Counting Votes: Lessons from the 2000 Presidential Election in Florida - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813027144 ISBN 13: 9780813027142

Publisher: University Press of Florida, 2004

Synopsis

The 2000 presidential election changed history. This behind-the-scenes assessment of that controversial election dissects the challenging task of running an election. The essays go to the heart of the democratic experiment and examine fundamental issues about fairness and equality, presenting a strong case for the need to reform elections in Florida and nationwide.

The book features the insights and experiences of local election and political party officials in Florida involved in the 2000 election--people in the field who offer personal accounts of the events and explain the nuts-and-bolts work of elections--and essays by advocates of election reform and noted political scientists. It includes an overview of the history of elections and contemporary issues in elections and confronts outdated conventional wisdom concerning reforms.

The infamous contest left a legacy of questions, which the book answers: What was the long-term significance of the 2000 election? Are elections conducted in an accurate manner? Can we be sure of the reliability of the voting technologies, ballot designs, and officials that comprise our electoral system?

The authors prescribe remedies for the crisis and discuss their consequences and complications. The book exposes problems associated with participatory democracy and offers readers suggestions for engaging in the process and creating a new civic ethos. Counting Votes is a timely and important book for the concerned voter and election scholar alike.

About this title

Book Description

"The seminal work on the 2000 presidential election in Florida. . . . The book brings together scholars, participants, and commentators to present a detailed and lively account of the elections and their impact on American politics."--Tom Lansford, University of Southern Mississippi

The 2000 presidential election changed history. This behind-the-scenes assessment of that controversial election dissects the challenging task of running an election. The essays go to the heart of the democratic experiment and examine fundamental issues about fairness and equality, presenting a strong case for the need to reform elections in Florida and nationwide.

The book features the insights and experiences of local election and political party officials in Florida involved in the 2000 election--people in the field who offer personal accounts of the events and explain the nuts-and-bolts work of elections--and essays by advocates of election reform and noted political scientists. It includes an overview of the history of elections and contemporary issues in elections and confronts outdated conventional wisdom concerning reforms. 

The infamous contest left a legacy of questions, which the book answers: What was the long-term significance of the 2000 election? Are elections conducted in an accurate manner? Can we be sure of the reliability of the voting technologies, ballot designs, and officials that comprise our electoral system?

The authors prescribe remedies for the crisis and discuss their consequences and complications. The book exposes problems associated with participatory democracy and offers readers suggestions for engaging in the process and creating a new civic ethos. Counting Votes is a timely and important book for the concerned voter and election scholar alike.

Contents
Foreword: Let Every Voice Be Heard, Let Every Vote Be Counted, by Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, League of Women Voters
 1. The State of Elections: People, Politics, and Problems, by Robert P. Watson
Part 1. The Florida Election Controversy
 2. The Election, Miami, and the Recount, by Thomas R. Spencer
 3. Some Things Are Not Meant to Be: The Florida Controversy and the Vote Recount, by Mitchell Ceasar
 4. Public Information: Dealing with the Media in an Election Crisis, by Gisela Salas
Part 2. Running an Election
 5. Running an Election and the Work of the Elections Office, by David Leahy
 6. A Look at Voting Machines and Voting Systems, by Jess Gittelson
 7. The Role of Grassroots Organizing and the Political Party in Elections, by Mark Hoch
 8. Candidates, Parties, and Local Election Politics, by Cathy Dubin
Part 3. Voting Systems and Problems
 9. Voting Technology and Voting Access in Twenty-first-century America, by TeResa C. Green, Rhonda S. Kinney, and Jason Mitchell
10. Balancing Competing Interests: Voting Equipment in Presidential Elections, by Martha E. Kropf and Stephen Knack
11. Unrecorded Votes and Political Representation, by David C. Kimball, Chris Owens, and Katherine McAndrew Keeney
Part 4. The Electoral College Reconsidered
12. The 2000 Presidential Election: Is There a Better Way of Determining the Election Outcome? by James Corey
13. The Electoral College: Political Advantage, the Small States, and Implications for Reform, by Glenn W. Rainey Jr. and Jane G. Rainey
14. Electoral College Reform at the State Level: Choices and Trade-offs, by Paul D. Schumaker and Bruce I. Oppenheimer
Part 5. Election Reform
15. The Elusive Promise of Democratic Elections? by Victoria A. Farrar-Myers
16. The Fiasco in Florida: Fertile Ground for Election Reform, by Blair Bobier
17. Is Election Reform Necessary? Yes! by Joan Karp
18. "This is Guatemala," by Michael A. Genovese
 
 
Robert P. Watson is associate professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

About the Author

Robert P. Watson is associate professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0813027144
• ISBN 13: 9780813027142
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Watson Robert P.