The Politics of Disenfranchisement: Why is it So Hard to Vote in America?

by Richard K. Scher

Overview

We think of our American democracy as being a model for the world—and it has been. But today it compares unfavorably in some respects, especially when it comes to the universal franchise. The right to vote is more conditional and less exercised in the United States than in many other mature democracies. As became clear to all in the presidential election of 2000, when the stakes are high, efforts to define voter eligibility and manage the voting and vote-counting process to the advantage of one's own side are part of hard-ball politics. It is that experience that gave rise to this book.

Written by an author with wide expertise on Southern and Florida politics and districting, the book begins with a deceptively simple question—why is it so hard to vote in America? It proceeds, in seven chapters, to examine the ways that some people are formally or effectively disenfranchised, and to review how control of the ballot and the voting process is constrained, manipulated, and contested

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765627353
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/15/2011
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 Trying to Vote in America 3

The Political Context 4

The Intellectual Context 6

The Politics of Disenfranchisement and Other Works 7

Why the Hurdles, Difficulties, and Impediments? 8

The Public, Democracy, and the Nature of Our Elections 20

A Note on the 2008 General Election 22

The Plan of the Book 24

Notes 25

Part I Disenfranchisement as Public Policy: The Great American Tradition 27

2 Let Everyone Vote? Not on Your Life! 29

The Franchise at the Nation's Origin 30

Disenfranchising African Americans 32

The Jim Crow Era 35

Women's Suffrage 40

Chinese Immigrants 45

Conclusion 48

Notes 48

3 Disenfranchising the Marginalized 52

Convicted Felons 52

Noncitizens 56

The Mentally and Physically Impaired 59

Those Under Eighteen 63

Language Minorities 65

The Homeless 69

Conclusion 71

Notes 72

Part II The Mechanics of Voting 79

4 Keep You from Voting? Yes, We Can! 81

Qualifying 81

Registration 82

Same-Day Registration (EDR) 90

Third-Party Registration 92

Polling Places 93

Alternatives to Polling Places 97

Voter Purges 102

Voter ID 103

Conclusion 107

Notes 108

5 So You Cast a Ballot! Will It Count? 115

A Brief Overview of Voting Technology, Historically Speaking 116

Electronic Voting: "Grasping at Straws, Rushing to Judgment" 121

Conclusion 130

Notes 134

Part III Trying to Vote in America: Disenfranchisement as Public Policy 139

6 Gaming the System: Disenfranchisement by Other Means 141

Fraud 143

Incumbency Advantage 146

Districting 148

Disenfranchising Voters After the Election: Recounts and Courts 151

Intimidation 157

Conclusion 160

Notes 161

7 Conclusion: Do We Want to Do Better? 165

The Voter's Responsibility, and the State's 166

Constitutional Obligations 169

Political Obligations 173

Ethical Obligations 178

What is to Be Done? 181

Creating Our Future 186

Notes 187

Index 189

About the Author 201