The second edition of Distractions is an updated copy of the original book written in 2018. Part I (Conservative Strategies) outlines how conservatives deal with the critical issues of communications, the economy, the electoral process, the law, and DEMOCRACY. Part II (The “G’s”) focuses on the issue areas used mainly by the GOP to gain acceptance in the eyes of the general public. An additional chapter has been added — “Gerrymandering”. With the advent of Citizens United, The Gutting of t...

This is a searing account of the contradictions and historical complexities of the Electoral College. It is particularly focused on the negative impact the Electoral College has had on Black and Brown voters. I was an Adjunct Political Science Professor in the Political Science Department at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina from 2006 through 2013. My primary area of focus was “Media Politics” but my favorite course was American Government. Teaching this course ga...

As far back as middle school, I developed a passion for understanding what motivated people to take the political positions they were taking. I wondered why most people couldnt see clear things clearly and why they had to be told what politicians thought and felt. Couldnt they see that for themselves? I also wondered why some people seemed to wait until things happened or unfolded before they began telling everybody why they were better than the other guy at solving the problem. I guess it...

A history of the methods used to assault voting rights in America from the 1960s to 2020.The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered one of the most effective pieces of legislation the United States has ever passed. It enfranchised hundreds of thousands of voters, particularly in the American South, and drew attention to the problem of voter suppression. Yet in recent years there has been a continuous assault on access to the ballot box in the form of stricter vote...

From New York Times bestselling author of Lead From The Outside and political leader Stacey Abrams, a blueprint to end voter suppression, empower our citizens, and take back our country."With each page, she inspires and empowers us to create systems that reflect a world in which all voices are heard and all people believe and feel that they matter." **—**Kerry WashingtonA recognized expert on fair voting a...

The veteran journalist presents "an illuminating history and analysis" of the American electoral system—and a bold call for change ( Kirkus).The framers of the Constitution battled over it. Lawmakers have tried to amend or abolish it more than 700 times. To this day, millions of voters, and even members of Congress, misunderstand how it works. It deepens our national divide and distorts the core democratic principles of political equality and majority rule....

A redistricting crisis is upon us. This surprising, compelling book tells the history of how we got to this moment—from the Founding Fathers to today’s high-tech manipulation of election districts—and shows us how to protect our most sacred, hard-fought principle of one person, one vote. Here is THE book on gerrymandering for citizens, politicians, journalists, activists, and voters.“Seabrook’s lucid account of the origins and evolution of gerrymandering—th...

Completely revised and updated with extensive new material, this acclaimed book offers an inside look at how influence is wielded in Albany. The authors--an Albany-based political scientist and a former State Assembly member, now joined by an expert on both state politics and political blogging and networking--infuse their discussion of institutions and processes with the drama and significance of real power politics. To keep coverage current, updates, links, and realted reading will be pr...

A brutal, bloody, and at times hopeful history of the vote; a primer on the opponents fighting to take it away; and a playbook for how we can save our democracy before it’s too late—from the former U.S. Attorney General on the front lines of this fightVoting is our most important right as Americans—“the right that protects all the others,” as Lyndon Johnson famously said when he signed the Voting Rights Act—but it’s also the one most violently contested throughout ...

The primary purpose of this book is to introduce readers to basic Liberian civics and related topics. It is also a useful introduction to Liberia for non-Liberians who seek a better understanding of the country.

**A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice Finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Book PrizeIn the wake of Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, a deeply reported look inside the conservative movement working to undermine American democracy.**Donald Trump is the second Republican this century to triumph in the Electoral College without winning the popular vote. As Zachary Roth reveals in The Great Suppression, this is no coincidence. Ove...

The updated edition of Steal This Vote—a rollicking history of US voter suppression and fraud from Jacksonian democracy to Citizens United and beyond.In Down for the Count, award-winning journalist Andrew Gumbel explores the tawdry history of elections in the United States. From Jim Crow to Tammany Hall to the Bush v. Gore Florida recount, it is a chronicle of votes bought, stolen, suppressed, lost, miscounted, thrown into rivers, and lit...