Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizen's Guide to Voting Systems
Interest in voting systems and voting system reform is growing in the United States. Voting systems—the procedures by which we cast votes and elect our public officials—are a crucial part of the democratic election process. The decision to use one kind of voting system rather than another has far-reaching political consequences. Among other things, voting systems help to determine which officials are elected to run our governments, the variety of parties that voters have to choose from at the polls, whether political minorities can win any representation, and whether the majority will rule.

Amy gives readers all the information and analytical tools needed to make intelligent choices among voting systems. He provides a set of political criteria that can be used to judge voting systems and gives detailed descriptions of all the common voting systems used in the United States and other Western democracies, including winner-take-all systems as well as proportional representation systems. He also provides an analysis of the various political advantages and disadvantages associated with each type of system. This is an important guide for citizens, government officials, political activists, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about voting systems and their political implications.

"1132779909"
Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizen's Guide to Voting Systems
Interest in voting systems and voting system reform is growing in the United States. Voting systems—the procedures by which we cast votes and elect our public officials—are a crucial part of the democratic election process. The decision to use one kind of voting system rather than another has far-reaching political consequences. Among other things, voting systems help to determine which officials are elected to run our governments, the variety of parties that voters have to choose from at the polls, whether political minorities can win any representation, and whether the majority will rule.

Amy gives readers all the information and analytical tools needed to make intelligent choices among voting systems. He provides a set of political criteria that can be used to judge voting systems and gives detailed descriptions of all the common voting systems used in the United States and other Western democracies, including winner-take-all systems as well as proportional representation systems. He also provides an analysis of the various political advantages and disadvantages associated with each type of system. This is an important guide for citizens, government officials, political activists, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about voting systems and their political implications.

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Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizen's Guide to Voting Systems

Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizen's Guide to Voting Systems

by Douglas J. Amy
Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizen's Guide to Voting Systems

Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizen's Guide to Voting Systems

by Douglas J. Amy

Hardcover

$95.00 
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Overview

Interest in voting systems and voting system reform is growing in the United States. Voting systems—the procedures by which we cast votes and elect our public officials—are a crucial part of the democratic election process. The decision to use one kind of voting system rather than another has far-reaching political consequences. Among other things, voting systems help to determine which officials are elected to run our governments, the variety of parties that voters have to choose from at the polls, whether political minorities can win any representation, and whether the majority will rule.

Amy gives readers all the information and analytical tools needed to make intelligent choices among voting systems. He provides a set of political criteria that can be used to judge voting systems and gives detailed descriptions of all the common voting systems used in the United States and other Western democracies, including winner-take-all systems as well as proportional representation systems. He also provides an analysis of the various political advantages and disadvantages associated with each type of system. This is an important guide for citizens, government officials, political activists, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about voting systems and their political implications.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780275965853
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 09/30/2000
Pages: 248
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)
Lexile: 1320L (what's this?)

About the Author

DOUGLAS J. AMY is Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College. He has written extensively about voting systems and voting system reform. Among his earlier books are Real Choices/New Voices: The Case for Proportional Representation Elections in the United States (1993) and The Politics of Environmental Mediation.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
What Are Voting Systems and Why Are They Important?
Criteria for Evaluating Voting Systems
Plurality-Majority Voting Systems
Proportional Representation Voting Systems
Semi-Proportional Voting Systems
Voting Systems for Single-Office Elections
Making Your Final Choice
Appendixes
Selected Bibliography
Index

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