The way American citizens elect a president in November is enshrined in the Constitution and has remained unchanged for two hundred years. By contrast, the rules by which American political parties nominate their presidential candidates have evolved dramatically over time. In recent years, these byzantine rules have allowed a number of unexpected candidates to win their party's presidential nomination. In The Best Candidate, a roster of leading election law scholars from across the political spectrum - true-blue Democrats, die-hard Republicans, and everyone in between - illuminate the law behind the modern presidential nomination process and offer ideas for how it can be improved. This book offers a blueprint for how American voters and their parties could nominate the best candidate for the presidency, and it should be read by anyone who cares about the occupant of the Oval Office.

The way American citizens elect a president in November is enshrined in the Constitution and has remained unchanged for two hundred years. By contrast, the rules by which American political parties nominate their presidential candidates have evolved dramatically over time. In recent years, these byzantine rules have allowed a number of unexpected candidates to win their party's presidential nomination. In The Best Candidate, a roster of leading election law scholars from across the political spectrum - true-blue Democrats, die-hard Republicans, and everyone in between - illuminate the law behind the modern presidential nomination process and offer ideas for how it can be improved. This book offers a blueprint for how American voters and their parties could nominate the best candidate for the presidency, and it should be read by anyone who cares about the occupant of the Oval Office.

Thanks to a series of recent US Supreme Court decisions, corporations can now spend unlimited sums to influence elections, Super PACs and dark money groups are flourishing, and wealthy individuals and special interests increasingly dominate American politics. Despite the overwhelming support of Americans to fix this broken system, serious efforts at reform have languished. Campaign finance is a highly intricate and complex area of the law, and the current system favors the incumbent politicians who oversee it. This illuminating book takes these hard realities as a starting point and offers realistic solutions to reform campaign finance. With contributions from more than a dozen leading scholars of election law, it should be read by anyone interested in reclaiming the promise of American democracy.

Thanks to a series of recent US Supreme Court decisions, corporations can now spend unlimited sums to influence elections, Super PACs and dark money groups are flourishing, and wealthy individuals and special interests increasingly dominate American politics. Despite the overwhelming support of Americans to fix this broken system, serious efforts at reform have languished. Campaign finance is a highly intricate and complex area of the law, and the current system favors the incumbent politicians who oversee it. This illuminating book takes these hard realities as a starting point and offers realistic solutions to reform campaign finance. With contributions from more than a dozen leading scholars of election law, it should be read by anyone interested in reclaiming the promise of American democracy.