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

By Douglas J. Amy

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0275965864
• ISBN13: 9780275965860
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Praeger
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Hard to rate; I want to give it 4 1/2!

I've earlier reviewed another book by the same author on the same subject: "Real Choices/ New Voices," as well as another book on the same subject, "Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction," by David M. Farrell. I gave the first one 4 stars, and the second 5, which poses a problem. I really want to show this book as a lot better than Amy's other book, but still not up to the Farrell book. But I cannot give it 4 1/2 stars, so you'll have to note, if you read this review, that I certainly mean to rank it higher than the 4 star figure I gave it, but the existence of Farrell's excellent book precludes my giving it a full 5 stars. Amy states in this book that most proportional representation (PR) advocates fail to acknowledge the negatives of PR and only mention its good points. What he fails to reveal in this comment is that Amy himself, in his other book, is guilty of this! This book, by contrast, is far more balanced, and this makes it a much better book than Amy's other one. I would certainly be more inclined to recommend this book, as giving a more balanced treatment of different voting systems and their advantages and disadvantages than "Real Choices/ New Voices." However, the very best book on this subject I've seen, excluding a long out of print book by Lakeman and Lambert, is "Electoral Systems: A Comparative Introduction." David M. Farrell does such a good job that it has to be the top recommendation, with this book somewhat behind. Still, you can do a lot worse than to buy this book.

Excellent help on how to pick a voting system

Very well written and easy to read, this book is all about helping you pick a voting system. The professor helps you pick criteria that are important to you. Then, he explains the major types of voting systems, and explains their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, you get help on how to take those criteria and election systems and determine what system you prefer.In the context of this crazy presidential election, for example, you can compare the advantages and disadvantages of plurality voting v.s. two round runoff voting v.s. instant runoff voting.A must read if you are interested in voting systems, you are a student of voting systems, or *especially* if you are trying to make an informed choice about what voting system best fits your community.