Behind the Ballot Box: A Citizen's Guide to Voting Systems

by Douglas J. Amy

Interest in voting systems and voting system reform is growing in the United States. Voting systems―the procedures by which we cast votes and elect our public officials―are a crucial part of the democratic election process. The decision to use one kind of voting system rather than another has far-reaching political consequences. Among other things, voting systems help to determine which officials are elected to run our governments, the variety of parties that voters have to choose from at the polls, whether political minorities can win any representation, and whether the majority will rule.

Amy gives readers all the information and analytical tools needed to make intelligent choices among voting systems. He provides a set of political criteria that can be used to judge voting systems and gives detailed descriptions of all the common voting systems used in the United States and other Western democracies, including winner-take-all systems as well as proportional representation systems. He also provides an analysis of the various political advantages and disadvantages associated with each type of system. This is an important guide for citizens, government officials, political activists, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about voting systems and their political implications.

Genres: Politics

248 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2000

Reviews

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who considers themselves a citizen of any country where voting occurs should read this. If you want to know why Bill Clinton, George W. and Barack Obama were elected, look no further than here. The fact that the way we vote (the system we use for voting) determines the outcome of the vote itself is an idea that will be hard for most to wrap their head around, and will become increasingly harder when how mind-blowing this idea is actually hits home. Expect to spend a few months being mind-blown. And then expect to be more cynical for it.

[Adil Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing!

This book was my first introduction into the world of voting systems/reform and I can highly recommend it to anyone who's looking to get into it to learn what can be done to change the current systems in place.

It gives a really good insight and dive into the topic of different voting systems that are out there and the way they can be implemented and the results they give. It also provides methods for people to compare the voting systems and try and figure out what method works out best for the election they have in mind.