What You Need to Know About Voting--and Why

by Kim Wehle

Overview

“Now, more than ever, Americans are realizing that their votes count. Kim Wehle’s excellent guide tells you everything you need to know about the laws governing our greatest right and privilege. A must-read, especially in an election year.” —Norah O'Donnell, Anchor and Managing Editor, CBS Evening News

Want to change the world? The first step is to exercise your right to vote! In this step by step guide, you can learn everything you need to know. 

In What You Need to Know About Voting—and Why, law professor and constitutional scholar Kimberly Wehle offers practical, useful advice on the mechanics of voting and an enlightening survey of its history and future. 

• What is a primary?
• How does the electoral college work?
• Who gets to cast a ballot and why?
• How do mail-in ballots work?
• How do I register?

For new voters, would-be voters, young people and all of us looking ahead to the next election, What You Need to Know About Voting—and Why is a timely and informative guide, providing the background you need in order to make informed choices that will shape our shared destiny for decades to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062974785
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Series:	Legal Expert Series
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Kim Wehle is a tenured Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she teaches and writes on the constitutional separation of powers, administrative law, and civil procedure. She was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney and an Associate Counsel in the Whitewater Investigation. Professor Wehle has been a commentator for CBS News, as well as a Contributor for BBC World News and BBC World News America on PBS, an Op-Ed Contributor for The Bulwark, and an Opinion Contributor for The Hill. She has been a regular guest legal analyst on various media outlets regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election and other issues regarding the structural Constitution and the Trump Administration, including on CNN, MSNBC, NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS NewsHour, and Fox News. Her articles have also appeared in the Baltimore Sun, the L.A. Times, and NBC News Think. She is regularly interviewed and cited by prominent print journalists on a range of legal issues. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her children.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I Voting State-by-State: What You Need to Know Now

1 The Two-Step "Recipe" for Voting 15

2 Moving Out of State, Missed an Election Cycle, or Off to College? An "Ingredient" List for Staying Registered 65

3 The Latest on Ballot Confusion and Voting Machine Clunkery 75

Part II Voting Is Not a Constitutional Right (It All Depends)

4 What Does the "Right" to Vote Even Mean? 89

5 Who Gets to Vote Legally in America 99

6 Key Ingredients to Electing a President (and What's the Electoral College, Anyway?) 107

7 Key Ingredients to Electing People to Congress 127

Part III Why Your Right to Vote Is in Danger Today

8 How Dug in Are Politicians? Gerrymandering and Limitless Terms for Congress 145

9 Does Your Vote Even Matter? Senate Malapportionment and Winner-Takes-All Vote Counting 157

10 Money in Politics 167

11 Voter Suppression and Voter Fraud: Myths or Realities? 181

12 Voter Misinformation: A Primer on Foreign Interference in US Presidential Elections 195

Conclusion 209

Acknowledgments 213

Appendix 215

State-by-State Registration Requirements 216

State-by-State Voter Identification Requirements 236

Same-Day Registration 253

State-by-State Voting Rights of Felons 256

How to Get on the Presidential Ballot 272

Notes 303

Index 319

Editorial Reviews

Now, more than ever, Americans are realizing that their votes count. Kim Wehle’s excellent guide tells you everything you need to know about the laws governing our greatest right and privilege. A must-read, especially in an election year.” — Norah O'Donnell, Anchor and Managing Editor, CBS Evening News

“Approachable and informative… What You Need to Know About Voting and Why is a clearly written resource for voters across the political spectrum, and is especially useful as we approach the 2020 presidential election.” — Booklist

Praise for How to Read the Constitution—and Why: “Not since perhaps the Nixon years have there been so many valid questions about the U.S. Constitution and its role in our lives—and so many perceived challenges to it. Kim Wehle’s How to Read the Constitution—and Why provides essential, compelling reading on this glorious document. A must-read for this era.” — Jake Tapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent

“[An] accessible treatise…. Wehle elegantly translates the Constitution into layperson-friendly terms.”
— Publishers Weekly

"A probing and limpid explanation of an often misunderstood patchwork of systems, requirements, and mechanisms." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Now, more than ever, Americans are realizing that their votes count. Kim Wehle’s excellent guide tells you everything you need to know about the laws governing our greatest right and privilege. A must-read, especially in an election year.

Norah O'Donnell

Praise for How to Read the Constitution—and Why: “Not since perhaps the Nixon years have there been so many valid questions about the U.S. Constitution and its role in our lives—and so many perceived challenges to it. Kim Wehle’s How to Read the Constitution—and Why provides essential, compelling reading on this glorious document. A must-read for this era.

Jake Tapper

Approachable and informative… What You Need to Know About Voting and Why is a clearly written resource for voters across the political spectrum, and is especially useful as we approach the 2020 presidential election.

Booklist

Approachable and informative… What You Need to Know About Voting and Why is a clearly written resource for voters across the political spectrum, and is especially useful as we approach the 2020 presidential election.

Booklist

2020-03-16
A thorough examination of the specifics of voting in the U.S.

Constitutional scholar and law professor Wehle has designed this book as a guide for those seeking greater insight into a variety of related topics, including the slippery concept of the right to vote, the background basics of voting, and the structural barriers to voting. Though the writing is clear and conversational, there is a serious aura about the proceedings. She introduces readers to what she calls the “Voter Two-Step”—first register, then vote. This is not as simple as it sounds, as each state has its own stipulations; furthermore, the Constitution has no express provision conferring the right to vote. State legislatures administer federal, state, and local elections, so Wehle offers state-by-state breakdowns of specific requirements; early, provisional, and absentee voting; and the rights of those with disabilities. She then explores one of the most controversial elements of our political process, the Electoral College—“If this sounds to you like an insider’s game, you’re right. If this sounds bizarrely anti-democratic, you’re right again”—before moving on to gerrymandering (“politics-driven…congressional districts”); term limits; voter fraud and its cousin, voter suppression; the dicey role of money in politics; and the troubling role played by the Supreme Court regarding campaign finance laws. Though Wehle can—and has reason to—get cynical at times, she cogently lays out what readers need to know, all with an eye on an important question: “Who…is in charge of our democracy? If it’s not ‘We the People,’ who is it?” In the face of depressing news and statistics about voter turnout, tampering, and other issues, “the answer isn’t despair or complacency,” she writes. “The answer is to vote.” An appendix lists state-by-state registration and identification requirements, among other useful information.

A probing and limpid explanation of an often misunderstood patchwork of systems, requirements, and mechanisms. (illustrations)

Kirkus Reviews

Narrator Nicol Zanzarella's voice is urgent, at times even pleading for listeners to vote. It's clear author Kim Wehle is concerned about the 2020 presidential election. She'd like to see major changes in our election system—she talks about the "bizarre electoral college process," for example. At the same time, she's well versed in our current system; she guides listeners through the intricacies of staying registered when moving and dealing with provisional ballots. When Wehle calls it all “the voter two-step,” one hears her humor in Zanzarella's narration. There's a lot of information; Zanzarella's narration frequently slows down to make web addresses clear. Listeners can refer to a pdf to find their own state's rules in handy charts. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Nicol Zanzarella's voice is urgent, at times even pleading for listeners to vote. It's clear author Kim Wehle is concerned about the 2020 presidential election. She'd like to see major changes in our election system—she talks about the "bizarre electoral college process," for example. At the same time, she's well versed in our current system; she guides listeners through the intricacies of staying registered when moving and dealing with provisional ballots. When Wehle calls it all “the voter two-step,” one hears her humor in Zanzarella's narration. There's a lot of information; Zanzarella's narration frequently slows down to make web addresses clear. Listeners can refer to a pdf to find their own state's rules in handy charts. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2020 - AudioFile