A Citizen's Guide to U.S. Elections (Citizen Guides to Politics and Public Affairs)

Political observers routinely lament that American democracy is broken, and many of them blame electoral malfunction. But is the system really broken? Panagopoulos and Weinschenk make the case that citizens are empowered to fix what’s wrong with electoral politics and renew democracy in America, all within the institutional setup and framework of the existing system. Put simply, much of what is broken can be fixed if people stop throwing up their arms and start rolling up their sleeves to do the hard work of building our democracy. This book provides an overview of the basic features that characterize contemporary elections in the United States and includes discussions about voter participation and decision-making patterns, money in elections, and the role of parties and the media in presidential, congressional and state and local races. It also outlines some of the most important trends and challenges in the current system. As a call to action, each chapter features potential solutions to the challenges that exist in U.S. elections.

• Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
• Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis
• Running from Office: Why Young Americans are Turned Off to Politics
• A Citizen's Guide to Presidential Nominations: The Competition for Leadership (Citizen Guides to Politics and Public Affairs)
• The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America's Prosperity, Security, and Sustainability in the 21st Century
• The Lanahan Readings in the American Polity
• Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout
• Political Campaigns: Concepts, Context, and Consequences (The Series on Elections, Opinion and Democracy)
• Party Politics in America
• Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election?