Point Click And Vote

Whether responding to a CNN.com survey or voting for the NFL All-Pro team, computer users are becoming more and more comfortable with Internet polls. Computer use in the United States continues to grow—more than half of all American households now have a personal computer. The next question, then, becomes obvious. Should Americans be able to use the Internet in the most important polls of all? Some advocates of Internet voting argue that Americans are well suited to casting their ballots online in political elections. They are eager to make use of new technology, and they have relatively broad access to the Internet. Voting would become easier for people stuck at home, at the office, or on the road. Internet voting might encourage greater political participation among young adults, a group that stays away from the polling place in droves. It would hold special appeal for military personnel overseas, whose ability to vote is a growing concern. There are serious concerns, however, regarding computer security and voter fraud, unequal Internet access across socioeconomic lines (the "digital divide"), and the civic consequences of moving elections away from schools and other polling places and into private homes and offices. After all, showing up to vote is the most public civic activity many Americans engage in, and it is often their only overt participation in the democratic process. In Point, Click, and Vote, voting experts Michael Alvarez and Thad Hall make a strong case for greater experimentation with Internet voting. In their words, "There is no way to know whether any argument regarding Internet voting is accurate unless real Internet voting systems are tested, and they should be tested in small-scale, scientific trials so that their successes and failures can be evaluated." In other words, you never know until you try, and it's time to try harder. The authors offer a realistic plan for putting pilot remote Internet voting programs into effect n

Whether responding to a CNN.com survey or voting for the NFL All-Pro team, computer users are becoming more and more comfortable with Internet polls. Computer use in the United States continues to grow—more than half of all American households now have a personal computer. The next question, then, becomes obvious. Should Americans be able to use the Internet in the most important polls of all? Some advocates of Internet voting argue that Americans are well suited to casting their ballots online in political elections. They are eager to make use of new technology, and they have relatively broad access to the Internet. Voting would become easier for people stuck at home, at the office, or on the road. Internet voting might encourage greater political participation among young adults, a group that stays away from the polling place in droves. It would hold special appeal for military personnel overseas, whose ability to vote is a growing concern. There are serious concerns, however, regarding computer security and voter fraud, unequal Internet access across socioeconomic lines (the "digital divide"), and the civic consequences of moving elections away from schools and other polling places and into private homes and offices. After all, showing up to vote is the most public civic activity many Americans engage in, and it is often their only overt participation in the democratic process. In Point, Click, and Vote, voting experts Michael Alvarez and Thad Hall make a strong case for greater experimentation with Internet voting. In their words, "There is no way to know whether any argument regarding Internet voting is accurate unless real Internet voting systems are tested, and they should be tested in small-scale, scientific trials so that their successes and failures can be evaluated." In other words, you never know until you try, and it's time to try harder. The authors offer a realistic plan for putting pilot remote Internet voting programs into effect n

Since the 2000 presidential election, the United States has been embroiled in debates about electronic voting. Critics say the new technologies invite tampering and fraud. Advocates say they enhance the accuracy of vote counts and make casting ballots easier--and ultimately foster greater political participation. Electronic Elections cuts through the media spin to assess the advantages and risks associated with different ways of casting ballots--and shows how e-voting can be the future of American democracy. Elections by nature are fraught with risk. Michael Alvarez and Thad Hall fully examine the range of past methods and the new technologies that have been created to try to minimize risk and accurately reflect the will of voters. Drawing upon a wealth of new data on how different kinds of electronic voting machines have performed in recent elections nationwide, they evaluate the security issues that have been the subject of so much media attention, and examine the impacts the new computer-based solutions is having on voter participation. Alvarez and Hall explain why the benefits of e-voting can outweigh the challenges, and they argue that media coverage of the new technologies has emphasized their problems while virtually ignoring their enormous potential for empowering more citizens to vote. The authors also offer ways to improve voting technologies and to develop more effective means of implementing and evaluating these systems. Electronic Elections makes a case for how e-voting can work in the United States, showing why making it work right is essential to the future vibrancy of the democratic process.

The three volumes of Voting in America offer the most comprehensive, authoritative, and useful account of all aspects of voting in America ever assembled. This set surveys the legal foundations, historical development, and geographic diversity of voting practices at all levels of government in the United States. It marshals the demographics of voter participation and party affiliation in the 21st century by age, occupation, location, region, class, race, and religion, and parses the roles of interest groups, hot-button issues, and the media in mobilizing voters and shaping their decisions. Finally, the set anatomizes the critical voting debacles in the 2000 and 2004 elections and assesses the proposed remedies, including online voting and electronic voting machines. The host of chapters penned for this magisterial set by an unprecedented assemblage of academics, practitioners, and pundits includes such lively topics as: the Electoral College, prisoner disenfranchisement, obstacles and options for American voters abroad, the rise of ballot initiatives, the elusive youth vote, the battle for the swing vote, local issues trends, Wisconsin voter fraud, waiting in line in Ohio, the provisional ballots mess, and partisanship in voting companies.

While frustration with various aspects of American democracy abound in the United States, there is little agreement over—or even understanding of—what kinds of changes would make the system more effective and increase political participation. Matthew J. Streb sheds much-needed light on all the major concerns of the electoral process in the thoroughly revised third edition of this timely book on improving American electoral democracy. This critical examination of the rules and institutional arrangements that shape the American electoral process analyzes the major debates that embroil scholars and reformers on subjects ranging from the number of elections we hold and the use of nonpartisan elections, to the presidential nominating process and campaign finance laws. Ultimately, Streb argues for a less burdensome democracy, a democracy in which citizens can participate more easily in transparent, competitive elections. This book is designed to get students of elections and American political institutions to think critically about what it means to be democratic, and how democratic the United States really is. Part of the Controversies in Electoral Democracy and Representation series, edited by Matthew J. Streb.

This book explores how the tools of public management and policy evaluation can generate the data to improve elections.

If free and fair elections are the heart of our prized democratic system of government, the integrity of our electoral system must be beyond question. Yet all too often, flaws in the administration of our elections have undermined public confidence in the results. This volume is virtually unique in focusing closely on the procedural problems of our electoral system, including those posed by the computerization of voting systems. The author analyzes events in the electoral history of the United States (and, tangentially, of certain other nations) to reveal the particular dynamics of democratic electoral systems that permit purportedly free and fair elections to subvert rather than express the public will. Past electoral crises shedding light on our electoral deficiencies are chronicled in detail, allowing the author to diagnose systemic failures that can, he contends, be remedied in order to strengthen our democratic system. Chapters focus on current laws and procedures regarding voter registration, provisional ballots, absentee ballots, computerized voting systems, and the Electoral College. The author recommends specific reforms in all these areas that will safeguard our democratic heritage and ensure that the voice of the people is heard. The book presents often-complex material in lucid prose, illuminating issues vital to democracy.

This timely book provides a thought-provoking discussion of issues that influence voter registration and turnout in contemporary America. Elections not only determine who will fill an office; they have a lot to say about how the democratic process works—or doesn't work—in 21st-century America. This fascinating book sheds light on that question by focusing on factors that currently shape elections and political participation in the United States. It covers issues that are consistently in the media, such as gerrymandering; voter ID; and rules pertaining to when, where, and how Americans register and vote. But it also goes beyond the obvious to consider issues that are often overlooked—civic education and engagement, citizen apathy, and political alienation, for example. The volume begins with an introduction to elections that includes a discussion of the history of voting in the United States. Each subsequent chapter covers a different topic relative to registration and voting. It addresses matters of education as well as socialization, mobilization, and the legal and political structures that shape U.S. political participation. Ideal for readers who may be considering such concerns for the first time, the work will foster an understanding of why political participation is important and of the causes and consequences of non-voting.