The Politics of Reapportionment

The Politics of Reapportionment
Author: Malcolm Jewell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2017-09-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351476858

The issue of apportionment is one of the most important problems facing citizens of most of the states in America. It underlies many other problems of state government. Growing judicial concern with apportionment is evidence of a failure of the political process in many states. A political solution to the problem requires better understanding and more accurate information about apportionment, which may be found in The Politics of Reapportionment.Understanding the politics of apportionment may be broken down into four parts: What are the political factors that have caused the various states to follow differing courses in apportionment? What are the political consequences of these differences in apportionment? When a legislature is grappling with any reapportionment problem, what roles are played by the various political groups involved? What are the consequences of transferring this controversy out of the legislative arena?Jewell notes that a study of legislative apportionment is essential to an understanding of any representative system of government. In the U.S. the patterns of apportionment have vitally affected the nature of our state and national political institutions, and our political history has been marked by a number of colorful struggles over this issue. For these reasons, American political scientists have devoted more attention to apportionment than to many other problems of government.

New Jersey Politics and Government

New Jersey Politics and Government
Author: Barbara G. Salmore
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 474
Release: 1998-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780803292567

Discussing such issues as the development of a more activist posture within the state government and the response of the New Jersey polity to growing suburbanization, Barbara G. Salmore and Stephen A. Salmore present the only comprehensive overview of politics and government in New Jersey. This second edition includes a new chapter on the political changes in New Jersey since the book?s original publication in 1993.

Securing the Vote

Securing the Vote
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2018-09-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 030947647X

During the 2016 presidential election, America's election infrastructure was targeted by actors sponsored by the Russian government. Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy examines the challenges arising out of the 2016 federal election, assesses current technology and standards for voting, and recommends steps that the federal government, state and local governments, election administrators, and vendors of voting technology should take to improve the security of election infrastructure. In doing so, the report provides a vision of voting that is more secure, accessible, reliable, and verifiable.

A New Jersey Anthology

A New Jersey Anthology
Author: Maxine N. Lurie
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 501
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 081354744X

A New Jersey classic comes to life once more, and it's better than ever . . . "This excellent collection of essays covers the sweep of New Jersey history from the colonial, proprietary era to the recent politics of Mount Laurel. It brings together some of the finest writing on the state, and raises questions relevant to major themes in American history more generally. Maxine N. Lurie has provided an excellent introductory essay to contextualize each piece in the collection, and each essay also comes with suggestions for further reading on the topic." -Paul G. E. Clemens, history department, Rutgers University Praise for the prior edition . . . "An absolutely superb collection in every aspect, this covers all of the chronological and topical bases with remarkable comprehensiveness. Contributions are not only appropriate to the purpose of the book; they have the additional merit of being very significant pieces of scholarship on their own, not only in the history of New Jersey but in American history in general. . . . Lurie's illuminating headnotes for each article, which include not only shrewd interpretive insights but also bibliographical references, set this book significantly apart." -Douglas Greenberg, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University MAXINE N. LURIE is a professor of history at Seton Hall University. She is the author of a number of articles and book chapters on early American and New Jersey history, the editor of the first edition of this anthology, and the coeditor of the Encyclopedia of New Jersey and Mapping New Jersey (all Rutgers University Press).

The Political Battle over Congressional Redistricting

The Political Battle over Congressional Redistricting
Author: William J. Miller
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 462
Release: 2013-06-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 073916984X

John Engler, former Governor of Michigan, once claimed that redistricting is one of the purest actions a legislative body can take. Academicians and political leaders alike, however, have regularly debated the ideal way by to redistrict national and state legislatures. Rather than being the pure process that Governor Engler envisioned, redistricting has led to repeated court battles waged on such traditional democratic values as one person, one vote, and minority rights. Instead of being an opportunity to help ensure maximum representation for the citizens, the process has become a cat and mouse game in many states with citizen representation seemingly the farthest idea from anyone’s mind. From a purely political perspective, those in power in the state legislature at the time of redistricting largely act like they have unilateral authority to do as they please. In this volume, contributors discuss why such an assumption is concerning in the modern political environment.

Elbridge Gerry's Salamander

Elbridge Gerry's Salamander
Author: Gary W. Cox
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2002-03-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521001540

Publisher Description.

On Democracy's Doorstep

On Democracy's Doorstep
Author: J. Douglas Smith
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2014
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0809074230

"The inside story of the Supreme Court decisions that brought true democracy to the United States Today, Earl Warren is recalled as the chief justice of a Supreme Court that introduced school desegregation and other dramatic changes to American society. In retirement, however, Warren argued that his court's greatest accomplishment was establishing the principle of "one person, one vote" in state legislative and congressional redistricting. Malapportionment, Warren recognized, subverted the will of the majority, privileging rural voters, and often business interests and whites, over others. In declaring nearly all state legislatures unconstitutional, the court oversaw a revolution that transformed the exercise of political power in the United States. On Democracy's Doorstep tells the story of this crucial--and neglected--episode. J. Douglas Smith follows lawyers, activists, and Justice Department officials as they approach the court. We see Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy pushing for radical change and idealistic lawyers in Alabama bravely defying their peers. We then watch as the justices edge toward their momentous decision. The Washington Post called the result a step "toward establishing democracy in the United States." But not everyone agreed; Smith shows that business lobbies and their political allies attempted to overturn the court by calling the first Constitutional Convention since the 1780s. Thirty-three states ratified their petition--just one short of the two-thirds required"--