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Will Your Vote Count? Fixing America's Broken Electoral System
Herma Percy
ISBN: 0-313-36432-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-36432-7
166 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 4/30/2009
List Price: $39.95 (UK Sterling Price: £27.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • ". . . a timely and relevant study of our electoral system in terms of what's gone wrong and what needs to be done to set it right. . . . Very highly recommended reading for political activists and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the integrity of the American electoral system, Will Your Vote Count offers thoughtful and though-provoking reform measures to rehabilitate what is an obviously malfunction electoral system at the municipal, state, and federal levels. No academic or community library should be without a copy of Herma Percy's Will Your Vote Count as a part of their Political Science collection."
    —Midwest Book Review - Library Bookwatch     June 2009
  • "Percy (associate professor, Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Institute, Maryland) uses the 2000 presidential election to outline the existing problems with the electoral process, and offers general readers an analysis of the sometimes faulty technologies used to count votes. The author describes how current voting machines are vulnerable to tampering, programming errors and reliability issues and provides case studies on failures and the resulting lawsuits. She also outlines the steps needed to reform these technologies and offers a thorough analysis of the electoral process and how it is related to the US Constitution as well as the intent of the founding fathers."
    —Reference & Research Book News     August 2009
Description: Voters in a democratic society should have confidence in the electoral process. Yet, as Americans have witnessed in every election since 2000, voting-the basic act of citizenship—is under assault: technologically complex, subject to manipulation, and fiercely contested on many levels. Documenting the areas of collapse in the American electoral process, this book analyzes ongoing problems in the casting and counting of ballots, as well as new threats: future elections could be compromised by new voting machines that are unreliable, poorly programmed, and prone to tampering. At this critical moment for American democracy, the author issues a call for urgently needed reforms.

 Title Features:
Our electoral system was not built for high-intensity conflict, high voter turnout, and close elections. This book:
  • Systematically examines the problems voters may face as they cast a vote and the factors that may prevent a cast ballot from being counted.
  • Clarifies the degree to which electronic voting machines' security and reliability have been problematic in elections.
  • Critically analyzes acts of voting intimidation and discrimination in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.
  • Traces the increasing number of election lawsuits, a trend established as a result of the 2000 election debacle.
  • Explains the intent of the U.S. founders and fundamental Constitutional principles as they relate to electoral politics at the national level.
  • Proposes reform measures to reclaim America's electoral system for the people.
Table of Contents:
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
    INTRODUCTION
    CHAPTER 1. SETTING THE STAGE: VOTING SYSTEMS AND THE ELECTION CRISIS
    CHAPTER 2. RELIABILITY: VOTING MACHINES PROBLEMS
    CHAPTER 3. HOW SECURE ARE AMERICAS VOTING MACHINES? CONTROVERSY AND MISPERCEPTIONS
    CHAPTER 4. VOTE DILUTION: AN ANALYSIS OF VOTING IRREGULARITIES
    CHAPTER 5. AN ELECTORAL SYSTEM IN DISPUTE: HARMFUL RISE IN
    ELECTION LAWSUITS
    CHAPTER 6. 2008 ELECTION CRISIS: WHO SHOULD RESOLVE ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DISPUTE THE PEOPLE OR THE COURTS?
    CHAPTER 7. REFORMING AMERICAS BROKEN ELECTORAL SYSTEM
    CHAPTER 8. YOUR RIGHTS: WHAT EVERY VOTER SHOULD KNOW
    Appendix A
    Appendix B
    Endnotes
    Bibliography
About the Author: Herma Percy, Ph.D. is an associate professor at the Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Institute at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland, and a radio news director, anchor, and talk show host for WNAV-AM in Annapolis. She has had a wide-ranging career in politics, political science education, media relations, public affairs, and journalism.
LCC Class: 324.60973-dc22
PDF Catalogs:
Praeger Politics 2008.pdf
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