How the States Shaped the Nation

How the States Shaped the Nation
Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Total Pages : 234
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780226114354
ISBN-13 : 022611435X
Rating : 4/5 (35X Downloads)

Book Synopsis How the States Shaped the Nation by : Melanie Jean Springer

Download or read book How the States Shaped the Nation written by Melanie Jean Springer and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-04-11 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States routinely has one of the lowest voter turnout rates of any developed democracy in the world. That rate is also among the most internally diverse, since the federal structure allows state-level variations in voting institutions that have had—and continue to have—sizable local effects. But are expansive institutional efforts like mail-in registration, longer poll hours, and “no-excuse” absentee voting uniformly effective in improving voter turnout across states? With How the States Shaped the Nation, Melanie Jean Springer places contemporary reforms in historical context and systematically explores how state electoral institutions have been instrumental in shaping voting behavior throughout the twentieth century. Although reformers often assume that more convenient voting procedures will produce equivalent effects wherever they are implemented, Springer reveals that this is not the case. In fact, convenience-voting methods have had almost no effect in the southern states where turnout rates are lowest. In contrast, the adverse effects associated with restrictive institutions like poll taxes and literacy tests have been persistent and dramatic. Ultimately, Springer argues, no single institutional fix will uniformly resolve problems of low or unequal participation. If we want to reliably increase national voter turnout rates, we must explore how states’ voting histories differ and better understand the role of political and geographical context in shaping institutional effects.


How the States Shaped the Nation Related Books

How the States Shaped the Nation
Language: en
Pages: 234
Authors: Melanie Jean Springer
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-04-11 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The United States routinely has one of the lowest voter turnout rates of any developed democracy in the world. That rate is also among the most internally diver
The Evolution of a Nation
Language: en
Pages: 248
Authors: Daniel Berkowitz
Categories: Business & Economics
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The book also examines the effects of early legal systems.
American Boundaries
Language: en
Pages: 469
Authors: Bill Hubbard
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2008-11-15 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For anyone who has looked at a map of the United States and wondered how Texas and Oklahoma got their Panhandles, or flown over the American heartland and marve
Fighting Political Gridlock
Language: en
Pages: 359
Authors: David J. Toscano
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-09-07 - Publisher: University of Virginia Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this profoundly polarized era, the nation has been transfixed on the politics of Washington and its seemingly impenetrable gridlock. Many of the decisions th
Mapping the Nation
Language: en
Pages: 260
Authors: Susan Schulten
Categories: Technology & Engineering
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-06-29 - Publisher: University of Chicago Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“A compelling read” that reveals how maps became informational tools charting everything from epidemics to slavery (Journal of American History). In the nin