all about counting, U.S. elections yield few reliable numbers about anything - least of all how well the voting system is managed. "The Democracy Index" would change this with a blueprint for quantifying election performance and reform results, replacing anecdotes and rhetoric with hard data and verifiable outcomes.
A fresh vision of reform, this book shows how to drive improvements by creating incentives for politicians, parties, and election officials to join the cause of change and to come up with creative solutions - all without Congress issuing a single regulation. In clear and energetic terms, "The Democracy Index" explains how to realize the full potential of the Index while avoiding potential pitfalls. Election reform will never be the same again.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix INTRODUCTION Why We Need a Democracy Index 1 CHAPTER 1: The Perverse Politics of Election Reform Why (We Think) Elections Are Run Badly, and What to Do about It 11 CHAPTER 2: The Promise of Data-driven Reform 38 CHAPTER 3: The Politics of Reform and the Promise of Ranking 66 CHAPTER 4: Is the Game Worth the Candle? 91 CHAPTER 5: Getting from Here to There in Miniature Making the Democracy Index a Reality 108 Conclusion: Getting from "Here to There" Redux 132 AFTERWORD 137 NOTES 143 INDEX 173
by "Nielsen BookData"