Summary: The Democracy Index E-Book

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• Herausgeber: Political Book Summaries
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 16

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The must-read summary of Heather K. Gerken's book: “The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System Is Failing and How to Fix It”.

This complete summary of "The Democracy Index" by Heather K. Gerken presents the author's diagnosis of the faults in the American electoral system, particularly in light of disasters such as Florida in 2000, and proposes a solution. Gerken suggests a ranking system called the "Democracy Index" that would incentivise politicians to help along electoral reform, as no state would want to be at the bottom of the list.

Added-value of this summary:
• Save time
• Understand the American electoral system and its proposed reforms
• Expand your knowledge of American politics and elections

To learn more, read "The Democracy Index" and discover the suggested reforms to a malfunctioning American electoral system.

Leseprobe

Book Presentation: The Democracy Index by Heather K. Gerken

Book Abstract

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 election. In The Democracy Index, 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, and serve as a blueprint for quantifying election performance and reform results. 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? This concept would drive rapid improvements simply because no one would want to be at the bottom of the list. This Index would create incentives for politicians, parties, and election officials to join the cause of reform and to come up with creative solutions – all without Congress issuing a single regulation.

About the Author

Heather K. Gerken is the Alfred Rankin Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where she teaches election and constitutional law. She is a frequent media commentator on elections and has written for the New Republic, Roll Call, Legal Affairs, and the Legal Times.

Summary of The Democracy Index (Heather K. Gerken )

Introduction

America’s election system is like a rickety old car; under the best of conditions it holds up just well enough to work, but under stress it risks breaking down. Our system has many problems:

Ballots are routinely lost and discarded.Poll workers are often poorly trained.Registration lists are filled with glitches.Partisan election officials often manipulate the system for advantage.