This is a wide-ranging study of electoral politics in England between 1734 and 1832. It analyses the control of the electoral system by the upper classes, the world of the voters, and the function of an election in the unreformed period. The history of the electoral system has been distorted by later emphasis on the extent of corruption in the constituencies. Dr O'Gorman takes us deep into the political underworld normally left undisturbed by historians; that of the committee men, agents, and canvassers who made the unreformed system work for as long as it did. Above all, this book is about the voters - their motivations, prejudices, beliefs and ideals, as well as their numbers and political behaviour. Frank O'Gorman has combined computer analysis with traditional historical methods to reconstruct the social and ideological world of the voters, and argues that an understanding of the electoral dimension is vital to a broader understanding of the Hanoverian regime and its popular acceptance. The interaction of the parliamentary parties at Westminster with the older political culture of the constituencies is traced in the final part of this book. The nature of Hanoverian politics and society have been the subject of much recent debate, and this far-reaching analysis of the electorate takes us to the very heart of that social and political structure.

Historians have pointed to John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign as the first time a presidential candidate relied extensively on public opinion polls. Since then, polling has come to define American politics, and is perhaps most clearly embodied in Bill Clinton, the most poll-driven president in history. Melvin G. Holli, however, reveals that reliance on public opinion polls dates to the New Deal Era, when Franklin D. Roosevelt employed a first-generation Finnish-American named Emil Hurja to conduct polls for his 1932 and 1936 campaigns. Roosevelt’s triumph in 1932 and in 1936, as well as the spectacular 1934 Democratic congressional victory, is legendary. What few people know is the story about what happened behind the scenes: Emil Hurja was the driving force behind the Democrats during the New Deal Era. Holli restores Hurja to his rightful place American history and politics, showing us that the Washington press corps were right on target when they dubbed Hurja the “Wizard of Washington.”

This work provides the first in-depth study of the Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution from the larger perspective of the development of the electoral college. Too often viewed as a modest reform to prevent the recurrence of the 1800-1801 election crisis, the Twelfth Amendment, according to Kuroda, was actually the decisive step in the evolution of the modern electoral college. Significantly, the amendment implicitly recognized the existence of national political parties and allowed the party which won the most electoral votes to win the offices of President and Vice President. But it was also significant for what it did not do: it did not abolish presidential electors; did not prohibit a winner-take-all electoral system; and did not mandate district election of electors.

This up-to-date collection of essays addresses key elements of the law and politics of voting rights: the Supreme Court's jurisprudence, the impact of the Voting Rights Act, and the opportunities for enhanced minority representation posed by alternative electoral systems. This volume, comprised of contributions by leading legal and political science practitioners in the field of voting rights, will be a valuable resource to experienced researchers and newcomers to the field. It includes current assessments of the intricacies of the Supreme Court's decisions, current research on the impact of the the Voting Rights Act on the various minority groups it purports to assist, and critical analysis of the use of alternative electoral systems.

Most information about the role of political consultants in elections has been limited to analyses of the few major firms that manage presidential and major congressional contenders. Political Empiricism shifts the focus of research to state and regional races, examining the strategies and variables unique to the smaller political campaigns. Rita Kirk Whillock describes how severe budgetary constraints, inexperienced campaign staffs, and extremely limited voter research change the face of political campaigns on the state and local levels. Each chapter of this volume presents a mixture of the theoretical and the practical, providing a link between current scholarship and real campaign strategies. The volume's case study approach explores key issues and concerns of political communication, including incumbency, image, gender, fundraising, advertising, and message strategies. Political Empiricism stands as a significant scholarly account that balances the existing bias toward analyses of national campaign strategies, and helps close the gap between communications practice and theory. Highly recommended for scholars and students of political communication and political science.

Campaign Communication and Political Marketing is a comprehensive, internationalist study of the modern political campaign. It indexes and explains their integral components, strategies, and tactics. * Offers comparative analyses of campaigns from country to country * Covers topics such as advertising strategy, demography, the effect of campaign finance regulation on funding, and more * Draws on a variety of international case studies including the campaigns of Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy * Analyses the impact of digital media and 24/7 news cycle on campaign conduct

The 2008 US presidential election was a 'global event.' Across the world, countries felt they had a major stake in this election. This study investigates the perception of the candidates, the issues, and the importance of the 2008 election from abroad. It does so by looking at selected countries in detail. What emerges are not only significant differences in perception, but also themes that were common to many countries' views. In fact, these shared perceptions amount to a 'world view' of the US election. The world saw the US election in the context of their own national priorities and as a vote on a different type of US leadership in the world.

What does it take to win the White House? This text helps students understand both the issues and how and why people vote for a candidate. After discussing the dynamics of the primary campaigns, the authors examine three broad sets of issues that play a key role in voting: foreign policy, domestic policies, and the culture wars. This sets the foundations for an examination of regional similarities and differences in voting patterns, as the varying salience and valence of issues--whether general or specific--is explored across and within regions. Special attention is paid to battleground states. Drawing on concepts from political science, this book advances students' understanding both of the field and the phenomenon.

When the global financial system crashed, governments in America and Britain perfomed the greatest bailout in history. The legacy is record government debt, low growth and a new era of austerity. A stellar cast of contributors, including Tim Bale, Wyn Grant and Graham Wilson provide a sophisticated account of how the administrations are faring.

This volume addresses a recurring and seemingly intractable problem of the U.S. political system: the nonparticipation of significant numbers of citizens in the political process. Specifically, the contributors explore the reasons why half of our eligible voters fail to exercise this most basic right, even in presidential elections. Among the questions the contributors explore are: Is there a fundamental and systematic basis in participation patterns? Does social condition, class status, and social identity relate to the likelihood of voting? Does political knowledge and information relate to participation? Do patterns of participation vary among minority and politically under-represented groups? By analyzing these and other topics related to political participation, the contributors shed new light on an issue that, until now, has received only modest attention in the social scientific literature. The volume is comprised of eight chapters, each examining a particular aspect of voter participation. Following an introduction that compares turnout rates in the United States with other countries, the contributors discuss how registration practices have served to depress participation, analyze the reasons for weak participation by under-represented groups, and present a theoretical and empirical evaluation of the factors that contribute to the decision to vote or not to vote. They go on to assess the Supreme Court's role in electoral participation patterns, whether the timing of elections influences participation, and the impact of electoral arrangements on participation. The concluding chapter evaluates the policy consequences of nonvoting and the potential effects of significantly higher voter turnout in future elections. An ideal set of readings for courses in American politics, this volume offers the most comprehensive treatment yet available of the issues surrounding voter participation in the United States.

Congressional debates are increasingly defined by gridlock and stalemate, with partisan showdowns that lead to government shutdowns. Compromise in Congress seems hard to reach, but do politicians deserve all the blame? Legislators who refuse to compromise might be doing just what their constituents want them to do. In Compromise in an Age of Party Polarization, Jennifer Wolak challenges this wisdom and demonstrates that Americans value compromise in politics. Citizens want more from elected officials than just ideological representation-they also care about the processes by which disagreements are settled. Using evidence from a variety of surveys and innovative experiments, she shows the persistence of people's support for compromise across a range of settings-even when it comes at the cost of partisan goals and policy objectives. While polarization levels are high in contemporary America, our partisan demands are checked by our principled views of how we believe politics should be practiced. By underscoring this basic yet mostly ignored fact, this book stands as an important first step toward trying to reduce the extreme polarization that plagues our politics.

Without doubt, 2014 was the year of Matteo Renzi. Since winning the leadership of his own party at the end of 2013 and becoming prime minister in February 2014, the young Florentine politician has imparted a decisive change of pace to the endless debates over institutional and policy reforms in Italy. The government has tackled reform of the Senate, the electoral law, and state bureaucracy and has issued measures to address the economic crisis and unemployment. These vital matters have formed the heart of the government's agenda, but that agenda has sometimes seemed to involve "government by press release" and belated recognition of important facts, making overall evaluation of the Renzi government difficult. Thanks to the contributions of international and Italian academics, this volume offers a detailed analysis of the "Year of the Bulldozer," highlighting the key developments that have affected Italian politics and institutions and Italian society in its broadest sense.

In light of the transformation of the Front National (FN) to a major player in French politics, this book examines how the unprecedented boost in positive opinions towards the FN as well as its increasing membership and electoral success have been possible. Using a supply and demand framework and a mixed methods approach, the author investigates the development of the FN and compares the "new" FN under Marine Le Pen with the "old" FN under Jean-Marie Le Pen across 4 dimensions: (1) the party's ideology, (2) the leadership styles of the two leaders including the composition of the party elites and the leaders'/ parties' relationship with the media, (3) the party members and (4) the party voters. It appeals to scholars interested in the study of radical right-wing movements and parties as well as to anybody interested in French politics.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has dominated German and European politics for almost a decade. Her stellar reputation, sound political and economic management, and popularity inside of Germany resulted in one of the most decisive electoral victories for her conservative parties in postwar Germany-the country can rightfully be deemed the Merkel Republic. Bringing together German politics experts from both sides of the Atlantic, this volume addresses the campaign, results, and consequences of the 2013 Bundestag election. Chapters delve into a diverse array of themes, including immigrant-origin and women candidates, the fate of the small parties, and the prospects for the SPD, the new coalition partner, as well as more general structural trends like the Europeanization and cosmopolitanization of German politics.

This authoritative study of election observation in Africa by foreign and local observers studies its relation with democratization processes. Election observation is seen by donor countries and the international community as a means to enhance democratization, but controversial issues include the "mandates" of the observers, the cases of its misappropriation by authoritarian governments, and its masking other interests of donor countries. The book offers theoretical and historical assessments of election observation and evaluates policies and their implementation in specific case studies.

This volume aims to provide consolidated analyses of the 2019 European elections and explanations about the future of the European party system, in a context in which the EU has to face many challenges, including the erosion of electoral support for mainstream parties and the increasing success of populist parties. The structure of the book is designed to combine the overall view on the role of elections in shaping the future European project with relevant case studies. The reader is given a perspective not only on the results of the European Parliament elections as such, but also on how these results are related to national trends which pre-exist and what kind of collateral effects on the quality of democracy they could have. Contributors include: Jan Bíba, Sorin Bocancea, Dóra Bókay, Radu Carp, József Dúró, Tomáš Dvořák, Alexandra Alina Iancu, Ruxandra Ivan, Petra Jankovská, Małgorzata Madej, Cristina Matiuța, Sergiu Mișcoiu, Valentin Naumescu, Gianluca Piccolino, Leonardo Puleo, Alexandru Radu, Mihai Sebe, Sorina Soare, Tobias Spöri, Jeremias Stadlmair, Martin Štefek, Piotr Sula, and Jaroslav Ušiak.

The Frontiers of Democracy offers a comprehensive examination of restrictions on the vote in democracies today. For the first time, the reasons for excluding people (prisoners, children, intellectually disabled, non-citizens) from the suffrage in contemporary societies is critically examined from the point of view of democratic theory.

A new account of voting between the First and Second Reform Bills, outlining a new interpretation of electoral behaviour, and emphasizing the links between individual electors and their social context. It also explores the consequences of these ideas for local political organization, suffragism, and the development of the party system.

Electronic and internet voting has become increasingly widespread in recent years, but which countries are the leaders of the movement and who lags behind? Is the digital divide likely to present a permanent challenge to electronic democracy? What are the experiences with regard to online voting, and what are the arguments for and against? Electronic Voting and Democracy examines these issues and the contexts in which they are played out, such as problems of legitimacy and the practical considerations that have driven some countries toward electronic voting faster than others. JOACHIM ASTROM Department of Social Sciences, University of Orebro, Sweden HUBERTUS BUCHSTEIN Professor of Political Science, University of Greifswald, Germany WOLFGANG DRECHSLER Department of Public Administration, University of Tartu, Estonia HANS GESER Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland CAROLYN HRIBAR Department of Political Science, Kent State Uniersity, Ohio, USA KIMMO GRONLUND Department of Political Science, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland PIA KARGER Federal Ministry of the Interior, Berlin, Germany ROBERT KOFLER Institute for Information Economics, Vienna Univers

"Elections, Parties and Representation in Post-Communist Europe" stresses the ways in which the development of political parties affected the quality of democracy, the nature of political representation, and political accountability in the early stages of post-communist politics. It also analyzes the nature and consequences of the corpus of parliamentary candidates and deputies for the representation of social classes, women and minorities. In contrast with the wide social profile of communist parliaments, politics largely became the playground of new highly educated male elites.

This revised and updated edition includes new information on how to get the edge on an opponent by using such media as the Internet, cable TV, and direct-mail services. National radio & TV tour.

The politics of fear have come to dominate much of the political agenda in many countries in the wake of 9/11. "Terrorism, Elections, and Democracy" examines how the fear of terrorism affected how elections were fought and won in 2004 and 2005. The book finds original and compelling evidence for how security issues dominated elections in the United States and Russia, while discussing why British politics were relatively unchanged. The findings suggest that the democratic intentions of elections can be overwhelmed when politicians, journalists, and the public focus on fear rather than politics in a campaign.

"Many Americans are unsatisfied with politics. Simultaneously, we are hesitant to question the basic soundness of our constitutional system. In this refreshingly provocative book, David Orentlicher explains why it is due time for us to reconsider dominant ideas about the presidency, now arguably our most powerful political institution. Challenging the conventional wisdom that the best executive is necessarily a unitary executive, Orentlicher makes a wonderful case for why 'two presidents are better than one.' Sure to be of interest to political scientists, legal scholars, as well as informed citizens justifiably worried about the fate of American democracy, this fascinating book dares to challenge everything you thought you knew about one of our favorite political institutions." -William E. Scheuerman, Indiana University "Can Orentlicher be serious in calling for a plural executive? The answer is yes, and he presents thoughtful and challenging arguments responding to likely criticisms. Any readers who are other than completely complacent about the current state of American politics will have to admire Orentlicher's distinctive audacity and to respond themselves to his well-argued points." -Sanford Levinson, author of Framed: America's 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance When talking heads and political pundits make their "What's Wrong with America" lists, two concerns invariably rise to the top: the growing presidential abuse of power and the toxic political atmosphere in Washington. In Two Presidents Are Better Than One, David Orentlicher shows how the "imperial presidency" and partisan conflict are largely the result of a deeper problem-the Constitution's placement of a single president atop the executive branch. Accordingly, writes Orentlicher, we can fix our broken political system by replacing the one person, one-party presidency with a two-person, two-party executive branch. Orentlicher contends that our founding fathers did not anticipate the extent to which their checks and balances would fail to contain executive power and partisan discord. They also did not foresee how the imperial presidency would aggravate partisan conflict. As the stakes in presidential elections have grown ever higher since the New Deal, battles to capture the White House have greatly exacerbated partisan differences. Had the framers been able to predict the future, Orentlicher argues, they would have been far less enamored with the idea of a single leader at the head of the executive branch and far more receptive to the alternative proposals for a plural executive that they rejected. Like their counterparts in Europe, they might well have created an executive branch in which power is shared among multiple persons from multiple political parties. Analyzing the histories of other countries with a plural executive branch and past examples of bipartisan cooperation within Congress, Orentlicher shows us why and how to implement a two-person, two-party presidency. Ultimately, Two Presidents Are Better Than One demonstrates why we need constitutional reform to rebalance power between the executive and legislative branches and contain partisan conflict in Washington.

The referendum first became established with voter ratification of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. Other types were adopted in the nineteenth century, largely through the efforts of Progressives and Populists seeking to authorize voters to utilize the initiative-referendum and protest referendum. Certain referenda, particularly on adoption or amendment of constitutions and local government charters, are well established and non-controversial. Other referenda, the general initiative-referendum and the protest referendum, have been controversial since their inception. Zimmerman analyzes a number of general initiative and protest referendum campaigns in order to develop conclusions as to their desirability and the need for reform.

Experience with the various types of referenda reveal the need for the development of a general theory of their use, combining elements of the theory of representative democracy based on the leadership-feedback model and the theory of direct democracy based upon decision making by assembled voters. Referenda experience also reveals that certain types of referenda would be unnecessary if each state government devolved broad powers to general purpose local government. Zimmerman's analysis of the development of the 16 types of referenda and their attributes and defects will be a major resource for scholars, students, policy makers, and the general public interested in issues of local and state government effectiveness and accountability.