Reforming the Republic: Democratic Institutions for the New America

For undergraduate courses as a supplemental text in Introduction to American Politics courses; and appropriate for upper-level courses in Comparative Electoral Systems with a focus on Campaigns and Elections.

This text offers a general, chapter-by-chapter discussion of a wide range of political reforms by encouraging students to consider how the American political system would be different if various reforms were adopted. Advocating a wide menu of proposals and weighing their good and bad effects, this text does not attempt exhaustive analysis of a single topic. Rather, it offers general, single-chapter introductions to each issue. It examines some of the most important rules that shape America's electoral landscape, assembling the best evidence available to anticipate what would happen if certain rules were changed.