Books
A number of election reform related books.
Behind the Ballot Box
By Douglas Amy
Amy provides readers with all the relevant information needed to analyze and to choose from various voting system options. He brings together information and analysis about the full range of voting systems. The book is "one-stop-shopping" for those interested in learning more about voting systems and how to choose among them.
IDEA Handbook for Electoral System Design
The choice of electoral system is one of the most important institutional decisions for any democracy. In almost all cases the choice of a particular electoral system has a profound effect on the future political life of the country concerned, and electoral systems, once chosen, often remain fairly constant as political interests solidify around and respond to the incentives presented by them. The choices that are made may have consequences that were unforeseen as well as predicted effects.
Electoral system choice is a fundamentally political process, rather than a question to which independent technical experts can produce a single ‘correct answer’. The consideration of political advantage is almost always a factor in the choice of electoral systems. Calculations of short-term political interest can often obscure the longer-term consequences of a particular electoral system.
The choice of electoral system can have a significant impact on the wider political and institutional framework: it is important not to see electoral systems in isolation. Their design and effects are heavily contingent upon other structures within and outside the constitution. Successful electoral system design comes from looking at the framework of political institutions as a whole: changing one part of this framework is likely to cause adjustments in the way other institutions within it work.
Electoral systems are today viewed as one of the most influential of all political institutions, and of crucial importance to broader issues of governance. For example, it is increasingly being recognized that an electoral system can be designed both to provide local geographic representation and to promote proportionality; can promote the development of strong and viable national political parties, and ensure the representation of women and regional minorities; and can help to ‘engineer’ cooperation and accommodation in a divided society by the creative use of particular incentives and constraints.
Illinois Assembly on Political Representation and Alternative Electoral Systems
Just over 20 years ago, the “cutback amendment” changed the method of electing representatives to the Illinois House from cumulative voting to single-member districts. A bipartisan group of Illinois leaders led by former Governor Jim Edgar and former federal Judge Abner Mikva says it is time to change back.
The final report of the Illinois Assembly on Political Representation and Alternative Electoral Systems, released today, summarizes a detailed review by assembly participants of problems facing Illinois’ current electoral system and their examination of alternative methods used around the world. It also includes their proclamation calling for a return to cumulative voting.
Proportional Representation
By: Douglas Amy
New York Times Book Review
[M]akes the case that American politics can be re-energized by adopting proportional representation, the method by which most Western democracies vote. . . . 'It is time for this debate [between majority rule and proportional representation] to begin,' Mr. Amy believes. This book could help begin it.